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By Sebastian Lim
What does it truly mean to be a Christian? Do we go out and proclaim that we are believers, to be more precise, Roman Catholics but at the slightest hint of tribulation, we become confused and run around like headless chickens?
Well, let me share with you a true account of what happened 11 years ago and how it had impacted my life greatly. The names may have been changed to protect the innocent but the very essence of this story has a profound lesson for all of us.
It was a hot July afternoon in 1996 and my beloved wife, June and I had the pleasure of the company of Simon and Sarah for lunch. After that scrumptious meal, we were discussing and debating on a wide array of issues, ranging from cooking to politics to being good Catholics. We also managed to finish a fine bottle of Pinot Noir, a favourite red wine of mine and then casually, Simon suggested that we visit her ailing niece Betty at the then old Tan Tock Seng hospital.
She has been warded for quite sometime and the doctors could not provide a relevant prognosis of her ailment as her temperature was swinging like a pendulum and sadly, she has gone into a "semi-coma". She would gain and lose consciousness and she could hardly utter a single word. She was not only a very pretty seven year-old child but was also well mannered and well liked by all who had cross her path.
On hearing this, both my wife and I decided that we should at least pay her a visit and perhaps offer our prayers. So, the four of us made our journey to the hospital, which was a short journey from my home and upon reaching her ward, we noticed that most of her family members were already there, with her mom sponging her burning forehead and dad trying his utmost best to make her speak.
As we approached her, I noticed that my wife was beginning to turn pale and then suddenly, like a bolt of lightning, out of the blue, she collapsed like a heap of cards. I managed to hold on to her. Simon quickly scurried off to get help.
A doctor doing his rounds appeared and with two nurses, wheeled my wife into the Accident and Emergency unit. While all this was happening, I could safely say that I was in a state of shock, as I could not comprehend what was happening around me.
I was there, in Tan Tock Seng hospital, to visit a little sick girl but now my wife is being treated in the A&E unit. Simon tried his best to cheer me up but all kinds of thoughts were running in my mind. Would my wife suffer the fate of this child? Would she need to be hospitalized? Why did she collapse without any warning?
I needed time to think and calm myself down. I did the next best thing. I made my way to the back of the hospital, where I found an open patch of grassland. And I still remember this vividly. I knelt down and I must have really said the prayer of my life. I implored for God's mercy and asked Him to heal all those who were afflicted in the hospital.
After spending about twenty minutes praying, I made my way back to the A&E unit and to my surprise once again, my wife was standing upright and she seemed to be well again. She told me that the doctor gave her a jab of sorts and within minutes, the numbness in her limbs went away and she felt very much reinvigorated. This is just simply astonishing. No one could offer any explanations for this.
We went to visit that poor girl one last time and all four of us even made a trip down to Orchard Road, to have a meal and do some shopping.
This whole episode was quickly forgotten until last year, after exactly 10 years, since that befuddling "adventure" at Tan Tock Seng hospital. I had joined a group of very enthusiastic Catholics, whose main intentions were to help all the troubled people whom we had been privileged to come across, be it in church, at the work place or the community at large and to do what we could to better improve their lives.
This group is also broken down into two sub-sections, the prayer and general support elements.
As the name suggested, the prayer section will do the obvious while the general support group would try to bridge people, from all walks of life and religions, to the correct and relevant institutions, where help could be obtained for their plights. I am part of the general support section.
After being a member for four years, it has been a humbling experience for me as I realized that there are so many troubled people out there, needing varying degrees of help, from the monetary to the psychological. Anyway, this would be a great story for another day but back to the story of Betty.
After one of our sharing sessions within the group, I learnt from the leader of the prayer section, rather coincidentally, that he had actually prayed over this poor little girl and his gift has enabled him to deduce that she was spiritually possessed. After a few "praying over sessions", she was well again and able to leave the hospital, after a lengthy stay. Simon had sought his help after all else has failed but Simon has never mentioned this to me at all.
Perhaps some things are best left unsaid although it still gives me the shivers when I contemplate what could have happened to my wife that fateful afternoon. And according to what my friend in the prayer section said, Betty began to show signs of odd behaviour after an outing one night and not long after that, she came critically ill.
As the medical doctors could not provide any solutions, her parents, both born and devout Catholics, became so desperate that they seek out the help of temple mediums, Malay bomohs and even Hindu priests, but of course, to no avail. The one thing, which they forgot to do, was to ask God for help. As he was narrating this story to me, you could see the sadness in his eyes because he could not fathom how devout Catholics could just forget about God in their hour of urgent need.
Frankly speaking, neither did I. Do we just go to mass on Sundays, observe the festive and obligatory occasions but when the test of our faith becomes a reality, we seek help from all other sources but not from the God, whom we claim to adore and worship?
How can we deepen our faith? Whom should we consult? There are no easy answers to all these questions but there is one thing, which we all could do, and that is to pray with all sincerity and earnestness. And never ever underestimate the power of a simple prayer.
I could testify to that because that's what I did at Tan Tock Seng hospital 11 years ago, when my beloved wife was suddenly incapacitated and truly with God's grace, it was just a moment of trauma and not a lifetime of torment.
So, how deep is your faith? |
