Of Flu Bugs and Hungry Ghosts
It irks me that I have been croaking for the past 5 days. Yes, I’ve been bitten by the flu bug. And it took my voice as well. It’s not so much the fact that I can’t talk properly or audibly (yes I know it’s hard to believe that) but it’s the fact that I can’t sing that really irritates me.I went to see the doctor on Wednesday, after holding out for two days and rationalising that with the Festival of Praise coming up over the weekend, I want to regain my voice to be able to sing my heart out to the Lord. Wednesday’s choir practice was a “torture”. I sat through the practice hearing my awfully out-of-tune voice and worse still, I can’t reach the notes when it came to practising for the item on Aug 14. Oh yes, the item, please, Voice, come back to me…
The flu bug hit my office pretty bad. At last count, there are more sick people than healthy people, all smitten, excuse me, bitten by the bug. A colleague commented that as soon as she stepped into the office, she can almost feel the bugs swarming around her. So yea, I succumbed to having to visit the doctor, well, not exactly, because I’m thankful for not having to report for work. *grins*
I realise during this period of illness, I really miss singing. I sing before I go to bed. Just lying down there on my bed and humming some worship songs before I lull into lala-land. And interestingly, a choir leader taught us to lie flat on our back and choose one fast song and one slow song to sing. According to him, this way, you can really train your diaphragm because in that position (lying flat on the floor facing upwards), you find it more difficult to use your chest to sing. Well, guess what, I’ve been doing that all along, unknowingly, because I’ve always loved doing that. And I can’t sing these few days when I bathe. That’s also a torture for me. Well, my neighbours may beg to differ, of course. Singing praises and worshipping the Lord in the shower is so enjoyable! I no longer belt out David Tao or Jay Zhou (okay, only sometimes) but really, just singing praises. Sometimes, I realise I break into songs with words that just come to me out of the blue - it's such a spontaneous joyful feeling.
And it’s not just an emotional high, I disagree with that saying. You feel spiritually closer, and you feel so loved by the Lord. The choir leader I mentioned earlier also suggested that if we are free, we can visit Darlene Zschech’s website. She did a study on Psalms on her website, from Psalms 1. Of course, she hasn’t finished all of them, I think she’s only at Psalms 49 I believe. I’m going to start giving it a try. I love Psalms. If you realise, most of Darlene’s songs drew inspiration from Psalms. And who’s the author of Psalms? David! That’s right, the man God said, who is “after His own heart”. And you can see that in the words, feel it when he sings. I always picture this scenario in my head when David was being hunted by his own son and forced into hiding. Do you know he wrote some of his greatest Psalms during this period of so-called “darkness” in his life? David is truly a worshipper of God, and I want to be a worshipper after the order of David! Hallelujah!
Darkness, oh yes, speaking of which, we are in the seventh month again. Yucks! That hateful month where the Chinese believe the Gates of Hell are open and all the hungry ghosts come out and roam the streets for food. Of course, we Christians do not subscribe to this. And we shouldn’t! Because we are beacons of light, brothers and sisters! If the Holy Spirit is in you, pray tell me, you think any demon or ghost or spirit can come near you? Remember Jesus’s encounter with the most possessed man in the Bible? How the man begged Jesus to have mercy on him and how Jesus commanded the spirits to depart and they fled to possess the pigs and the pigs drowned themselves.
Hey, you know what! The same Spirit that in-dwells Jesus now dwells in you. Praise the Lord! But you know, I do agree that it’s hard not being affected by all that’s going around you. With people burning incense all over the place, “public” offering to idols, all the ge-tai performances to “hao xiong di”, it’s easy to fall into the belief that there are really evil spirits roaming around during the Hungry Ghosts month. Okay, I’m going to stun you with this statement. There ARE evil spirits roaming around. BUT they don’t come out only during the Hungry Ghosts month. In fact, they have always been around. Remember what Pastor Mark said about funerals? He shared that funerals, or rather, deaths, do attract evil spirits. That’s why the Chinese are so particular about people visiting others’ houses after they have just experienced a loss of their loved one or relative. You see, it is true. In the same manner, all this idol worship, offering of incense and food and what have you, all these pagan practices also attract these spirits, thus giving the impression that there are more such beings around during this fateful month, and helping to perpetuate the myth about “gates of Hell opening” and all.
Over lunch yesterday, I was appalled to hear my boss, who is a Christian, share with us that he has observed that the first day and last day of the Hungry Ghosts month are usually rainy days. Goodness! And another colleague added: “Hiyah, because the ghosts need to bathe themselves before they come out of Hell!” I was stunned, not so much as shocked but more of disbelief at the words that can come out of their mouths. Such ignorance and foolish words! Okay, maybe it’s meant to be a joke, chill right? Sure, but really, all this nonsense about Hungry Ghosts should not trouble you. Yes, we may feel the uneasiness in our flesh. I do feel the chill sometimes too, especially when I’m bathing alone late at night. C’mon I’m still human. With joss sticks and half-burned incense paper lying around the pavement, the thick acrid smell of burning incense in the air, it does feel creepy walking home sometimes. But you know what? They won’t dare come near you. Pray in tongues if you feel scared. By the way, praying in tongues is not the modern day substitute of flashing a wooden cross at any would-be spirits hor. You pray in tongues to nourish your inner man, to remind yourself who you are in Christ! And if you get the jitters during a shower, sing praises and worship Him! And remind yourself, the Holy Spirit is in you! Praise the Lord! Pity the one (me!) who has been trying to sing during my showers these few days but end up croaking instead! So rejoice and sing, Beloveds of Christ!
And if your colleagues tell you that the flu bug is caused by those evil spirits roaming around, well, you know what, you can laugh in his or her face and take heart that all the more, they would not dare come near you if that’s what they believe. Because CHRIST is IN YOU, THE HOPE OF GLORY! Amen?
posted by weiwen @ 11:55 AM
5 Comments:
I am sending this to clarify - I have this goofy friend who went to China wanting to share his faith and he forces everyone to send e-mails "in code" never using the words Jesus or God and here you are writing so openly, and I just know he is in some kind of espionage delusion that makes him feel more special, or something, and I just want him to grow up.
please see comment above after your last post. i forgot that Singapore is not exactly China
please see comment above after your last post. i forgot that Singapore is not exactly China. Typical American?
oh my goodness - you think i'm flirting with you, right? Actually, I'm too old for you, but just searching, hungrily for those true worshippers who are passionate for God. I desire to go to other countries to find such people. In America, there is now much godless thinking. Satan has tried to take over our culture. Did you know that now some people are getting into trouble for having home bible studies - IN AMERICA!? What next? See ACLJ for more info on American persecution of believers. So sad, so scary.
I also love to sing to the Lord, as you do, and when I can, I lead worship. I also love Darlene's "shout to the lord," and I just want to commend you for openly professing your love for God. You go boy! I just had to laugh because I know when you said "croak" you meant that your voice sounds like a frog, but in the states, when people say "croak" they mean die, or "pass away." You were, in our vernacular, saying, "I was dying..." Funny because I know you didn't know our word "croak" which is why cross cultural is fun.
Weiwan, I am now writing because in America we are entering the 10th month and I live in Minnesota where occultic observance is particulafly heavey. America! Now given to the occult, to satanic stuff. Anyway, what once seemed like an innocuous holiday, Halloween, has become a season of darkness and also all the way to December - this is rooted in ancient religion that began in England even befoer the Christian era. People are actually turning back to that.
Please pray for me, and I will for you, as this is a very dark time of year.
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