I identify as a Christian because I believe in the Bible and Jesus Christ but I don’t think I’m a normal Christian. In fact some Christians might not even consider me one. I have this personal bias against institutional religion or relying on man to interpret religion for you. Perhaps I’ve been too disillusioned by the church scandals and dishonest people that I can’t bear to go to church.
I’ve not been to church for more than 5 years. Maybe even 7 but I pray to God every night before I sleep.
When I pray to God I thank him for things he has given me and sometimes I ask him for things. Often he doesn’t answer my prayers but when he does, he answers the ones that matter. Here are 3 times that I believe God answered my prayers.
1) Fighter’s Battle with Pre-eclampsia and Pre-maturity
I don’t think I have ever prayed more than between July and August 2013. That was the time Shorty was hospitalised for pre-eclampsia and we were told that Fighter could be in danger. I had gotten Shorty the best doctor available, told the doctor that I would spare no expense in saving both Fighter and Shorty and I spent almost every available hour of the day with Shorty.
Beyond that I realized there was nothing else I could do but pray as Shorty and Fighter fought the fight. They made it.
On the 12th of August 2013, Fighter was born at 31 weeks and weighing only 1.1 KG. Shorty’s fight was over but Fighter’s just reached half time. Fighter would spend the next few weeks in the incubator and the Doctor told us that because he was born so premature he might face a lot of problems. He might go blind, his lungs or internal organs might collapse and the list went on and on. Shorty and I knew there was nothing else we could do.
For the next 5 weeks that Fighter was in the incubator we visited him every day and spent time with him. We made sure that we left all our worries and sadness outside and had only the most positive energy when we saw Fighter. Around him in the incubator we were always smiling, calling out to him and laughing but once we left our smiles turned to frowns as we worried about the results of his next test. I prayed for Fighter every night. I didn’t ask for a perfectly healthy Fighter.
What I asked for was that whatever problems he may face, he would still be able to live a normal healthy life like any normal kid. God answered our prayers and gave us more than that. Fighter aced each and every one of his tests and was discharged 5 weeks later as a perfectly healthy baby.
2) Netccentric’s IPO
At the end of last year I sat down with Ming and we discussed the future of Netccentric. The company had already grown from a S$65,800 investment to what it is today. The company was in 7 countries and growing and we felt that in order to keep up with the cashflow demands of a growing business established in all these countries we needed to raise money. We decided that an IPO was the best option.
The IPO process though was a lot tougher than I imagined. It’s not just the whole process of due diligence but the fact that the company would have to front a huge amount of money in legal, audit and advisor fees in this 9 month process. In that period of time anything could happen to derail the IPO, some within our control and some not within our control. For example if global stock markets crashed just before we were to IPO, we would have spent a fortune on professional fees but we would have to call off the IPO. Writing off whatever money we spent on it and whatever time and resources we put into the whole process.
I prayed every night over and over again that God would give me the strength to see it through and we faced hurdles after hurdles that sometimes caused delay. We listed on the 6th of July 2015. A month later global stock markets had a meltdown with investors selling their stocks and taking their money out of the stock markets globally. Investor confidence was badly hit.
I always believed that Netccentric crossed the finish line at the very last minute. If we were to list just a month later, it would have affected the response of our IPO and we may not have been able to list.
Now that we’re listed though, the money we raised has built us a war chest enough to grow and expand the company to what we believe it will become.
3) Finding Penny’s hernia
One day our babysitter was changing Penny’s diaper when she realized her crotch area was looking a little swollen. She reported it to Shorty who then immediately brought her to see a doctor. It turned out to be a hernia. Her ovary had dropped into a “hole” and if it wasn’t corrected she would lose an ovary.
When both Shorty and I looked at the spot we couldn’t tell that anything was wrong. Sure if you looked hard enough you’ll see it’s a little bit swollen but not to the extent of it being a real issue. We were fortunate that my baby sitter had spotted it and knew what it was. I attribute that to God looking out for us and Penny. After all part of my prayers every night is for the safety and good health of our family.
Timothy Tiah – Co-Founder of Colony, Kuala Lumpur Co-Working Space