More to life

I'm still getting used to the life here in Perth. The pace here is generally slower. People do not rush on the road nor at work, neither do they walk as fast as me. Here in Australia, you just have to be patient and

The sun is scorching but it's less humid than Singapore. You don't really perspire but the heat is just as bad enough.
What I really like about Perth is that people here are very friendly. A stranger will just smile or greet you when you pass them by. Priority seats on the trains are always occupied by the elderly, preggys or handicapped people, never abled ones.
I love the sceneries too. It's breathtaking to gaze upon a starlit night, something you can never see in Singapore. I love the beaches too and today, my church friends Andrew and Linda brought me and Maj to Cottesloe beach.



There were alot of people swimming and basking in the summer rays. Well basically, they were enjoying life. It's quite strange to see such a big crowd on a Thursday. Makes me wonder don't Aussies have to work at all?
On the way back home, I saw alot of quaint cottages and nice houses. It's quite a common sight here. I was daydreaming how nice it would be to have afternoon tea with muffins at the front porch and enjoy life slowly that way.
In the car, we were talking about how people climb the career ladder to have that lucrative income. The higher you're on top of the career ladder, the more difficult it is to say it's enough.
Andrew commented, "there's more to life." I pondered on this sentence for quite a while.

Indeed, there's more to life than the houses we live in, the cars we drive, the amount of money we make, the warm fuzzy feeling of sitting at a nice quaint cottage sipping tea and enjoying this life. Although it's not wrong to enjoy what God has given us but if things on earth become our idol, it is not what God intend.
I'm reminded of the first question in the Westminister Catechism. It asks "what it the chief end of man?" and the answer, "man's chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy Him forever."
I'm thankful I learnt a little lesson from an outing to the beach today.

Yea, there's more to life. Oh Lord, help me be homesick for heaven.

Quietness

I can watch this all day. Love the tranquility.

A time for everything

I didn't fall immediately to sleep yesterday night even though I was really tired and my eyes were heavy. I thought about my colleagues, my patients and my two and a half years in the paediatric ICU. I've learnt so much there. There were the valuable nursing skills to the medical knowledge. But one thing I've gained the most is to know that life is precious and at the same time, precarious. I've learnt to appreciate the people I love even more. I'd seen countless children afflicted with pain and suffering. Some passed on while some lived on to tell the story. I often marvelled at their tenancity and courage toward life. It makes me want to "run the race and fight the good fight."
It was sad to leave this place and the people whom I had laughed, cried and worked with. There were some children whom I've haven't seen them got well. There were some people whom I have not asked for their forgiveness. There were also some people whom I have not told them that they have a special place in my heart. But there's a time for everthing and and a time for every matter under heaven. There's a time to search and give up, a time to keep and throw away. I may never be back here again but all the memories and lessons I'll always bring them with me wherever I go.
While clearing my locker after work, I peeled down this little card I pasted way back on my first day of work.



This will be my prayer still for as long as I'm a nurse.