Time Line

Tonight at LivingRoom I shared my 'time line' with the group - that included significant experiences, decisions and events that have brought me where I currently am in my spiritual journey. To prepare for it, I actually spent a few days thinking through my life and the significant times. It was actually quite an overwhemling experience.

Amongst other things, I shared about the followings:

My "conversion" story (how I first met God):
I was born into a Buddhist (with ancestor worship) family in Hong Kong. My parents brought me to a Christian primary school because they felt that Christian schools were better academically. Through religious education, I heard about the stories of Jesus, but Christ never meant much to me then. During grade five, I had a very high fever and was admitted to hospital. A couple from a nearby church came to do hospital visitation and witnessed to me, I really sensed God's love in a way that I had not before, so I accepted Jesus as my Saviour and Lord on that day, while I was still very sick. That night my life changed, and it has never gone back :)

My Call to mission:
In Aug 1987 I came to live in Melbourne, and God blessed me with a church family where I was discipled and grew up spiritually. In May 1994 during a missions conference God led me to serve Him through a sermon. That moment I was moved to tears, and I responded to God’s call and committed myself to His service. In July of the same year, God spoke to me again through the great grandson of Hudson Taylor, who came to Melbourne to share a series of meetings titled “I commit my life to you”--- this was when I joyfully responded to God saying : “LORD, may you use my life for Your purposes”.
However, as God had declared “My thoughts are not your thoughts”, and throughout the next few years after that my life was turned upside down and chaos was everywhere and my heart was shattered by various crises. Nevertheless, I can see how God has used these experiences to make me the person I am today. I learned that the most difficult times are the ones in which God seems to be most at work in my life, strengthening my weak spots, comforting my hurts, and drawing me to greater dependence on Him.
On the New Year’s Eve of 2000, I had an opportunity to reflect upon my life. On this very night, I asked God for direction in the new millennium. The Lord’s Word came to me through Isaiah 6:5, saying “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us ?” I felt really unworthy, but was reminded of my commitment to serve Him with my life. Through the touching of the Holy Spirit, I responded to God “Here am I. Send me !”. The Lord then sent me to Tabor Bible College, where I did a degree in Mission Studies. Now I am working in mission mobilization with World Team Australia, where I desire to promote Christ's cause by mobilizing a generation of young people into missionary services.

I reckon the preparing and the telling of timeline is an invaluable exercise, as it allows people to revisit moments they had put aside, and it is enlightening not just for those listening but for those sharing as well. It was an awesome experience for me personally because as I actually sat down and put all the important moments and stepping stones together to see how God has led me thus far, I felt so thankful that God had been watching over me all these years, even though there were some really tough and difficult times of my life. It was also a real privilege to have my own journey heard by people in my community who are sharing the journeys with me.