oooo, heaven is a place on earth!

I’ve always refrained from posting long diary entries on my blog. A visual person, I don’t like too many words chunked together. But I can’t resist posting a really long one today….yesterday was such an amazing day….

4 Dec 2005 (Sunday) – a very significant day for many people. To Daniel & Charlotte, it’s their wedding day. To Standard Chartered bank, it’s their Singapore Marathon 2005. To Ma, myself, Nette Nette & thousands of other runners, it’s the 1st time we’ve run 10 km. But most of all, to me, it’s a day when I tasted heaven – a day when I experienced miracle after miracle & saw what goes on in heaven.

First, 4 Dec ’05 was a day of miracles. Woke up early in the morning to run in the fun marathon. Ma drove there and on the way, we saw mighty lightning, so we prayed there’d be no rain. There wasn’t – Miracle #1. Ma planned to park the car in this free carpark near the starting line, though he knew many others would park there too. So we prayed for an empty lot. (This isn’t the miracle yet…) Well, we joined other drivers in parking illegally in the carpark, & prayed that we wouldn’t get summoned. That’s Miracle #2. I mean, if the gahmen wanted to increase his revenue, he only needed to send 2 aunties/uncles to copy some license plates.

I’d been down with flu for the past 3 days & I was so scared of running, coz I’ve heard stories of flu-ey people who collapsed & died while running coz they had the flu. My cell group prayed for my recovery, I prayed, Ma prayed, but on Saturday I was still not well. I was SO disappointed coz I really really wanted to run this race, the 1st race of my life & which I’d thought I wouldn’t be able to complete but realised that I am able. So Saturday afternoon, I was really crying out to God for a miraculous healing. Saturday evening, no change. During youth service in church there were so many people dancing while worshipping God, & I thought, “I wished I could – but I’m sick, & I need to rest so that I can run tomorrow….” Then I decided, “o what the heck – God deserves more than that!” & guess what, after dancing in the service & later with the Touchkidz group (I was leading worship), I felt so much better after all that sweating! Miracle #3.

So on Sunday, I was really thankful tho wary of overexerting myself. So I was praying before the run, & practically throughout the run, that I wouldn’t drop dead, faint, vomit or injure myself. The run wasn’t easy, coz I wasn’t in top form. I groaned inwardly when I saw the 4km mark (Hah? 4km only ah?), the 6, 7 & 8km marks. I was ready to just walk the last 2km, & I could easily have done that, but my goal was to run the whole distance, w/o walking. So I kept my mind focused on why I was running the race – to develop physical & spiritual perseverance & discipline, as a symbol of myself running towards God. (“I won’t turn back & go their way, I’m running after You” , “And I will run to You, to Your words of truth… Yes I will run the race, till I see Your face’ , “Those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles, they will run and not grow weary.”) And Miracle #4 is that I completed the race immediately after I recovered from flu, running, w/o stopping or walking, and w/o injuries. Timing? 1 hour 15 minutes – shorter than the 1 hour 30 minutes which was my target.

4 miracles! I’m sure miracles are made in heaven for us on earth…. Sing with me & Madonna… “Oooo, heaven is a place on earth!”

Looking back now, I’m really glad God allowed me to fall sick just before the race (which I was bitter about while I was sick). Coz if I was in top form I’d have wanted to clock a really good timing, in which case I wouldn’t have waited for Ma. But because I was weak, I was running at the same pace as him. And he waited for me instead, pacing himself according to my speed. And God said to me, “See lah, people wait for you willingly. Would YOU have waited if you were in his shoes? In fact, do you bear with those who are weaker than you? Coz I did. My grace is sufficient for you.”


Finishing the race was such a glorious experience, just like going to heaven. Approaching the finishing line, I saw this crowd in front, stretching 1km ahead of me across the whole road, all running. That’s what it must be like when we go to heaven! All eager to cross that “line”, ignoring our aches & weariness, determined to finish the race, knowing we WILL finish the race, knowing we’ve come too far now to give up. Supporters on the side of the road cheering us on. I imagine angels and other saints would also be cheering us on toward heaven. And the amazing emcees, cheering us on tirelessly for hours. I’m sure in heaven, it’s Jesus who’d do that, standing with the Father & the Holy Spirit – my biggest supporters. How grand that would be! What a picture of beauty! When I crossed that finish line together with Ma, I got a vision of entering heaven. You gotta run such a big race to know what it feels & looks like.

After the race, I went home, showered, changed & went for Daniel’s & Charlotte’s wedding. I just love attending church weddings – I’m always very touched & encouraged by them, much more so than when I attend wedding dinners. The difference between church weddings & wedding dinners, is that in church weddings, the VVVIP is God, and the Father’s love is so real, so in-your-face. The first few church weddings I attended, I was touched when I saw the love between the couples. Lately though, it’s God’s love that touches me. And I realize, the couple can celebrate their true love for each other because they know what true love is, and they know what true love is because they’ve experienced it from the Father. And when I saw Charlotte resplendent in pure white from top to toe, God told me once again, “I’ve clothed YOU in pure white too!” Yeah, over the past few years as I walked with Him, He’s removed a lot of my ugly spots – my disappointments & hurts, my chao kuan – I wouldn’t like to be the me that I was 10 years ago, or 5 years ago…. Or 1…. Heaven has arrived!

Heaven was so real during the dinner too. Friends and relatives of the couple talked about how sincere & genuine Daniel is, how closely-knit Charlotte’s family is, how loving Charlotte is. And I know they’re such wonderful people because they put God first in their lives. The power of a godly family! And the power of God!

Yeah, so like I said, 4 Dec ’05 was a day I tasted heaven. From miracles, to a vision of heaven, to the evidence of God’s love & power. As I thought of all these before I slept that night, I realised another aspect of heaven I experienced that day. It’s this constant communication with God throughout the day, talking to Him & hearing from Him, as if He’s right beside me the whole day. And He is! (“The Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1:9)