“… Now we see that God provided water for the Israelites, as well as quails and mana, so that they don’t have to be thirsty and hungry. God provides! …” That was the last lesson of Term One for my Sunday School Play Group class. Little did I know that Exodus 15-17, would be a lesson for me on that day too.
As I was packing up the classroom, I was alerted to a flat tire on my car. Filled with half disbelief and half curiosity, I made my way to verify the claim. When I reached the carpark, I was expecting to see the side profile of my car. Instead, I could hardly see my car, for it was now enveloped by a dozen and more church friends, several of whom were gesturing and what looked like strategizing on a plan. Amidst the crowd, I finally saw the front passenger tire, as flat as a pancake. Oh dear! And… my husband, Winston, was overseas!
What happened next, was a blessing to me, as I truly experienced God’s providence.
(I) There were three sets of tire pump volunteered by church friends;
(II) A couple of church friends deployed the pump to inflate my pancake tire sufficiently so that it could be driven to the nearby car workshop;
(III) Two guardians accompanied me to the car workshop to patch up the tire;
(IV) One kind guardian convoyed my car so as to ensure that my two daughters and I would reach our lunch destination safely.
Hallelujah! My heart simply swelled with tremendous gratitude!
Later that day, I asked my daughters if they were worried about the flat tire. Nonchalantly, they said they were not worried because the car was (in their words) “surrounded by so many church friends and surely the car would be fixed!” Hearing that they felt so safe and right at home with church, I couldn’t help but felt a sense of security and belonging as well.
As I reflected on this incident, I had a flashback. About two years ago, just before our family repatriated back to Singapore from the US, I cried during church service. At that time, church for our family was Woodsedge Community Church in Houston. I was overwhelmed because I already started to miss Woodsedge so much. Winston held my hand and told me gently, “It will be ok. Different church, same God”.
Winston was right. The same God has watched over our family and provided us with a home church to belong to, right here at BC. That day when I had a flat tire, God sent his angels to provide for my needs. Blessed are we, to be loved by the same God, no matter where we go.
P.S.: A big THANK YOU to Richard & Sally Chua, Jeremy Leong, Jonathan Poh, Lionel Oh, Alex Koh and Cerissa Cheok who have blessed me with your equipment and helping hand. I may not be able to identify every one of you, but I very much appreciate the “kampung spirit” from the bottom of my heart!
Claire Choy
