50 Year old, Yeay

Today, I turned 50. I am blessed beyond measure. My mother-thank God she still sees me in this age, said that I was given birth around 5 pm, about the same time I was writing this notes, fifty years ago in a beautiful town Tolitoli, a clove city, surrounded by exotic white beach as the fifth child  of the family after Teddy, Evelyn, Fransisca and Harold. I have an only younger brother, the baby in the family, Green.  My late father, Hendrik Manueke, along with my grand father, a great fisherman, the late Weliam Manueke, used to take us surrounding the coastal area, whether for fishing or for picnic in our childhood.

This age feels a little different, like my mindset was opened widely; I am changed in seeing myself and other people, I know more on my strength and my happiness, and understand people better than before. I feel more self control (especially in controlling my body and mind and more patient to behave to other people). As a part of ordinary people grew up in developing country, the blessings I have had are full; things I had only dreamed of have been accomplished through the first part of 50 years of life (hopefully I would have another one): getting education, having job as a lecturer, getting married, having two wonderful children-later a lovely grand daughter coming and of course a son in law, having an international working experience in teaching and in music performing; and this year marked as the starting point of my music career as a singer, composer, and songwriter. There are works to create something value for humankind ahead.

As a lively human being, constructing plans proves that we are alive and I am happy to have another more plans coming up but all I could say is, they are going to be the bonus; a chance for me to produce extraordinary works that need to focus on and be major on.  

As a believer, I have confidence in every human being comes on purpose, and God is in control on everything. Jeremiah writes, "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart..” (Jeremiah 1:5). During the pandemic and stuff, I lost a number of people I knew well. While life keeps going, people are leaving the world sooner or later. So, the thing is, what should we do during the period of life, we do not even know what is going to happened the day after. The only thing I know is, God is the only Omniscient that we can put our trust to. I know Him by learning from other people, by experiencing Him through His words written on the Scripture; believing that He has an amazing plan to each and everyone of us. However, as a human, we have the freedom to take the opportunity or leave it. For sometimes, I tried my best to do it my way, but it seems to me that I have to submit everything to Him for He has a plan for me.