everytime i see those old couples (ah bei's and aunties) walking hand in hand, a sense of admiration & respect fills me. its not those young handsome pretty couples that draws me to wow but those oldies that have gone thru the thick & thin together, in sickness in health, in richness in poverty..& their still very much in love with each other that brings me to an admiration level for them.Chanced upon this article today & coupled with always seeing the sick in the hospital,a common qn tat i would ask: what happens if my spouse was very sick? this article speaks it all:


A Special Love Story
David Langerfeld
Feb 10, 2010

Although most of you have read this story many times, I share it every year during Valentine's Week in tribute to the greatest, most wonderful woman I know...


A Special Love Story

Her family had come to America from Sweden. She had a typical Scandinavian look... Long blond hair; blue eyes; long slender legs; soft, blemish-free skin. She was gorgeous - she was beautiful. In fact, a professional international photographer in her hometown thought she was so pretty that he used a photograph of her to advertise his business.

But that was not her real beauty.

She was raised by some wonderful Christian parents and had become a Christian at an early age. Integrity, honesty and sweetness were just a few of her characteristics. In fact, at her engagement party, her sister, who knew her better than anyone, said that she had never heard her tell a lie. All of her friends said the same thing about her: She was the sweetest girl they knew. She would never speak a harsh word about anyone. Everyone loved to be around her.

A young man she met in her freshman year started dating her and fell in love with her - both her exterior photographic beauty and the wonderful godly character of her inward beauty. She fell in love with him and they spent every free moment they could with each other over the next four years. They were committed to each other and they believed in waiting long before the "True Love Waits" Campaign ever existed.

One week after they graduated from college, they were married. They loved each other's company. They would walk together, exercise together, go on bike rides together, chaperone youth trips together - go to movies, watch TV, eat pizza, travel - all the things any normal couple would love to do together. They were so much in love.

She taught school for a year and then became a bookkeeper for a surgical supply company. One day, while she was working, for no apparent reason, she lost her balance and fell on the floor. She was later able to get up and went to see a doctor that night. He set her up to see a Neurologist.

The following day, it happened again. For no apparent reason, she lost her balance and fell. This time, though, she couldn't get up. She had lost all feeling in her legs. They wouldn't move. Her husband, had to come to the office and pick her up in his arms and carry her to the hospital. After six days in the hospital, the doctor gave this beautiful, active young lady the dreadful news. She had Multiple Sclerosis and she would continue to deteriorate.

This young couple, who had now been married only 18 months - who loved to go everywhere together and do everything together - would now face some new challenges. All their future plans would change, everyday life would change. They would change.

For the next 30 years, this young lady did deteriorate. She had to take steroids (not the kind athletes use, but anti-inflammatory steroids). Her bones became brittle, breaking easily. Her face became puffy and bloated and she could not even put on make-up. Her body was a mess. She went from a walker, to an electric scooter, to a wheelchair. She could no longer feed herself, write her name, or control her own bodily functions. She now had to have someone stay with her 24 hours a day.

If that couple had not had the kind of committed love that's based first on a personal relationship and a commitment to Jesus Christ and second, on a love that's based on a commitment to each other, the marriage never would have lasted. In fact, a large percentage of the marriages where a spouse has MS, the other spouse leaves them. The other spouse won't stay committed to the constant care and the continual physical, psychological and mental changes that continue to occur.

Please hear me carefully - those two people are not heroes. They are not super-saints or super-Christians. They will be the first to tell you that they are not super Christians. Those two people are normal, ordinary people, empowered by the Love of God and a love for each other, to do what the world considers beyond normal and extraordinary.

I know this for a fact - because that woman, that beautiful young lady who will never walk again, who can't even feed herself, is Lynda Langerfeld - my wife. She's not a hero. I'm not a hero. We're children of God, doing what the children of God are supposed to do. Doing what His children are called to do. Doing what God expects of every man and every woman who make a vow before God on their wedding day.

Quite often, Hollywood will portray a "hero" sacrificing his life for his "heroine" in a film. In the world's eyes, he's a hero. In God's eyes, he's an ordinary man making an extraordinary sacrifice that every Christian who's committed to his spouse ought to make. Sacrificial, Committed Love is the rule, not the exception. We're not super-saints, we're not heroes when we're being faithful and committed to our mates. We're doing what God has called every husband and wife to do since the beginning of time

_Chris_

Lord of the Sunshine..

He's the Lord of the sunshine,
the Lord of the rain.
He's the Lord of the good times,
the Lord of the pain.

He's the Lord of the mountain,
the Lord of the sea <& stars =) >
He's the Lord of the music,
the Lord of the children,
He's the Lord of.. you and me..

_chris_

Thanksgiving

Nissi had a refreshing retreat from the wonderful place of Bintan. I guess it is a cell retreat that has been long overdue.One of the memorable things that happen during the trip is the restoration of thanksgiving and praise.

I notice that living in Singapore encourages a spirit of complaining. Singaporeans love to complain. Our eyes are fixed on the negative things. We put these frustrations so close to our eyes that it blocks out other things. Our perspective becomes hindered and we miss the complete picture of what is going on.

It is good to relook at this bad habit. We need to restore the spirit of thanksgiving. Instead of complaining, we should give thanks. It is also interesting to note that complain and thanksgiving is mutually exclusive. We cannot both complain and give thanks at the same time.

Perhaps it is time to turn the things that are frustrating to things that we thank God for. For example, a new task can be interpreted as an opportunity to increase skills and experience, instead of looking at it as an ‘arrow’. Maybe, an unfavorable circumstance in the office can be a platform to show your ‘salt and light’ testimony to your colleagues. Maybe, it is time to thank God for the weather instead of complaining about it.

Thanksgiving also serve a greater purpose. It is God’s will for us to give thanks in all circumstances (1Ths5:18). Also, in a practical manner, thanksgiving helps us to be joyful. When we give thanks, we put on a smile and become joyful and appreciative. This is clearly much better to always complaining and becoming frustrated or worried.

I thank God that the retreat has reminded us the need to be thankful and always fill our hearts with appreciation instead of mindless complains.

-ed-