Reflections of 2016- “The Year of Transitions"

Decided to spend some time this afternoon on my thursday day off, aka “my sabbath day” to reflect back my faith adventures with the Lord for the year of 2016. The words, "a year of transitions” immediately comes to my mind, which are the same words that my wife would resonate as well. The year 2016, has certainly been one of the most challenging, yet most exciting years of our life crossing so many new milestones together.
As I look back 2016, there are 4 major Milestones in my life, from graduating from TTC, to purchasing and renovating our matrimonial home, to starting full-time work at Wesley and than finally getting married. I cannot be more grateful and thankful for the Lord for bringing us through the many transitions that has happened. Even as I reflect through each of these milestones, I am still learning on what it means to die to my self daily, so that I can truly embrace the Christ-directed life and live a life worthy of the calling of the Lord. So this is my 2016 at a glance!

1) 14 May 2016- Graduated from Trinity Theological College (TTC).

• Spend 3 wonderful years of full-time theological studies at Trinity Theological College (TTC) and finally graduated with a Bachelor of Divinity and many life long lessons. 
• As reflected in my previous post after graduation, "Reflections of a Fresh Seminary Graduate", made many life-long spiritual friendships, developed some basic theological framework for ministry and experienced many side curricula from the Lord as I grew in Spiritual formation.

2) 9 June 2016- 18 August 2016 - Purchased a Resale HDB flat and began renovation works to our matrimonial house.

• From first applying for a Sale of Balance Flat (SBF) in November 2015, too changing to the resale market later in February-March 2016. As we visited many potential houses before we made a bold step of faith to purchase our first flat together which we definitely believe the Lord has led us too. 
• It was also our first time working together as a couple, making many major decisions in the renovation process and preparations of our new matrimonial house together. Visited many places around Singapore just to get the best fittings and furnitures for our new home.
  
  
  

3) 4 July 2016- Started full-time ministry work at Wesley Methodist Church. 

• Began a new ministry in Wesley, as the Lord gave me this new opportunity to experience the heart of the pastoral ministry. Started serving in this new position as a Pastoral Associate in the Pastoral Care Ministry, where we serve communion to the home-bounds, visited the sick at hospitals and conducted wakes and funeral for the bereaved. Certainly a big transition from ministering to the youths for many years and today the Lord has led me to a new season ministering mainly to the seniors. 
• It has also been a great privilege to serve alongside many experience Pastors and Pastoral team members who has served the Lord for many years. Been learning and still learning a lot from each of them as I serve alongside each of them here in Wesley today. 

4) 8 October 2016- Got Married to my sweetheart! (: 

• The biggest and most exciting milestone of 2016, is of course getting married to my beautiful wife, Claire Chong. We certainly had quite an eventful journey this year, learning to adjust to one another personalities and working styles as we began preparing our wedding and new home together. 
• Also wrote my reflections in my final year of TTC on a framework of Marriage, titled, “The Orthodoxy, Orthopraxis and Orthopathos of Marriage” to prepare myself for this new exciting season of my life. 

As Soren Kierkegaard would say, "Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards”. So as I prepare for the new year of 2017 and continue this new season of faith adventure with the Lord, a verse that I will continue to cling on would be, Psalms 37:4, "Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart.”. That was the verse that the Lord impressed upon my heart way back on 7 October 2008 at a CRU world-wide day of prayer meeting, which eventually led me to take that step of faith to respond to the Lord to serve Him in full time ministry. 

And 8 years later on 8 October 2016, God led us to this same verse again to be used as our Scripture text for our wedding and our marriage ahead as well. As Rev Raymond Fong shared at our wedding exhortation, as we begin this new journey together, may we "Delight in His design for marriage, His roles for the both you in marriage, His purpose through marriage and His empowerment for marriage”, and may we make it our utmost priority to continue to delight ourselves in the Lord and continue pursuing the Lord, growing in his Christ-likeness each day as we bring the presence of Christ with us wherever we go!