Subtle regrets



Can scarcely believe it. Its just one week left.

Bloke always told us that primers is like an all you can eat buffet. You pick and choose what you want from it, and the quality of the experience is totally dictated by your own self. One thing he didn't really mention though. There is a time limit of slightly over an hour for you to eat whatever you want. Past that, you're out and no more buffet for you.

Imagine, you've been given the privilege of attending this high class buffet. Not everyone can, but you were given the opportunity to. It doesn't cost you any fees, the only thing you need to do is to get off your seat, walk to the buffet table, and grab your choice of high quality food.

So when you arrive, you spend the first half an hour of your time admiring the place, getting comfy on the seat, enjoying the great ambiance. Some of your friends are already at the buffet table taking their picks but you continue to spend your time sitting around, chatting with your friends at your own table.

After the half an hour mark, a couple of friends come to you and invites you to the buffet table to have a chance to get your food. However at this point in time, you decide that you need to complete some work you brought along to the dinner first before getting your food. So you politely declined your friends offer and began working. And you worked for the next twenty minutes. Of course you weren't ever going to finish the work by the end of the dinner, but it felt necessary to clear as much as possible.

After the fifty minute mark, a couple of friends forced some food on your plate because you didn't go get your own. Well, the food was right in front of you, so you ate. And it was delicious. It was the best tasting food you ever had. At this point in time, you decided that you should stop work and go get some food. You can't let the opportunity be wasted right?

Too bad it was maintenance period, so for another ten minutes no food was available. By this time you were starting to get hungry and really wanting some food. Finally after the maintenance, you rushed forward to grab as much food as you could. It was really good food enough, top notch stuff. Yet there was a limit to how much you could eat in this short period of time.

Soon enough, the allotted time for the buffet was over you had to get up and leave. Yet you were just beginning to taste the wondrous food. Many of your other friends around you had a great fill and they too felt sad that they had to leave the buffet, but at least they had quite a sumptous meal.

You though, you left the place with a stomach half empty, hungry for more food but already ousted. It was too late.

Its not a perfect analogy. It sounds weird too, but I think it sums up my primers journey pretty well. And frankly, it really sucks right now. I wished I had given more of myself to the primers program. That I might have chosen otherwise when given the opportunity to step up for the CE comm, to be part of the exco for coy camp, to build closer friendships, to be more involved in all that we do.

Sure we can all come back after all this is over, regular weekly bible study sessions and all, but it wont be quite the same. Even being an officer would be completely different from the primers experience.

Im glad at least, that God gave me one last opportunity to serve in POP/PLC. Still, its such a great pity. To that, I only have myself to blame.

I am really heartened to see the year 5s in primers. Its something that not just I feel but quite a number of us year 6s to. These year 5s, they represent all that we hope for. They are the ones that will succeed where we failed. The ones whom will take the dreams that we dreamt and bring it to reality.

It inspires me to see these so early in the journey fighting so hard already. Makes me wonder what I was doing all that time. Just watching them advance forward is a great blessing to me. There are many things that I wish I could have done but did not. At least though I know that they will bring it to completion.

Treasure whatever opportunities are given to you. Before you know it, your time will be up and it will all be too late.

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