Last Tuesday, after I dropped off my children at school, I went to do some grocery shopping. I only found one item that I wanted to buy at this particular shop but there was a queue with only one checkout till. In front of me was this couple - the woman kept going back and forth on the shop floor while the man queued. They discussed between themselves about £60 of shopping and how they would divide up the payments. Anyway, I was thinking they've got lots of shopping and I've only got one item so I was wondering if they would be so kind as to offer to let me go through ahead of them, but no offer from either of them as their minds were too occupied. When their turn came, the man and the woman were busy packing their shopping into which and whose bags etc and then they paid and left. Now it was my turn and I looked near the window of the checkout till a shopping bag full of soft white rolls then I remembered those could possibly belong to the couple that was leaving so I quickly called out to them, "Excuse me, excuse me, are these (white rolls) yours?" "Oh yes, they are. Thank you so much!" the couple said unreservedly.
Now I know why I had to be "delayed" and not offered to jump the queue so I could notify the couple and save them the trip of having to come back to the shop again.
Beginning of this year, I decided to bring my children to a stay and play session at a community centre. We were slightly late so we missed the earlier bus as my younger son was walking quite slowly. So we got on the later bus, not long after we had sat down at the back of the bus, my eldest son Jean-Luc was so sharp and alert that he said to me, "Mummy, there's a phone ringing." I thought it was the bus driver's phone or some kind of alert call for the bus driver. Jean-Luc then pointed to me and said, "Mummy, there's something light up in between those chairs and it's ringing." I couldn't see anything from where I was seated so I had to move my body and head near to Jean-Luc then walked down to the front and checked the seats and true enough a smartphone was tucked in between the small gap of the seats several rows in front of us. I quickly answered the call and told the caller yes I got his wife's phone and he could come and meet us at the community centre. So the man came and picked up the phone from me and was very grateful.
On that particular Tuesday, the bus was quite empty as we were the only three passengers seated on the lower deck of the bus upon boarding so thank God we were on the bus that day and missed the earlier one so the man and his wife would get to reunite with their smartphone.
Ecclesiastes 3
11 He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men, yet they cannot fathom the work that God has done from beginning to end.
12 I know that there is nothing better for them than to rejoice and do good while they live
In January this year, Jean-Luc attended a new school (H) after we withdrew him from his first previous school (C). His new headteacher (of school H) spoke to me about moving my youngest son Janick who was in nursery at that time at a Christian school (BJR) to the same school as Jean-Luc as they greatly encouraged that, saving me the time and hassle and it's good for siblings to be in the same school. I told the headteacher that in fact BJR is our first choice, being a Christian school as we are Christians and Jean-Luc is on the waiting list trying to get into BJR so the headteacher tried to convince me that his school is also based on Christian values, etc. Well my husband and I had the conversation a few times that we might eventually have to make the tough decision of having to withdraw Janick from the Christian school to join his brother Jean-Luc in school H when I eventually return to work if making two journeys to two different schools prove too much for us. But in my heart, I waited on God. Jean-Luc also prayed every night that he would get a place in BJR, joining his younger brother as he too likes BJR school a lot. So we persisted and we continued to fetch our children to two different schools from January this year to July. We kept trusting in God that all will work out together for our good. Jean-Luc didn't get a good school report card from his previous school C but he finally got a very good report card from school H at the end of his primary school year 2. Praise the Lord! A day after Jean-Luc finished his school term for the year in July with school H, we received a call from BJR, his first choice school which he had been on the waiting list for more than one and a half year, the school was happy to offer a place for Jean-Luc in year 3 starting in September. What wonderful news! We were told so many times by the BJR school administrator over the years that Jean-Luc might not be able to get a place at BJR at all throughout his primary school education due to the long waiting list but God always comes through and He is faithful to answer our prayers and give us the best. Jean-Luc told me that now he's happier and feels safe in BJR. We too can feel the peace and the presence of God in the school.
With all the delays faced by Jean-Luc in trying to get into BJR turned out to be a delay with a purpose for God that now I have the experience based on my personal encounter with 3 different schools and how they are run and managed that I'm able and equipped to advise other parents. I have helped lots of parents by giving them advice about schools and they couldn't be happier and grateful for my advice. The delays in life with a purpose from God will benefit us all ultimately.
So don't be disheartened if our prayer requests get delayed, because it's delayed with a purpose and God's timing is perfect. Let us continue to trust in Him and, in His time, He will make all things beautiful for us.
In His Time
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wo-rGzx2OZk
In His time, in his time
He Makes all things beautiful
In His time
Lord, Please show me every day
As You're teaching me Your way
That You do just what you say
In Your time.
In Your time, in Your time
You make all things beautiful
In Your time
Lord, My life to you I bring
May each song I have to sing
Be to You a lovely thing In Your time
Lord, please show me every day
As You're teaching me Your way
That You do just what you say
In Your time.
In Your time.
In Your time.
“But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint” (Isa. 40:31)
Psalm 37:23
23 The steps of a man are ordered by the LORD
who takes delight in his journey.
24 Though he falls, he will not be overwhelmed,
for the LORD is holding his hand.
1 Samuel 2:9
He guards the steps of His faithful ones.
Saturday, 7 October 2023
God Can Turn Our Misfortune Into Blessing
By Josephine Lim Weston
Saturday, 7th October 2023
On 3rd June this year, we met with an accident. A car behind us rammed into our car on a busy highway with a very loud bang. The back of our car was badly damaged but thank God none of us was injured and neither the driver and passengers in the car behind us. As the driver came out from his car to show us his car insurance policy documents, I could see a big terrifying devilish tattoo almost covering his entire right arm. The driver and his two adult sons were pleasant and well mannered. After we took down his insurance details, we left the SOS emergency lane and soon made our way to the next service station. When we were there I could see quite a number of people with satanic and devilish tattoos on different parts of their bodies. Some even wore a devil T- shirt. Prior to the accident, I didn't realise or see much of those tattoos but this has prompted my heart to pray for these people.
Due to the car accident, while waiting for the insurance companies to sort out our compensation, etc we had to stall our plan to have our extension decorated and other jobs required for the house as we were told by the insurance company that due to the severity of the damage to our car most likely it's now a write-off and unsafe to drive it any further. So we looked online to see how much it would cost to buy a car and wow the car prices have gone up so much and are very expensive! Cars that have higher mileage than ours are more expensive than our car and there is no way that the insurance company would compensate us enough to buy a car. Anyway we prayed and kept trusting God for the best outcome from this unfortunate incident. In the meantime, the insurance company provided us with a hired car until compensation was reached.
While waiting for almost 2 months to hear back from our insurance company for compensation, we decided to call our insurance company to inform them we are going away to visit our family the next day, as a result they hurried the process and got us the compensation and told us that our car is not a write-off and they will compensate us for the repair. Within a few days we received the promised compensation into our account and further compensation for the supposed value of our car.
So all that's left to do once we got back from our holiday was to have the car repaired. I thank God for my wise husband as I was very tempted to get the car repaired while we were visiting family during our 2 weeks holiday as we saw there were several bodywork repair garages around but my husband said if there's problem after the repair it will be a hassle and impossible to drive the car back to the garage in Stoke-on-Trent from our London home.
Back home in London, there was this car bodywork repair company that demanded that we give him £150 upfront as an inspection fee to take a look at our car to give us an exact quotation. So we did some research and found this should not be the case. When we returned from visiting family in Stoke-on-Trent, I found on google search a few more bodywork companies but two companies with very good customer reviews said to my husband they do not cover our area hence we are left with one company on the list and he was happy to repair our car and gave us the quotation straightaway upon seeing the pictures of the damage and he arranged to repair our car on 4th September. The quotation given is a few hundred quid cheaper than the other quotation we received thus far but it's still way cheaper than buying a car.
On Thursday 24th August, which was my younger son Janick's birthday, I was very busy the entire morning trying to untangle the rainbow yarn that my eldest son Jean-Luc had tangled all around after playing with it. It was a very time consuming task and an eyesore to me that I was really determined to get it untangled once and for all and get this yarn off my to-do list. It was past 1pm when my husband (who was working from home that day) suggested that we go out and have a meal together at a cafe in a supermarket. So we did after I got the yarn untangled successfully (otherwise I usually prefer to cook or make a simple lunch for everybody). After we had our lunch and did some shopping, while exiting the supermarket, some newspaper on the newsstand caught my eye so I decided to pick one up. The next day in the late evening before I went to bed, I decided to read the newspaper and I saw at the back few pages of the newspaper there were several bodywork repair companies being advertised so I looked them up on the internet and read the reviews and told my husband about one of the companies and we called the company the next morning and coincidentally we actually wanted to bring the kids to Crystal Palace Park and Farm that day and the repair shop is near to the place. While we were there, the owner of the garage looked at our car and said it's not severe and easily repaired, no new parts required and we should get our car back in three days and gave us a quotation straight away at a fraction of all the quotations we have received thus far. God is so good and that the repair work done was very good and we're impressed. Praise the Lord!
The compensation we received from the insurance company due to the "unfortunate" accident turned into a blessing that we can use the money to pay for the car repair and the balance to pay for the decorations on our house and revamp our back garden. If not because of my cheeky oldest son who played with the yarn and got it all tangled, we wouldn't have gone to the cafe that day and I wouldn't have picked up the newspaper with the contact of the good auto bodyworks repair company. See how our faithful, loving and very good God can turn our misfortune into blessing!
Ever since my eldest son Jean-Luc started nursery and into his primary school, school has always been a tough experience for him. He had difficulty settling into his first former school C, which failed to provide him with the relevant support. They gave him all sorts of labels and biased against him due to his condition which they failed to diagnose. Jean-Luc was very active and easily distracted. All the teachers admitted he is smart but lacked focus, concentration and needed constant reminder every now and then with other behavioural issues. Due to the discriminatory and unkind treatment Jean-Luc was receiving from his first former school from nursery to year 2 as they were so unwilling to seek adequate help and support for him to cope with his behaviour (the teachers, deputy head teachers and head teachers expected us parents to be the magician that whilst we're at home we could raise the magic wand and make Jean-Luc behaved himself at school), my husband and I decided surely we will never ever enrol our youngest son Janick into the same school C. So we enrolled Janick into a very good Christian school nearby.
Janick is very happy and loved by all his teachers in the Christian school (BJR). He loves going to school. Jean-Luc also wanted to join his brother in the same school but unfortunately he had been on the waiting list for more than one and half years and there were several people on the waiting list in front of him and even the school administrator told us all the time whenever we called to check from time to time, she said Jean-Luc might not be able to get into BJR at all throughout his primary years due to the long waiting list for his particular year. Jean-Luc prayed everyday that he would get a place in BJR and he even said to me, "I want everyone from my previous school to come to BJR as well." He said to me further, "Does it mean if nobody leaves BJR, l'll never get a place in BJR? I don't want anybody to leave BJR." I said if that's the case, I don't know what to do except to pray and see what God can do for you. So Jean-Luc was stucked in his school (C) for a year while waiting for a space in BJR but it got too much for him that it's affecting his emotions and mental health as well as pressure from his school that we decided to withdraw him from the school to homeschool him. He's much happier and more relaxed. He was getting better with his education too until we were told and recommended a potential good school not too far from Janick's school. So we applied and Jean-Luc was offered a place there and started attending the school H beginning of this year. It was a fresh new start for Jean-Luc and this was what he needed: a new environment, new teachers and friends. He got a bad report from his previous school C but he got a very good report card from school H at the end of term in July this year. A day after Jean-Luc completed year 2 in school H, I received a phone call from BJR school that they are happy to offer a place for Jean-Luc and we're over the moon when we heard this as it's a miracle that this has finally happened to Jean-Luc after all his faithful prayer to a very faithful God. So we thank God for all the misfortune that Jean-Luc faced with school C that both our children are now in a better school where they are properly educated and supported and Jean-Luc brought with him a very good report card from school H to BJR instead of a bad report card from school C. BJR even has breakfast club, many choices of after school clubs and twilight club cater for working parents so we can drop our children off early in the morning in school before school starts then go to work and go fetch our children after we finish work after normal school hours whilst school C has no breakfast and twilight clubs.
Do know whatever "misfortune" we might faced in life be it a car accident, unsupportive school, rejected job application or interview, rejected by a potential suitor or friends, missed bus or train, or whatever misfortune we might faced like a tangled yarn that I spent almost whole day trying to untangle will all lead us to better things and blessings God has in store for us. Trust in God and He will not let us down.
Romans 10:11
For the Scripture says, Everyone who believes on Him (God) will not be put to shame.
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.
Romans 8:28
28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are called according to his purpose.
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