Life & Faith

  I LOVE TALKING WITH YOUNG PEOPLE. By relating to them, I can understand why and how they cherish every moment of their life. I especially enjoy hearing them share their stories, life-experiences and “God moments”. I believe the youth whom we serve in the schools do not need great ideas or any great programme. […]

  “I AM OLD and I accept the practicalities of what being old means.” This was the one and only statement that she made with reference to the problems of being an elderly person. The practicalities included deteriorating eyesight and giving up some of her previous work positions in a charity for abandoned children she […]

  HE PROUDLY ANNOUNCED that his mother had promised that if he did well for his examinations, he would get an I-Phone. The school counsellor and I exchanged looks and concluded that this reward would cost his mother a third of her monthly salary. Just as I was recovering from this surprise, he added that […]

  WITH THESE SOLEMN WORDS, we are reminded that no man should be allowed to come between a husband and wife. Whilst most couples do their utmost to guard against this, the invaders that ultimately undermine a marriage can take shapes and forms that we least expect. I want to focus on a disruption of […]

  HELPING MY CLIENT consider what adjustment she would have to make when she divorces her husband, one consideration stands out clearly. “How will my church receive my decision?” she wondered aloud. She was long past deciding on whether to divorce or not. Now comes the equally difficult step of thinking about the consequences of […]

  Maintaining marital harmony in a world of income disparity THE MODEL OF THE COUPLE where the husband is the sole breadwinner is fast becoming obsolete. For many households, wives would be working for much, if not for a significant, portion of their married life. With better education and improved employment opportunities, the average salaries […]

  “I HAVE SOMETHING TO TELL YOU,” he said in a tone that sounded more like making a request as much as it was a statement of fact. I had been counselling this man and his wife for the last year. They had marital problems for some time and were first referred to me because […]

  HOW OFTEN HAVE WE HEARD THE EXPRESSION, “I can forgive, but I cannot forget”? Perhaps we too have said this on an occasion or two, and there is some truth in this sentiment. Forgiving is an act of the will, whilst forgetting is not within our control. You cannot will yourself to forget. For […]

  AFTER THREE ROAST TURKEYS and two major festivities to celebrate Christmas and New Year, I feel like one tired soul. This topic of tiredness was brought up to sharper focus when a client of mine recently shared his father’s observation of his colleagues after attending a Christian rally they organised. He commented on how […]

  THE NEW YEAR provides some with the renewed desire to attempt some change in their lives. We may promise to look after ourselves better by losing weight and exercising more or achieve a better work-life balance. Others may work on improving their relationship with their spouses or with their teenage children. In counselling, I […]

  IN CHURCHES THROUGHOUT THIS PERIOD, the Christmas Story will be read and retold again. I wonder what part of the story catches your attention. What aspects are you more drawn to? Different scenes are especially poignant to us at the various stages in our lives. The part that has recently captured my imagination is […]

  THE VERSE “Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers” (2 Cor: 6:14) may be familiar to some of us. The metaphor of the yoke, a farm tool linking two animals together, so that they may pull a plough or a cart, conveys the importance of finding synergy in a marriage between the two […]