Warmed Up Beautifully

Yesterday was a hot day. Although we woke up to a 13-degree morning, the temperature climbed so quickly that by the time we were ready to leave the house for church 2-3 hours later (about 9.45) it was already 24 degrees. Maximum forecasted was 30 degrees. For the first time since arriving in Melbourne, Theresa was decked out in a skirt and a blouse for church. She looked magnificent and I am reminded of how blessed I am. I too picked out a short sleeved cotton shirt and felt a thorough sense of déjà vu, but I wasn’t sure if it related more to the summer months I spent in Sydney back in the late 80’s or to Malaysian Sunday mornings. I think it is the latter, since I have my beautiful family with me.

When we were home after church it was hot and as we sat down at home we all felt dozy. We put a movie on – a Disney-type family movie called “Good Boy” – some la la land story about dogs being “recalled” to another planet.

After that movie I dragged kiddo out as she kept complaining about being bored. We took a walk to her school armed with a tennis ball – she was going to teach me how to play “2-square”. After less than 10 minutes of playing what turned out to be a miniature form of tennis played with your palms as tennis rackets, and having lost the ball to a gutter on a roof we used the school yard and its many apparatus to just spend some time outdoors and talked.

About almost an hour later we decided to walk home, using a long round-about way. We talked some more.

We got to the subject of whether she still calls Malaysia home. She said she was very happy to be in Melbourne, and does not want to return to live in Klang. She acknowledged how much she missed some parts of Klang, especially how everything came easily and naturally. We both acknowledged that here in Melbourne we have to make an effort at everything we do, unlike in Malaysia. I guess we were in a thick layer of comfort zone and stepping out of such type of comfort zone was always going to be a lot more difficult. That however was going to make us better persons. I really appreciated, treasured our talk. It was a special afternoon for me. Thank you, God. On a warm sunny day, God warmed up more than just the weather. He warmed my heart and spirits magnificently.