In memory of my mother - a stubborn woman borne out of circumstances

As the children grew and when we started schooling on Christmas Island, I recalled my mother became more and more stubborn almost to the point of being obstinate. When my siblings started to attend Sunday School at the only church on the island, I was not allowed to join them although I did have the opportunity at the initial stage and the reason given by her was that being the youngest in the family, she wanted me to keep her and dad company (could not understand her rationale). Was she paranoid about the children becoming Christians? (she was a Buddhist/ Taoist then) or was she suspicious that dad had a roving eye? (I was even assigned to shadow dad whenever he was not at work and was debriefed after each outing). Of course all her suspicions were baseless and she had to admit 'defeat'.

But that further 'hardened' her resolve to the point where number 'I' took over and got the better of her. On one occasion, she was in the kitchen and wanting to get some pots from the upper shelf of the hanging cupboard, she fell backwards and sustained bruises but she was too stubborn to want to go for medical treatment until the next morning when her whole injured leg was swollen and she in great pain and we had to rush her to NUH A&E Department in an ambulance and she paid a high price for that - her legs were impacted and she subsequently had to walk with a walking frame initially but after a year or two, suffered strokes which finally rendered her immobile and wheelchair bound.

There were a number of incidents where her assertion as number 'I' got the better of her and she paid dearly for the consequences. But I want to praise and thank Abba Daddy that when the time for that crucial moment of decision for salvation, her dutiful nature as a wife took over. That was in June 1987 when my parents attended the evangelistic rally (Reinhard Bonke) and during altar call, when my dad stood up and went forward, she followed him. Inspite of her stubbornness, she still had that softness of a loving wife. She received the Lord Jesus into her heart and she resolved to stand beside my dad in whatever he wanted to do in their twilight years (she was 60 and he was 65 when they recceived the Lord).