I wish I could freeze time. Stop life from moving from what I’m used to, comfortable with, secure in. I want to think that my parents will be here in my life forever, that they will always be a part of my familiar surroundings. I want to think that my little baby sister will always be our baby and that she’ll always be there to play with. It shocks me when I cast my mind back to a happy moment of yesteryear and then realise that so much has changed since then, that things are no longer the same. They were younger then, not as frail. She was still at home, a constant in my world. Yearning for the past is pitiful because that’s when life begins to unravel and to lose its sense of meaning. When we stop anticipating the future, that’s when life stops. And so with considerable effort, I change my paradigm and cast my mind forward. I will never enjoy change, but I know it is inevitable, and so I welcome it. Change can grow us, but I would rather be grown and ready for change. So prepare me for what’s ahead, God. Help me to be brave.
Hero
by Tina Wong 1993
Me, I’m the one with the innocent smile
The well-behaved, thoughtful angel
Athene, the goddess of wisdom
Me, I am no beautiful Helen
My visage won’t stir the goddess Bellona
I don’t have the greatness of Cleopatra
But maybe the selfishness
And I’m not one to be taken over by Aphrodite
I’m not the beautiful priestess Hero or tragic Juliet
End my life for the sake of love? Never!
Me, I’m no sports heroine
I can’t catch a ball or hit a home run
I’m always the last one chosen for a team
Atlanta would find running against me a breeze
Me, I don’t have the wit of Ariadne
The psychic ability of Cassandra
Or the humour of the Muse Thalia
My heroic talents are nought
But I have been with hero Odysseus
I have journeyed with him to
Vietnam, Hong Kong, New Zealand and Australia
We have fought against the one-eyed monster in the cupboard
The evil dog-headed creature under my bed
Me, I have looked up into the amazing skies of Urania
Dreamt of meeting Iris at the end of the rainbow
And having a box of blessings like Pandora
Me – yesterday I was dreaming
Today I am advancing
Tomorrow, achieving
If you’d like to know more of me,
Drop by the Prince Court Chinese Restaurant at Yeronga
I’ll tell you all about me
All my wishes, dreams and goals
Come sail with me and Odysseus
Sail with us to the land of success
Me, I’m the one with the outrageous childhood dreams
The one to be the hero of fulfilling them
Salvation Again
By Tina Wong 2007
The waves of grief engulfed me
And beat my spirit limp
They tossed me about like debris
Swirling towards death’s brink
Lungs burned with each desperate breath
My body a tonne of lead
Surrendered to the fury of sorrow
A comatised corpse, almost dead
Yet in the ocean of unending pain
A secure rope I did find
At the end of it, a steady hand
My Saviour, my Lifeline
Rescued once from death to life
Now rescued a second time
What Saviour is this who comes for me?
Such grace must be Divine
The imagination is a powerful engine of creativity. The ability to imagine is divinely granted and the imagination kept alive by its constant use. Before I set out to create something, I ask myself, “What is everybody else doing?” I then determine to not do that, and instead blaze a new trail. That is what creating is all about. It is astounding what one’s imagination is capable of producing when challenged. Have you honestly gone to the brink of your imagination? The paradox is that when you do, your imagination will stretch beyond where you take it. It will expand and adopt new boundaries. God is the most wonderful Creator. He is THE original Creator! With Him, anything is possible. So I ask Him each day to fill my mind with His most extravagant imaginings, and not a single day of my life is boring or void of colour.
