The apostle Paul, in writing to the Christians in the city of Corinth, said, " For what makes you differ from another? And what do you have that you did not receive? Now if you did indeed receive it, why do you boast as if you had not received it?" (1Corinthians 4:7).

When I look back at what the Lord did in my life, I cannot help but say that only recently could I perceive my life as one big jigsaw puzzle. All the pieces fit together and there is a picture but the picture is part of a bigger and better picture, which I will only be able to see many years down the road. Certainly I can agree with Paul that my life has been received - I did not earn it neither did I inherit it. And each day, we are all receiving more and more of it until the day we depart from this world either through death or, if Jesus were to return before our time is up, taken up to Heaven to meet Him there.

As a young pre-schooler, I attended Sunday School on Christmas Island - a good two years until my parents stopped me from going because they wanted their youngest to be at home on weekends (to do what, I don't know). The stories I heard were imprinted on my mind and I could not make anything out of them. Meanwhile, every festival time, I would follow my mother to the temple and I remembered that I used to kneel and pray before the altar table in the Taoist temple on the island and asking for favors but each time not seeming to get any replies. For a few years this went on but deep down I felt empty. Indeed, how could a block of wood grant me my wishes?

The emptiness continued on for some years until I came to Singapore to continue with my secondary school education in 1970. I enrolled with St Andrew's Secondary and stayed in the boarding school for one year. It was while a resident there that I was introduced to Jesus as my personal Lord and Savior and I knew immediately deep inside that I have found the One Who will fill that vacuum. So you see the Lord had a purpose in sending me to that school. On our own my father would not be able to afford the monthly expenses; that was why God made sure I was granted an Australian Govt scholarship which came with no strings attached.

When I went through National Service, I was thrown into the Combat Engineers vocation and that threw me off for a while. Again, I could not understand why I was sent where I went until about fifteen years later. If not for the combat engineers, I would not have received the opportunity to attend the highest training course that a military man in Singapore could take part in. It was during this training that I was exposed to high level planning and also emergency response, which I can now apply very directly into my work in business continuity.

If you had seen my Higher School Certificate (GCE A level in today's context) results, you would have laughed and would also have wondered how I could have secured a place in the then University of Singapore to read business administration. By God's grace I graduated and landed a job in a bank. Then something happened which was tough for me at first. There were three of us in that intake at the bank and I had to end up being the Dealer for the bank while the other two ended with cushy jobs as credit and marketing people.

I traded a while (three years) and then started having nightmares from the stress during the day. I changed out and became a lecturer/ consultant and did some teaching for six years. During those six years, I met numerous people from all over the world. It was exciting at first but somehow, unknown to me at that time, the Lord sent me back into dealing working in another bank. All in all, after trading for 11 years and with 6 years spent teaching bank staff and clients all about treasury products, I decided to close the chapter and start something new. A few options came across my path but somehow God closed each and every door and only left one ajar; I went for an interview for a Money Market Head in one of the local banks and, from past experiences, the result of the interview plus the offer letter would have been known within three days once the President/ CEO of the bank had completed the interview.

For ten days, I had no news whatsoever from this local bank until I received word from the last bank where I was (Rabobank) - another sign of the Lord directing my life. There was a newly created post for me in Operations doing Special Projects in Rabobank. Nothing more was given and because there were no other firm job offers available I accepted the job offer. Even before I started work, my job responsibilities were changed and I ended up managing the derivatives settlements dept of the bank (not something which I was looking for nor wanted to do).

After 1-1/2 years the management decided to change my job yet again (second change in three years) and I was given multiple portfolios and one of the responsibilities was business continuity planning. Unknown to me, the Lord was preparing me all along for this current job in Deutsche Bank (how the door opened for me is a story in itself). In seven bank-dealing jobs, I traded different products and portfolios and those became my data bank. In addition, because of the stint with settlements, my understanding of banking operations were enhanced which made my current job so much easier.

Where does all this lead me from here? I don't know. But one thing I know; life has been abundant for me all because of the Lord Jesus Christ. Indeed He came that I might have life and have it more abundantly (John 10:10).

In the book of Isaiah 49:16, " See, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands; " Imagine your name has been inscribed on the hands of God Himself and each time He looks at His hands He remembers you. What a comfort, what a joy! For those of us who have put our trust in the Lord Jesus Christ, that is good news indeed.

Also please note that the hands that have your name inscribed are also the hands of Jesus whose nail-scarred hands stand continually in the presence of the Almighty God. Each time the Father looks at those hands, He is reminded that Jesus has died for us and that we now stand in Jesus' righteousness. What privilege we have because of what Jesus did on the cross!

Best regards,
Andrew L W Lee