Recently, my mum passed on at a ripe old age of almost 95 years. She was a strong, independent woman who was determined to bring up her two daughters alone. She was just a young, beautiful woman in her late twenties then.
More than half a century ago, her husband was caught red-handed with some other woman. Their marriage ended in divorce. I was too young to understand anything then. Through the years, bits and pieces came together – adultery, horror stories of instructions to just forget about me, who was born premature. She was asked to just put me in a shoe box and bury me. I was horrified when I heard that. Mum chose not to remarry for her two daughters' sake. She chose the tough road in life. As for me, now I understand why I am alive – the God who formed me in my mother’s womb indeed has plans for me.
I discovered what it was to have a father’s love when I became a Christian as a teenager. God became my heavenly Father – One that I could pour my heart out to, receive comfort and wisdom when I go through tough times. However, life did not become a bed of roses. The struggles were there even though my maternal grandma took us in to live with her.
Now, as a retired senior who has just said her last farewell to her mother, all the preparations for this day as well as spending her last few months with her has enlightened me much about life. We must value people today for they may be gone tomorrow. When we are tired in our journey of life, we need to remind ourselves that going downhill is easy but we must not give up because we are going uphill again.
So, during her wake services, I played her favourite Hokkien song, ‘Come Hold My Hand’ and also a video for all present to reflect on life. The gist of it highlighted a few things: The road to success will not be done without the help of others. There is the guidance of teachers, the understanding of friends, the provocation of enemies and the support of the family. Each of us may be different in stature, character or abilities. But there is a purpose for every life. Life is not easy; so, cherish every moment as you live.
In the words of Oliver Goldsmith, life is a journey that must be traveled no matter how bad the roads and accommodations are. My mum has journeyed well. She has moved from the earthly to the eternal. May each one of us journey on with courage, patience and wisdom in times of challenges and uncertainties.
God bless Malaysia!
Mei Wong (mwrejoice@gmail.com) is a content creator under the Newswav Creator programme, where you get to express yourself, be a citizen journalist, and at the same time monetize your content & reach millions of users on Newswav. Log in to creator.newswav.com and become a Newswav Creator now!
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