Delicateness Of Life

  Well, my brother and I are going for an Ethos debate camp in June. This is my second one while it's my brother's first debate camp.

  For the exhibition debate, my topic is "Banning physical punishment of children" and my brother is debating on legalizing organ sale. My brother's topic brought me sadness because I remembered how I lost one of my closest cousins to heart failure on February 9, 2007. She was only 21 years and two months. (She was born in December) Although she had been suffering heart failure for three and a half years, she passed away so suddenly that I couldn't believe she was dead.

  That Friday night, I was at home cell playing with my friends while the adults had a discussion. My mom then received a call from my maid saying that my cousin had collapsed at home and was being sent to hospital. My parents fetched my brother and me home before rushing to the hospital. I remember that it was already 12 midnight. We went to sleep that night, praying for our cousin. We did not think that it was really serious, although we felt a bit anxious. Trying to be optimistic, I expected her to be discharged the next morning.

  The first thing I heard in the morning was the sound of crying. My maid crying. I brushed it off, thinking that my maid must be crying over some family problems, as she always did. A few moments later, she ran into the room and broke the news to me: my cousin had passed on. Immediately, I started sobbing and stumbled to the living room where I found my mother on the phone, tears streaking down her cheeks. It was one of the few times I witnessed my mother cry. (My cousin was very close to my mother.)

  I went for the wake, but due to my young age of nine at that time, I was not allowed to go for the cremation. I thank God that my cousin had accepted Jesus as her Lord and Savior and was now in heaven with Him. However, the question still rings in my head, "Would she have been saved by an organ transplant?"

  This incident also taught me that we must live our life as if Jesus will take us home the next day. The frailty of life is very real. We may get called home tomorrow. My cousin impacted many lives and as a result, she left a lasting legacy. Due to her condition, she knew that she may die the next day, thus she gave her best in everything. She was a straight-A student in NUS and even committed time to serve in her church's Sunday school. Thank God for such a wonderful cousin!