{"id":3441,"date":"2016-08-22T19:52:01","date_gmt":"2016-08-23T03:52:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.rainbowpaullai.com\/?p=3441"},"modified":"2016-08-23T06:33:39","modified_gmt":"2016-08-23T14:33:39","slug":"in-honour-of-yvonne-a-letter-to-rev-lai","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.rainbowpaullai.com\/p\/3441","title":{"rendered":"IN HONOUR OF YVONNE (A Letter to Rev. Lai) (Yvonne\u2014My One and Only Beloved)"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"2016-01-19<\/a>IN HONOUR OF YVONNE (A Letter to Rev. Lai) \"IMG_1235\"<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

By: Avalon Spence <\/span><\/p>\n

What a wonderful time we had together that afternoon Hing and I came to visit with the both of you at your home.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>Although the timing turned out to be just a matter of weeks prior to Yvonne\u2019s passing, we were so surprised to see how well Yvonne appeared!<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>She didn\u2019t look sick at all to our eyes, but in fact, we agreed on the way home that day, how Yvonne looked much healthier than the both of us put together! <\/span><\/p>\n

We found<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>Yvonne to be positively<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>radiant when she greeted us that afternoon<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>with beautiful pink, smooth skin tone, nice shining<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>hair, dressed elegantly, and most of all wearing<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>such a nice warm smile to let us know we were really welcome.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>So loving and gracious was her demeanor.<\/span>\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>I can say without a doubt that she absolutely beamed with Divine Peace and Joy!<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>In the short time I was with you, I found Yvonne to be so genuine, intelligent, interesting and humble.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>I liked her very much and experienced an instant kinship.<\/span>\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span><\/p>\n

Although the purpose of our visit was to bring encouragement and pray with you both that afternoon, we were the ones who left with an unexpected abundance.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>The Presence of the Lord was there in your home in a very real way, and His being with us there made our time together so full.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>Even during this time when you and Yvonne were dealing with sickness, the Joy of the Lord was spilling over onto us! <\/span><\/p>\n

How quickly we all fit in together, feeling close and connected as believers do, spending those few precious hours talking, laughing, sharing testimonies of the way we\u2019d all experienced God at work in our lives and in the lives of those close to us.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>Our conversations were deep, honest and lively.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>Hing and I even over-stayed our pre-planned length of visit as it was very hard to break up the bond we were experiencing.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>But, after wrapping up with a time of prayer, we reluctantly got up to take our leave.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>And another surprise: Yvonne decided she would walk us to the door \u2013 and she did just that!<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>What a beautiful sight you two were as we drove away \u2013 I can still see you in my mind\u2019s eye, standing together on your front step –<\/span>\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>smiling and waving ceaselessly until we\u2019d driven out of sight down the road.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>We felt so blessed!<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>I thought then that it\u2019s too bad I hadn\u2019t known Yvonne sooner in life, as I\u2019m sure we\u2019d have made great friends.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>That of course will have to be put on hold until such time as I arrive where she is, and by then we\u2019ll have all the time we need \u2013 an eternity in fact! <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

We all had prayed that afternoon that Yvonne would receive a miracle of healing.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>But the Lord in His Wisdom chose to display perfect faith in Yvonne instead, not by removing the trial, but by seeing her through the trial.<\/span>\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>When it was Yvonne\u2019s moment to pray, I don\u2019t recall her praying for a miracle as the rest of us did.<\/span>\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Instead, I remember she expressed trust in Him, regardless of whether or not the miracle was given.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>That was a demonstration of perfect faith.<\/span>\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Despite adverse circumstances for many years, Yvonne hadn\u2019t given up – she trusted her Saviour to the end.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>I know she ran the race set before her and has received her reward in Heaven. <\/span><\/p>\n

Rev. Lai, even though we rejoice because Yvonne is with Jesus now in Glory, I don\u2019t for a minute forget it also means she is not here with you today and for that I offer my deepest and heartfelt condolences.<\/span>\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>You were God\u2019s gift to each other and I could see that very clearly \u2013 and you, Rev. Lai, were such a big, special part of God\u2019s plan in helping her making it through.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>We can do anything when we know we are loved \u2013 that was your gift to her \u2013 a real love that didn\u2019t give up in the hard times.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>Faith and love: <\/span>\u00a0<\/span>it can\u2019t help but be a winning combination.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>In my eyes you two made an excellent team and were a great example of a truly loving marriage. <\/span><\/p>\n

I mourn with you now as you grieve what can only be expressed as a great loss.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>I hope these reflections I\u2019ve recorded here will somehow help you and others that knew and loved Yvonne to be lifted just a little as you walk through this time of sorrow.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>I pray to God it will be so.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

IN HONOUR OF YVONNE (A Letter to Rev. Lai) By: Avalon Spence What a wonderful time we had together that afternoon Hing and I came to visit with the both of you at your home.\u00a0 Although the timing turned out to be just a matter of weeks prior to Yvonne\u2019s passing, we were so surprised […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[4],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.rainbowpaullai.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3441"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.rainbowpaullai.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.rainbowpaullai.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.rainbowpaullai.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.rainbowpaullai.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3441"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/www.rainbowpaullai.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3441\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3461,"href":"http:\/\/www.rainbowpaullai.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3441\/revisions\/3461"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.rainbowpaullai.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3441"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.rainbowpaullai.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3441"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.rainbowpaullai.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3441"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}