Two Thanksgiving points...
1. For the simple but great time spent with TH today after Shawn's birthday celeb, and TH taking time to read through the Bible while I took a nap. And! he told me that he found a special section at the back of my Bible that gives you specific verses for specific situations. Whoa. And I hadn't noticed that! Wow. And God used my friend TH, a non-Christian, to help me see what I was missing out on in my Bible. Haha... God works in mysterious ways indeed. Aye-men.

2. For the great time of shepherding, and for Peter's super-encouraging advice. Actually, I shared with him that I felt envious of another bro in my CG, because others can connect so much better with him, and that I don't think I'm being a good support to my CL, because I don't do certain things often, or very slowly.

But Peter asked me, "You mean that just because you don't do this certain thing, you're not a good support to your CL?"

"Oh, yes, I think so."

I think he wanted to laugh, or something like that. But he said, "So in a way, you feel a sense of unfairness... 'cos this bro can do better than you in this area, but you somehow are lacking in that area..."

"Yes!" I shot out immediately. "That's what I meant. You've put your finger on the pulse. It's like, well, you know, my personality isn't, you know, suited to talking with so many people. I'm better with one-to-one, for listening's one of my strengths. But when it comes to talking... *sigh*"

"Hey, everyone is unique (in a good way)." And he encouraged me, reminding me that there are certain groups of people that only I can connect to. A niche group. A minority group. That no one else but me can relate to.

But I said to him, "But... you know, I feel like I can relate only to the outcasts. (And what would that mean about me then?)" For I remembered the words of another brother a few years ago during uni times, though well-intentioned, did ... hurt me, because I sensed what his mindset about me was.

Peter laughed, and said, "Yeu Ann, don't ostracise yourself lah! Everyone is unique."

"Haha... yah, come to think of it... I can connect with people like Weizhu, Yufen, Joyce, Robert and so on... and they're not outcasts... haha..."

"Yes!" He paused, and then continued, "Think of yourself as a commando. Can a commando take on an entire army? No. But he is unique. He goes out in front of the army to do the special tasks, to help pave the way. Or like a minesweeper. How it paves the way for the tanks to follow. You have your role that God gave you, and no one else can do it."

He continued. "In fact, I think in Singapore, the culture is too much about KPI (Key Performance Indicators). We tend to look at whether a person meets certain criteria - 'tick, tick, tick... oh! you never meet this criteria! bad!' - and forget to look at the actual person himself."

He thought a moment, and then looking at me, he said,

"Let God define you, not men. Be careful to differentiate between what is from men and what is from God. For when you let God define you, you are set free."

Wow. Thank You Lord for Peter :)

And he reminded me too, "Give thanks for your uniqueness."

And he also said,

"Giving thanks is a simple but very powerful habit."

Ah yes. So true. Amen! :)