Bursting at the seams..

Contrary to what you might think, this is not a post about me ripping my pants or something! ha! And i sincerely hope I will never need to or have the opportunity to blog about something like that :) How hilarious it would be though...

But more than anything, this is going to be about God's unfailing and abundant love in my life. My heart is really bursting at the seams from the things that have been happening to me in the past few days.

As most of you know, I have this medical condition called Takayasu's Disease (no, its not contagious!) and long story short, it causes inflammation of the artery walls resulting in the narrowing of my arteries. In 2005, I did my first angioplasty
to stent two arteries, one left and one right. The stenting has proven succesful for the artery on my right - thank God.

My left however, the one that supplies blood to my left arm, has proven to be a challenge. Because the tissue around the wall began to build into the stent, I had to undergo another angioplasty in 2006. My half yearly check-up 6 months ago showed a deterioration, my pulse was weak, hardly there and my blood pressure measured a 80/60. The doctor suggested to go in one more time, though he mentioned that after two "failed" attempts, its quite likely the third will follow in the same pattern.

I said no. I had decided (and told God) after my second that there would never be another time and that my healing had to be a God process. Being who they are, my beloved family supported this decision and we scheduled my next check-up appointment.

After all that, I'm here to say that my check-up on Monday really blew me out of the water, even the doctor looked surprised. He put his hand to my wrist and declared, "you have a strong pulse!". He took my BP and measured it at 118/90 - it's normal! His rationale? That either new smaller branches of arteries grew to adequately supply my arm with blood or the condition at the left stent has cleared.

Can you imagine? New branches growing? Tissue at the stent clearing? Either way, it's not washing the clothes.

I'm here to say, that I thank God for being who he is, my Healer. That He went to the cross and nailed all our ailments there. That the reality of the cross is evident to me, in my life. Easter could not mean any much more.



- Isaiah 53:5 -

But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed.


I feel as if He looked upon me like He did the blind beggar in Luke or the bleeding woman in Matthew.....

-Matthew 9:22 -
Jesus turned and saw her. "Take heart, daughter," he said, "your faith has healed you..."


And as if that wasn't enough, I got a note from my boss telling me of my promotion the very next day. Now can you see why my heart is just so full?

Thank you, Lord, for you have filled my life to overflowing and my heart is set with joy and gratitude for all that You've done for me. Thank You for your promise, that You are my sun and shield, bestowing favor and honour, where no good thing do You withhold from those whose walk is blameless. Blessed are those who dwell in Your house, those who are ever praising You. Blessed is the man who trusts in you (Psalm 84).

Amen!

To my family, thank you so much for being who you are and the love that you lavish on me.
Love you to bits!

1955 Guide to Good Housekeeping

This is hilarious! Enjoy it girls.

And they say, "a good wife always knows her place".

When travelling, check your passport!

Here i thought i had it down to a pat - work was done and handed over, we had the first scene for the easter play scrubbed. I was good to go for Phuket.

But no. 8.30am in the morning, I dumbfoundedly answered my dad as he confidently asked me if I had 6 months to the date my passport expires, "April 2008, 3 months away". We all started screaming at once (okay, so i exaggerate).

That was 8.30am and i was due to fly off at 12.45pm, 4 hours 15 min before my flight. What do we do? Called the AirAs!a helpline, "no ma'am, it has to be 6 months validity". Erk!

Our faithful cab driver drove us to the immigration dept. at the old Subang airport, it was packed, and I mean packed with people.
The following series of events happened:
Person at the pick-up counter: "please proceed to counter 1"
Person at counter 1 is busy
Person at counter 2: "kenapa selalu macam ini ah? susah sangat you orang, saya tak tahu boleh tolong atau tidak - pegi jumpa officer dalam tu"
Officer-in-charge: *face is stoic, expressionless*

I was praying all the way in the taxi, but at this point, i was praying so hard you could probably hear my mind churning - dad and i must've held our breaths as we waited for what he'd say.

Then came the reply....
He looks at me and says, "Have you taken your photo yet? Filled out a form?"

I blink hard as i look at him and slowly shake my head, disbelieving. He says, "Go and do that, I'll help you with this."

Needless to say, my heart leaps for joy as dad and I dash of separately to fill in the renewal form, take my photo, make copies of my IC and make a payment.

9.50am, person at payment counter says, "Come back at 10.30am to pick up your passport, it should be done by then".

AirAs!a counters close 45min before flight time, which means we have to check in by 12noon, we'd need at least an hour travel time, which means I have to leave at 11.00am to get there. Should be enough time.

We collect my passport at 10.20am and reach the airport at 11.15am, with ample time to check-in, have a nice meal and slowly make our way to the departure hall to board our plane. Thank God!

This is an adventure I'm never going to forget plus it makes a good story :) But not one I'm wanting to relive ever again.

One thing I must say though, that I have renewed faith in Malaysians, amidst all the talk that we're an unfriendly bunch, this little incident really showed me that there's still compassion left in us, just a simple word "please" opens a door for a hand to reach out and "help". Malaysia Boleh!

My parents were so obviously wonderful and very supportive as always, already making alternative plans to travel back to our hometown in case we didn't make the flight, but i was not willing to go down without a fight, thank God for answered prayers. Amen.

All in all, it was a pretty adventurous departure, even before the actual trip began.
And so, we made it.
The beautiful island of Phuket (i still can't believe it!)


Mental note to self: When travelling overseas, check your passport, must have 6 months validity to date of expiry, otherwise - renew!

I can't wait...

Yup, after much looking, i think i'm kinda settling in here for now. It's easy for a layman like me and i like the simplicity amidst all the complexity we already have in our lives :)

Speaking of which, i can't wait for tomorrow....


Happy Chinese New Year all!

I Might Just Like It Here

I'd fiddled and widdled with the many, and i think this i might just like it here.
Question is, what am i to do with all my old posts? :0/