Posts tagged as:

Life Lessons

In a split second, anything can happen…

by Alfred Lam on August 26, 2009 · 2 comments

Today started out just like any other day. Got up, drove Anna to work, dropped Taylor off at school, went to the office.

Travelled to another meeting that ended early. Had 15 minutes to spare before I had to pick up Taylor from school. Decided to stop by Chapters to browse. Found out my favorite photography author had just came out with the newest volume of his book series. Cool. Bought it.

Picked up Taylor, as usual. Buckle her in the car, as usual. Gave her her after school snack, as usual.

We started talking as I drove to pick up Anna. About 10 minutes into the ride, I suddenly heard her cough, and then stopped talking.

I turned, her mouth was opened. She was staring at me, desperatelly trying to tell me something. But no words came out. I instinctly knew what was happening…my daughter was choking…

I slammed on the brakes, stopped the car in the middle of a busy street at the height of rush hour, jumped out of my seat and rushed to her aid. Thankfully, she managed to gag and spit out the food and breathe again. She was crying. She was so scared. I held her…so tightly….”You are okay, sweetheart….you are okay….”

I would live 1000 years and never forget that look in my daughter’s eyes: Filled will fear, desperately reaching for me, wanting to say, “Daddy! HELP ME!!!” but not being able to speak or breathe…

I had gone through tough times before, but I will gladly endure everything 100 times over rather than ever seeing that look on her face again…

I guess what I am trying say is simply this. In a split second, anything can happen.

Whatever you have been dreaming to do, the things that you have been meaning to say, the love that you have been wanting to give….

What are you waiting for?

{ 2 comments }

new thought on ‘healing’…

by Alfred Lam on July 15, 2009 · 1 comment

Just came back from a wonderful lunch with my pastor (at Burger King, of all places!! More proof that it is the company rather than the food that makes the dining experience worthwhile :) . During our time together I had one of those moments where I heard myself saying something and then thinking, “Damn!! That was good! Gotta write it down quick.” So…here we are :)

My pastor asked me, “How is your healing process coming along?” I thought for a while and then I uttered the following profound statement: (Which, if I had lived 2,000 years ago, I am quite sure would’ve made it into the New Testament Canon :)

“I am slowly learning that healing happens not so much when you notice an absence of pain, but rather when you develop the perspective to see how the injury fits into the story that is your life, and then you learn to embrace that pain so that it’s part of your story moving forward.”

So…there you go. Another one for the “Alfred-ism” folder. :)

{ 1 comment }

On Easter

April 10, 2009

This has been a special weekend for us. As part of the week-long surprise birthday celebration I planned for Anna, after I picked her up from work on Thursday evening, we drove 9 straight hours to spend the weekend in Chicago. Anna didn’t suspect a thing! I even managed to pack her bags for the [...]

5 comments Read the full article →

Thoughts from “loot bagging”

March 29, 2009

Today we took our little girl to a birthday party. Towards the end of the party I was watching the little kids as the host parents handed out the “loot bags”, which are little “take away” bags with small toys and snacks .
As parents we know there is ONE cardinal rule when it comes to [...]

1 comment Read the full article →

Out of the mouths of babes…

March 11, 2009

With our little one quickly reaching grade 1 (where did the last 4 years go?), we are going through the discussion that every parent in the city has had one time or another: “May be we should move into a ‘better’ school zone.”
Now, we haven’t actually decided to move yet, but when we are both [...]

4 comments Read the full article →

Lessons Learned at the kettle

December 11, 2008

“…But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a fraction of a penny” –Mark 12:42
A couple of days ago I volunteered at a Salvation Army Kettle – the kind you see at shopping malls and other public places at this time of year. Basically the Salvation Army puts [...]

0 comments Read the full article →

The dance

December 3, 2008

“We played the flute, but you did not dance…” Matthew 11:17

This morning one of my staff member handed me an interesting document. It was the script from the speech that she gave at her daughter’s wedding. Knowing that I have a public speaking background, she wanted to share it with me and hear what I [...]

2 comments Read the full article →

Thoughts from a day of purging…

November 30, 2008

“Of making many books there is no end, and much study wearies the body” (Ecc 12:12)
Today, in preparation for doing some renovations in the house, we spent the day doing some much needed “purging”. As part of that process, Anna and I went through our collection of books, some of them from our university days, [...]

1 comment Read the full article →

He ain’t heavy…He’s my brother

October 19, 2008

I was doing some late night channel surfing in my hotel room in Vancouver when I came across a concert featuring popular old tunes. One of the songs performed was the moving ballad: “He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother”. When introducing the song, the singer explained the origin of the title. Over the years there [...]

1 comment Read the full article →

The Danger of Good Intentions…

October 11, 2008

Wow…who would have thought an “innocent” post like the last one would generate so many comments and strong words. I feel as though I should start a new post to say a few things “in response to the responses”…
First of all, in case I have not been clear enough, I appreciate everyone who posted a [...]

1 comment Read the full article →