It had been a long year of saying good byes to so many of my boys. One is in Singapore serving his national service duty. Another left Malaysia to go back to Korea. Yet another went off to Australia to further his studies. And yet another left for university just last month.
Next week, one more boy of mine will be leaving home for Brisbane in his pursuit of becoming an aircraft maintenance engineer. So, three years from now, I should stop flying altogether, just in case any of the many rebuking that I have done towards him is still fresh in his memories.
Jokes aside, it is always an emotional roller-coaster for me when one of my boys leave. After months or even years of mentoring and grooming them, their departures signify that I have done my job, I have seen naive little boys grown into mature and godly young men. I am proud of each one of them. The farewell at the airport would always be my proudest moments - to see the product of my labour moving on to greater heights, like a proud father (oh no, I sound so old!) seeing his child achieving new heights and know that I had play a (small) part in it.
On the other hand, I dread the farewells. After months and years of breathing down their necks, fussing over them over anything and everything, after all the tears and laughter together, to see them leave is like losing a piece of myself. At times, after so long, I still find myself in those nostalgic moment sitting at my famous laksa stall, and hearing the voices of my boys who used to share those precious breakfast moments with me arguing over theology.
With each of my boys, I try my best to give them that precious moment that is uniquely his and mine, a little something that I would only do together with him, a little something for them to remember me by, a little something for me to remember them by.
How many more good byes will I be saying? How many more pieces of my heart will I be giving away? Lord, I pray that there will be many, many more good byes to come, many, many more pieces of my heart to be given away; may each of my boys leave with that piece of my heart as a seed that they will plant in the hearts of others, may they be Paul's to many Timothy's of their own, just as I had (at least tried to be) a Paul to each of them. Thank you Lord for this privilege and honour to have so many younger brothers who have been so much more a blessing to my life than they would ever know. May You grant me the privilege and honour to also hear of the blessings that You would pour into their lives through their own Timothy's. In Jesus' name, Amen.
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