Why do we love?

The End of Year One

A story of God's faithfulness

I wanted to begin this post with "Wow time really flies." But I realised that would be a really unrealistic line. In fact, i think time crawled this first year in law. But on hindsight, I really thank God for His faithfulness. So many times I felt I had ended up in the wrong place, but every single time God showed His power and I experienced His awesome grace and faithfulness so much more than i ever had in my life!

I recall my heart skipped a beat when i saw online that I got into Law. I kinda had the feeling I was going to get in but deep inside I wasn't sure I wanted to put myself through all the stress that i knew a law student was going to be plagued with. I hated camps, but i signed myself up for the Orientation camp for Law and then the Freshman Camp for VCF.

Looking back, I saw how God's hand was really upon me all the way. At the VCF camp, i met seniors who shared so openly about their struggles and how they drew strength from fellow brothers and sisters on campus and that made me determined to join VCF. It also allayed some fears that i had about Uni :)

The first semester was really torturous for me.No one knew how hard we had to study, so everyone just 'chiong-ed'. It was a very humbling experience for me too. All my life, by God's grace, studies was never that tough for me. I never found a problem balancing studies and service. But into the third week of school, i began to find myself in a place where everyone is so intelligent and hardworking, and the weekly assignments and exams really placed a physical, mental and spiritual strain on me.

Towards the end of the first semester, I found myself 'losing steam', and it was also the time of my exams and also the youth camp! I tell you, i have never experienced that level of stress and anxiety before in my life. But it was because of my physical limitations that God really showed His power. Every morning I would wake up and claim that line from the song 'Hosanna' - "WHEN I SEE YOU I FIND STRENGTH TO FACE THE DAY". I have no idea how i survivied that stressful period of exams followed by youth camp, but all i know is that His awesome power sustained me through :)

Then came the VCF ANNTIC camp. Only 5 people from my CG turned up for the camp but it was truly amazing. 5 of us happened to sign up for the same Evangelism workshop and we all felt very inspired by it and God placed a burden on us to take steps to reach out to those in our school. So the idea of running the Alpha Course in school was birthed.

So Semester 2 began on a good note. I was very excited about the Alpha course. But every week was really a test of faith. No one knew how many people, if any at all, were going to turn up for Alpha. But amazingly every week, an average of 5 pre-believers would turn up to watch the video and ask questions. That really opened my eyes to the many souls that needed to be saved in law school. Behind the 'everything is cool' exterior is emptiness, uncertainty and questions, lots of questions.

But Sem 2 wasnt without its challanges. Though i learnt to pace myself in terms of studying, the Sem culminated in my Moots, which was my NO 1 fear for the entire Sem. Moots is when u go to the fake court in my school to present and defend your case in front of the Profs. I've shared this with many people. The route to my Moots was such a struggle, but i thank God for VCF friends who listened to my fears and complaints and kept reminding me to turn to God.

And the most amazing thing i have to thank God for this Sem is that my mooting partner got saved!!!!!!!! She accepted Christ during our Good Friday Service and has been attending church every week! I'm so humbled when i look at how God's timing is always perfect. In my mere human wisdom i had it all planned. i wanted to get my Moot's timer, also from VCF, to pray for her on the day of the moots and then hopefully she would feel the peace of God with her when she mooted and then i could slowly invite her to church. But God had it all planned (one step ahead of me!) and I'm just so humbled and full of praise! I think I wouldn't mind going through Moots again if I can get another soul saved :P

I could really sense God's peace when i mooted. I'm a horrible mooter i tell you, but all fear was gone when i went up to speak. Even my mooting partner said she felt peaceful when she mooted. This is definitely God at work! PTL!!!

Right after Moots was the exams. As usual, it was a long-drawn period of studying like 13-15 hours a day for two weeks and still feeling so unsure of everything. However, i really found strength from my fellow brothers and sisters in school. Every day during the 2 weeks, a group of us would set aside 30 mins to worship and pray together in school. That really helped me get my perspective right, and to be reminded that amidst all this crazy mugging, God is in control. And of course, getting crash courses from my smart friends during lunch time also helped me get a better understanding of my subjects haha!

Indeed, looking back, i can really see how God's hand has been guiding me along the past academic year. He placed various people at different times to encourage, inspire, and aid me along the way. It wasn't easy, and it isn't going to be. I don't know what the next three years is going to be like, but i'm assured of His faithfulness.

A friend said this to me, "At the end of my studies, I want to be able to say that I did something for Jesus in the place He has placed me in." I hope to be able to say that too. How about you?