Recently, I went to have breakfast at the small town coffee shop. The owner recognized us and asked for the photos we took of him and his wife a few months back in December. When he saw the prints, you can see that he was so happy and full of genuine joy. I mean it’s just three 4R prints that don’t cost a lot of money but honestly, the joy on his face was simply priceless. I’m sure he’s making a decent living and they’re doing okay but I realized that their joy is so overflowing that it also became part of my joy.

Happiness is a bar of soap, a good friend tells me. The more you try to grab hold of it, the more it will slip out of your grasp. How true when Reverend Anthony Loke shared with us that thirty years ago, the dream of 1-2-3-4-5; one wife, two kids, three-bedroom house, four-figure salary, five-figure bank account. Guess what is it now? Assuming one wife and two kids is pretty much the standard for Chinese Malaysians, we’ll probably be looking at three cars, four bedroom bungalow, five-figure salary and a six-figure bank account! 1-2-3-4-5-6! There’s no end to this rat race.

On this day, my birthday, I realized that I don’t need a lot of things, nor will birthday presents really bring me genuine joy. Like the hymn, “I seek the giver, not the gift”, I also know in my heart that I’ve already have the two greatest gifts I can ever own in this life. My friend, redeemer, God, savior who has given me eternal life and the most precious gift on earth, my darling, lover, wife, best friend and companion. Some people can say that surely I wouldn’t refuse a gift – and yes, while I would love a new car, a new DSLR or more lenses or a 30″ LCD monitor, those are just things. When I wake up in the morning and see my sleepy darling beside me, it’s just makes me feel so blessed. The Lord gives and takes away, but still I will say, blessed is the Name of the Lord.