*This post was taken from Cliff’s social media post on 22 May 2018.
For a long time, Wai Jia had dreamed of pursuing a Masters of Public Health at John Hopkins. But I sorta ruined her dreams five years ago when I went to Singapore and asked her to marry me.
However, it was precisely when she surrendered her dreams that God could revive them in such a divine way- only He could have orchestrated our journey here to USA through 3 scholarships.
Yesterday, she also received 5 honors and awards. Many people ask her, even myself, how does she do it? Her reply is that it is not by her own striving or works but it is all by God’s grace.
Today as she graduated, I learned that life isn’t just about God making our dreams come true. Rather, the oneness that comes with walking with God is what causes us to have the same dreams and desires as He does. This has been her experience in the past year.
I am proud of her not just because of her hard work of juggling between being a mother, wife, and student in the past 11 months; I am proud of her not just because of the degrees, awards, and honors she achieved at John Hopkins- I am proud of her because of her surrendering, the closeness in her walk with Christ and the blessing she has been to others.
Not only did she receive an academic excellence award for the top 10% of her cohort, she also received the Excellence in International Public Health Practice Award for her work in Kitesong Global, and a Student Recognition Award, nominated by friends and faculty. It was funny to see her and Sarah-Faith go up so many times to receive them!
I learned from her that however lofty and noble our dreams may seem to be, we must lay them down before the feet of Jesus. Oneness comes from surrendering our dreams, and surrendering is a strength, not a weakness.
Congratulations, my wife!
❤
