The Journey ~ Be Thankful.....

My heart was in tears when I saw 'N' at the food centre that I frequent regularly. He is now a waiter there, limping and serving food. He looked pitiful.

 ‘N’ used to be my classmate in primary school from P1 to P3. He sat next to me and often assisted me in my school work. Not only was he smart, he was also active and good looking, boyish Indian Muslim look.

We lost touch after Primary school and I met him again in 2007 when I was working at Novena. I remembered a handsome man, smoking outside the office building. He called out my name and I was surprised that he even could recognize me let alone, remember my name after all these years. 

We spoke and I told him I was married with 1 son, while he told me he was still single. He also told me that he was a plain clothes policeman. Happy that he was doing well, I didn’t think much of the meeting till I met him again at Masjid Mydin a few years later. He was still looking OK.

Back to my story on N working at the food center. Hubby told me that N has got into an accident and he had a head injury. He never went back to normal after the accident, and some would say he was abit ‘SOT’ up there. He lost his job and had difficulty finding another stable job. He often would flare up in public and also became depressive.

My heart just sank. I remember a healthy, smart and good looking sweet boy. But now I see a puffed up limping man who is serving food to others. Being a waiter is a noble job, one that requires speed and patience. It’s just not how I picture N to be.....It’s just not him.

There is a lesson to be learnt from this. 

No amount of success in one’s studies can guarantee an easy life, if not with the will of God. And it does not mean if the child is smart, he will live an easy life.

Sometimes, as parents, we push our kids too hard, and even set High expectations. Its fine to do that but when we end up being Not Thankful for their achievement, its means that we are not one that is thankful. 

There is this lady whose son scored 230 in aggregate for his PSLE and she said she was angry cos if he had studied harder, he could have gotten 240 at least... Like WUT?? seriously Not Thankful right...? How about being Thankful and Happy instead?

The crux is to pray hard that all efforts will be blessed and the path through this world is filled with ease despite the obstacles.

Not being successful is school does not mean you will have a bleak future, vice versa, success in school, does not guarantee a bright one.