Of family

Of my family, to be exact. Thought of them as I was looking at my paycheck for the week.

I thought of Mum.

As the eldest of 8 siblings (during the times when family planning is unheard of), the family looked up to her to bring in the money. Mum has to grow up fast i suppose. She came out of Fairfield Girls School as a teenager and start taking on jobs. What kind of jobs? All kinds. Mum told me she started going to the lonkangs to pluck(is this the right word?) kankongs. She helps out in the market washing veggies. In the prime of her youth, I think she worked mostly in the food and beverages industry. I suspect she picked up her good culinary skills from there.

Mum knows nothing about dollar-cost averaging or picking blue chip stocks, but she has enough wisdom to know that it is crucial for her 3 children to have a good education, so that they can have the kind of life she never knew. And she will keep on working until this vision comes to pass. At the age of 65 today, she is still working, as a cleaner near home. Mum is a resilent woman, and for that and so much more, I love her.

I thought of Sis.

Sis comes off as petite and mild-mannered. She is the kind of woman that will fade away in a crowd. While she is obviously not as old as Mum (still 27 and available, hee), she also graduated from the school of hard knocks i suppose. University was a struggle for Sis, and the working world has proven to be a challenge as well. But guess what, Sis is special in our family. I recalled how she took care of me and Bro when we were young and our parents were working in Malaysia. We used to hate her for scolding and discipling us, but we know she loves us. She was like a mini-mum in primary school, getting us to bed at 10pm, waking us up, fetching us from school etc.

Sis is not the most financially-savvy person you will meet, but she knows enough. She understands the importance of being debt-free, especially for our family. However difficult work was, she grinded through and paid off her education loan in less than 2 years. I think Sis is a resilent woman as well.

And I thought of Bro.

Bro is your typical high-achiever guy. He is athletic, strong and competitive, yet with a certain charisma that draws people to him. It doesnt harm that he is good-looking as well. Unlike the ladies of the house, i think Bro is a smart rather than hard worker. I grew up wanting to be just like Bro. You know, the younger sibling syndrome sort of thing. I recalled certain tough moments in his life: a close shave with death, big family fight, big physical fight with yours truly, huge break-up etc. But he always came out stronger. Perhaps more skeptical about ideals and dreams, but he lost none of his fight.
Bro also have to sacrifice to make ends meet for the famly. He contemplated signing on the army to help out with the bills. Eventually he took on a phyisio scholarship though it was not exactly his passion then. Knowing how difficult it can be to work and study at the same time, he will always ask me if i needed money. Even now in Australia alone, he still ask the same thing once in a while.

Then I thought of Dad.

I have faint memories of Dad. His bankruptcy meant he can only stay in Malaysia for the most part of my life. We used to visit Dad during summer vacations, but finances and the soaring air ticket prices meant we rarely meet since my JC years. My last few conversations with Dad was mostly over the phone. Dad had a industrial accident few years back and passed away. I miss Dad.

I guess you can always associate the Chee family with finances in one way or another.It has been always a struggle for myself to see God as a providing father coming from such a background. Since young, I have always provided for myself in that sense. Working odd-jobs since secondary school has been a way of life (recently upgraded to Work and Travel USA, haha). Sometimes it is difficult to believe God for manna and quail when i am instinctively conditioned to find them myself.

But yes He can!

God, remind me not to strive when I feel that I am in lack. Remind me of your provision, that I have all of your inheritance. I am a heir of God and co-heir with Christ!