A Testimony of Repentance (Part Two)

Romans 5:20 "Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound:"

Life wasn't a bed of roses after we moved back to Singapore. First of all, we have already vacated our home in Singapore when we decided to move to Australia. So, when we returned, there was practically nothing in the house to support basic living. We have to set things up all over again, while waiting for our items to be shipped back from Australia. We thank God for my wife's sister and her family who accommodated us during the transition. That was the beginning of a period of tough time ahead, harder and more challenging that I thought it was going to be. But in going through all these, the hand of God has never left us, as I am about to share.

Proverbs 28:13 "He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy."

One of the first things we did, after we have re-accommodated ourselves in our old home, was to pay a visit to my wife's parents: her father and her bedridden mother, in the nearby state of Johor that they have moved to. When we met again, they were so happy to see us. We were met with tears of joy from each other's faces. It was a joy that I have not experienced for a long time. I asked for their forgiveness, and I told them that it was God who brought us back by a mighty hand. My father-in-law was in tears.

Soon after that, I began my job-hunting. Also, at the same time, the new house that we bought in Australia was due for taking over, and the developer has asked for a substantial amount of payment. At this point of time, only my wife was working; I was still jobless.

We were in contact with a property agent in Australia which we gave the rights to sell the house. However, to kickstart the selling process, we must first take over the property from the developer, which requires us to cough out a substantial amount of money. That was when God once again avail his mercy to us. You see, in my previous job I was awarded a substantial amount of Restricted Shares Unit (RSUs) not once but twice, due to my performance at work, but I have never traded stocks in my entire life and so I didn't know how to go about it. As a result, I never did once touch those shares.

The last time I heard about those shares was when I left my job: the share price was hovering at around $17. I did not bother to cash out those shares because I was not concerned at all. It so happened that around this time, the company that I used to work for was in the process of being acquired by another company, and for whatever reason the share price rose to nearly $30. It was very unusual. But now that we are in need of money, it came to my mind that I still have this amount of stocks that I could sell to raise the money needed, and so, I reluctantly went into the E-trade website to learn how to trade stocks!

So by God's grace, we managed to make the payment to the developer and took over the property. Then, we were met by the next hurdle in selling the property. You see, the property we bought was a townhouse in a suburb, which according to our property agent, was not an easy property to sell. Chances were that he could sell it off within 6 months - and that's not a guarantee. That means that we must prepare to pay for the interests, which was costing us more than a couple of thousands a month. During that time, it presented a substantial financial challenge to us, because only my wife was working. I prayed to God and called out for his help.

The things that followed in the next few weeks to come was a lot of preparation work and making of brochures. Then when everything was in place, and the house was ready to be sold: a week passed, then two weeks passed, there was not much of an inquiry for the property. Then on the third week, I received a phone call from Australia. It was my property agent. He told me that a young Indian family came to view our property, and was very interested. They made an offer straight away, and the offer was slightly above the amount that we asked for. I straight away agreed to it, and asked the agent to proceed with the sale.

However, the agent told me to ask for another 5% more, as it was typically what they do over there. So, I took the agent's advice and asked for 5% more. The buyer agreed without so much of kicking a fuss, after some skillful persuasion by my property agent. So, we managed to sell the property within 1 month instead of the 6 months that the agent has estimated. Most amazingly, we managed to sell the property way above the asking price, and the profits were enough to cover what we have lost and there were still some leftover!

Matthew 6:33 "But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you."

Truly, I don't have a logical explanation for all these, except God was the one who did it for us. Until today, I'm still in awe of what God has done for us, and I'll never forget this experience as long as I live, and by his grace. All praise and glory and honour to the Father, the Word and the Holy Ghost! Amen!