Tuesday, October 12, 2010

A Bowl of Wisdom 2: A Singaporean Lady

Dressed in my usual fashion wear, a pair of jeans and a turtle necked top, I went out for dinner with my parents in a fancy place last night. We were invited by a lady consultant who come once or twice a year from Singapore. I brought a book with me in case their discussions would bore me. As we waited for her, my mom and I traversed on the carpeted floor of the hotel lobby. We looked at the ornaments and the intricate details carved on the different furniture plotted strategically in the hallway. Then, I saw a lady with a secured posture walking towards us. She was wearing a crisp black and white tailored business dress, carrying a red leather handbag and walking on what seemed like a pair of black Nine West pumps.

This lady named Angela led us to a cozy room in a Japanese Restaurant. I forgot the name. Inside was a ceiling-high painting of a geisha on a glass wall, and a table for four. On the table were adorable Japanese plates and cups lined on gold trays. The evening started with a rush of updates and news. They discussed what they had to discuss and I read the book I brought with me. After reading a few lines, I couldn't help but listen to her. This lady who could merely be in her late twenties or early thirties was very well-versed in politics, business, and in global matters. "Wow, man!" I thought.

The topic became lighter when the first course of the meal was served. She recommended some good restaurants in Singapore while we enjoyed a bowl of vegetable salad with mayonnaise coating and crunchy sliced chips. Mom told her she liked Japanese and Korean restaurants the best. And she recommended the best Jap restaurant she has ever tasted in Taiwan (name I've also forgotten). Then out of the blue, like a eureka moment her eyes sparkled, she shared a story that happened in Taiwan.

A guy friend of hers was diagnosed with a severe case of testicular cancer. He was just 21 then and single. He trusted in the Lord, and according to Angela, he lifted everything to the Lord. I guess the Lord still has great plans for him. During her recent visit to Taiwan, the guy who once had cancer in one of his reproductive organs was able to get married and have a baby.

It was interesting to see how she intertwined praises for the Lord and stories of faith with news clippings and financial updates. She was not afraid to get blank stares or a mocking laughter. She was working. And yet she was also ministering. I admire her for using her work to bless her clients. I guess in meetings like these she is implicitly trying to tell her clients, "Hey, seek for something purer and rarer than gold."

For some people, the only "calling" in this world would entail you to become a full-time pastor or a full-pledged missionary. If you're not called, then you are probably not a very "spiritual" person. I hope that you will crack this icy myth down to pieces. Not all of us may be a pastor, but all of us are called to be priests and prophets. All of us must be ready to proclaim God's Word wherever and whenever. God may call you to become a consultant like Angela, a businessman, a bank clerk, a teacher, a writer or a wedding planner. He has already placed you in a mission field. Don't wait for your pastor to go to you, plow your field and plant the seeds. You are placed there for a reason. Be the salt and light in your field.

No comments:

Post a Comment