Honoring Aunties

Proverbs 14:31 “Whoever is kind to the needy honors God.” Every day I pray Proverbs 14:31 over a small group of people including our domestic helpers. One of them asked if she could speak with me yesterday morning. After sitting down in the basement, she started crying and unleashed a long string of frustrations that had been building up over the last week. Now we’ve gone through some traumatic events with our former domestic helpers. (One of them was even pimping a prostitution ring!) So I’m always a bit cautious about intentions and here I felt my defenses go up. But as I listened, I started to pray and God told me clearly to “help her understand the heart of the father.” So when she finished, I apologized, told her she was doing a great job and that God was proud of her. I also told her that I sometimes felt alone in Singapore without my parents around, especially since my dad has cancer now. But still I have my kids and my wife here, so I could only begin to imagine how hard it must be for her to be far from all of her family, including her own children. “You can always come talk to me, but more importantly I feel like God wants you to know that you’re never alone. He loves you, He’s got you covered, and He’s with you. Your family may be far, but you have a Father in Heaven who’s always close.” After I prayed for her, she smiled and thanked me. Lord, sometimes we’re so busy with the people outside our home that we forget to sew into the people inside our home. As Singapore heads into a semi-lockdown, and schools move back to home-based learning tomorrow, I pray that you use this time to help me to get back to the basics. Please give me more opportunities to honor our aunties, who do such a great job. In your son’s name, Amen.