About 20 years ago, in a small playground one afternoon, I met this small, tiny, thin girl playing with her neighbours and brother. I approached them and I started sharing about the Lord. She listened wide eyed and then the following Sunday, she came to church. I think I taught her sunday school for a while. She was older than she looked and she suffered from an illness that didn't allow her to grow taller or bigger. She was always sickly.
After she became a Christian, she was not liked by all her family members. Sometimes she came to church and sometimes she didn't because her mother just didn't want her to be near the church. On and off I would meet Joo Kheng. And she would always come over for a chat with me whenever we see each other.
Somehow we lost touch and when the church had some problems, she disappeared from the church totally. I went away to study. When I returned, I heard she was attending church again. She was also working and still strong in her faith.
I met her only once and she wanted to invite me to her wedding. But I forgot why I couldn't go. So I didn't keep in touch. It is something I regret not having done...keeping in touch with her.
You see my life for the past 10 years or more has been rather impossible. Impossible because of all the self centredness and all the deceptions I believe in. I let a lot of people pass me by. I thank God that after my incident in June, God is slowly bringing some of these people back into my life and allowing me to revisit with them what we did in the past.
I asked Bonita why did God resurface these old faces again. I don't really understand. What am I to do with them? I still don't have an answer.
Joo Keng has gone home to be with the Lord yesterday morning. She had an auto immune disease that was never really curable. I believe she is no more than in her early 30s.
I will go say my good bye to her tonight. She has gone before me and probably singing in heaven now. She loves to sing.
I don't think she will ever forget me. I am sure that if she was alive and meet me, she would still jump for joy to meet me. Well, she will do that when I too step into glory one day.
But for now, there is a lot to do because of those wasted years.
Since September and at the start of studying God's word again, I thank God that He has preserved me and gave me another chance at what I am to do. It is tough going through what happened to me since June and I don't wish to revisit the place again.
I have always thought about what kind of a person people will remember me by when I am gone.
Well, I can tell you how I remember Joo Keng. She always smile. Never afraid of any adversity and always put God first.
