It takes an extraordinary person to do what you did

I wonder how many people one would expect to meet in a lifetime
Even in a single day we encounter hundreds, possibly thousands, of individuals
They pass by us on the streets, they serve us at the checkout
They make our morning coffee, they work with us
They are friends of friends, they join our clubs

And every single person we meet and know will have some impact on our world
Some merely accompany us on this journey called life
They walk with us but do not change our paths
Others accentuate brief moments in time
They make these moments either brighter or darker
Others still spend entire chapters of life being a part of our lives
They influence our choices and see us through dark passages in time
And then there are those whose lives will intertwine with ours intimately
They can change the direction of our journeys entirely
They instill themselves in our hearts, and shape the musing of our minds

I never knew you well Zi On; that is my loss and regret
I read your testimonials and I realise what a fine man God was shaping you to be
You were, my parents' friends' son and our paths crossed only briefly during childhood
Yet, your passing and heroism has left a mark in my life
It has caused me to realise, once again, how fragile life is
How time is a gift from God that we can't claim for ourselves or take for granted
That the time to live life and show love is now, because tomorrow may never come
It has caused me to question how any one of us would have reacted in your shoes
Needless to say, it takes an extraordinary person to do what you did
And for that, I take my hat off to you and thank you

At first I could not understand, why God would allow this to happen
Why someone like you, the kind of man the world needs more of, had to leave
Why someone like you, who had so much to look forward to, had to go so early

But I have realised that God is God, and man is only man
Someone like you, has commanded a tremendous legacy through action and deed
Someone like you, is a testament to the greatest kind of love we could ever know

God's ways are higher than our ways, His thoughts higher than our thoughts

You were, and still are, so many things to so many people Zi On
To some, you were a companion on this sometime rocky earthly journey we walk
To others, you brought an extra smile or sparkle into short snippets in their lives
To others still, you were a confidant and friend, the one who made difficult days bearable
And then to some, you were the guy who coloured their world with rainbows
The one who left an empty hole where your presence, laugh, smile, love, used to be

But Jesus left an empty grave
Some grieved, but others who had revelation knew it meant something better
Not the end, but the beginning of something more incredible

In memory of you, Kerk Zi On.


Love in Christ
Ling Earn Teh, Melbourne Australia.