Ministering couple
A few months after I was baptized, my parents split up. My mother and I left the church. If not for Brother and Sister Ralph Showalter I would not be in Church today. This loving couple consistently visited us, and lovingly ministered to our family. There were times when they visited us several times a month, bringing us a birthday cake or a plate of my favourite cookies.
Christmas Party
One year they invited us to the Branch Christmas party. I arrived early for the party. As I entered the Bukit Timah Chapel, I met an old friend, Elder Jeffery Lim who was then serving his mission in Singapore. We talked, and he invited me to meet him every Friday afternoon, after school. That was the beginning of my journey back to Church. I was lucky to have patient teachers and leaders who guided me.
My return to Church story says that things did not happen by chance or coincidence. Everything that happened to me had a purpose and it was by divine design.
Should have died but did not
If you still think my return to the church was a coincidence, let me share some other near-death experiences. When my mother was in labour her water bag broke. It took three days before the doctor started inducing but I was too big and he had to do a C-Section. I was nearly run over by a bus, and almost drowned three times in different swimming pools. My mother reminds me often that my life is special and that the Lord has a purpose for me. I am grateful that I am only a little crazy. I could have died, but by divine design, I am still alive. My life is a living testimony that God lives and He is watching over me.
Our family by divine design
How did you become a member of the church? Was that a coincidence? Or how did you meet your spouse? I won’t tell you how I met my wife but suffice to say that ours was a whirlwind romance. After three days I knew that she was the one who could endure my craziness, and keep me in check. We are happily married with three children. Our oldest daughter, Nora is now married with a four-month old baby boy. How our daughter Nora met her husband Elijah is also by divine design.
Elder Ronald A. Rasband said “Our lives are like a chessboard, and the Lord moves us from one place to another—if we are responsive to spiritual promptings. Looking back, we can see His hand in our lives.”
Elder Neal A. Maxwell explained: “None of us ever fully utilizes the people-opportunities allocated to us within our circles of friendship. You and I may call these intersectings ‘coincidence.’ This word is understandable for mortals to use, but coincidence is not an appropriate word to describe the workings of an omniscient God. He does not do things by ‘coincidence’ but … by ‘divine design.’”