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Hello everyone! My name is Ruth and I am from Singapore. I’m a third year student pursuing a diploma in Mass Communication at Ngee Ann Polytechnic. I also do Bible calligraphy over at @deepgraceinspo to encourage and bless others.
In this article, I will be sharing about how God transformed my seemingly hopeless situation into something great for His glory. To begin, here’s a short introduction to Singapore’s education system. Here in Singapore, our education system is very much modelled after the United Kingdom. From ages 7 to 12, we go to primary school and we move on to secondary school at age 13 and graduate at age 16. At 16 years, based on the academic streams we are in, we take either the GCE N Levels or the O Levels. Once we have our results, we will then be able to choose which institutions to move on to for our tertiary education.
Well, at this point you might be wondering why I am explaining all these; so here is my story. When I was 15 (Secondary 3), I had to make a big decision. I had to choose whether I wanted to enrol into the Science or the Arts stream. This would determine the subjects I would take for my O Levels examination the following year. I did well enough to enter both streams but eventually chose to enter the science stream just because it was seen as the cooler choice. But more than that, I wanted to be seen as smarter and more intelligent by my friends.
When classes started, my grades were mediocre and I was not too concerned. But when we got to the middle of the year when I took my mid-year examinations, my grades started going downhill. I went from being an average student to failing the majority of my subjects, mainly Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics and Additional Math. At that point, I was also not doing well in my other subjects too. I found it tough to keep up with the lessons taught and I just could not grasp mathematical and scientific concepts. Somehow, I managed to barely pass my subjects by the end of the academic year and was promoted to Secondary 4. While I was relieved that I progressed to Secondary 4 and did not have to repeat the year, I knew that I was struggling and that the new academic year would be worse, with gruelling revision and teachers cramming in many chapters of study within the short year.
True enough, I did horribly for my first examination of the year, the Preparatory Examination in around April. This was also just 2 months away from the first O Level examination I would take, which was Chinese. I had always been good at Chinese, scoring As for my exams. But due to my efforts in trying to study and catch up on my mathematics and science subjects, I had neglected my Chinese studies and this showed in my grades. I got a C for my exam and I was really worried. Even my teacher was concerned that I would not perform well. When I asked her for her prediction on how I would do for my Chinese O Levels, she told me I would get a B at most. When I heard that, my heart sank. Chinese was one of my better subjects and I was banking on it to improve my O Level score. Nevertheless, I continued to work hard and gave my best as I entrusted my results to God.
I still remember the day I got my results vividly. I was literally trembling with fear as my teacher walked down the rows of seats and gave us our results slip. When my teacher got to me, she said to me and i translate: I’m truly shocked, even I can’t believe what I am seeing.
When I unfolded the tiny results slip and read my results, I burst into tears. I got an A! I even received a distinction for my Oral Examination! Truly praise be to God, who made all things possible for me. Even when I and those around me weren’t expecting much, He turned my situation around for all to see. It was a miracle, my grades jumped up by 4 grades. I could not have possibly done it by my own strength in just 2 months. It was God’s power and all glory be to Him. This was just the beginning of the miracles that God worked in my life that year.
Because I did badly for my science and math examinations, I ranked 35th place in my class of 40. During the “Meet the Parents” session (FYI: this usually happens after the mid year examinations where students and their parents get to meet the student’s form teacher and parents are presented with their child’s report card. They may also speak to other subject teachers as well if they wish to discuss their child’s performance in a particular subject), my parents wanted to meet my chemistry teacher because I did poorly in the subject and also because she was the head of the science department and they wanted to seek her opinion on my performance. My teacher, let’s call her Ms C for short, addressed their concerns and suggested that I make a drastic change to my subject combination.
Remember I was in the Science stream? Well, Ms C recommended that I “drop” to the Arts stream instead. This meant that I would be different from my classmates. I would have to take on subjects that were more elementary than what I was doing. I would have to attend lessons separate from my peers, with different teachers to teach me. I would be known as the black sheep of the second best class in the level. Basically, a disgrace to the class, a failure...
While my parents were readily nodding and agreeing with what Ms C suggested, I found it hard to process what she had just said. I had to “drop” to a lower stream? What would people think of me? I would look so incompetent and dumb!
I left the consultation room feeling low, dejected and aimless. While my parents tried to cheer me up and encouraged me to take my teacher’s advice, I was apprehensive and felt like my pride had been hurt. As we proceeded downstairs, there happened to be a tertiary education fair going on near the car park and we decided to have a look. Seeing all the booths that the different tertiary education institutions set up, I gravitated towards the ones set up by Junior Colleges. While I was browsing at the Junior College booths, my parents called me over to a booth by a Polytechnic.
To give you more background, Junior Colleges (JC) are tertiary education institutions that teach mainstream subjects to students. Students attend JCs for 2 years and then take the GCE A Levels at the end of their course of study. Itt is often harder to get into JCs and most people who go to JCs often do better and are good in science and mathematics. To get into better JCs, you would have to have a lower GCE O Level score (the lower, the better).
As for Polytechnics (Poly, for short), students spend 3 years studying modules in their selected course (ie. Accountancy, Mechanical Engineering, etc.). Think of Polytechnics as a taster of what University is like. Often, it is much easier to get into Polytechnics as the cut off score is higher. However, in our asian society where doing well academically is seen as more important and acceptable than pursuing a course you are passionate about, many people view polytechnic students as inferior and less studious than their JC counterparts. Unsurprisingly, my parents thought the same way too (but I don’t blame them!). Since I was young, my parents always told me to study in a JC and that polytechnic was not an option. By hook or by crook, I had to get into a JC even if it was the worst JC in Singapore.
So you could imagine my surprise when my parents called me over to the Poly booth to have a look and to have a listen to what the Poly representative had to say! On our way home in the car, my parents told me to give Poly a shot. The poly representative had mentioned that there was an upcoming Early Admission Exercise (EAE) that all polys were holding. Students could apply to a poly course before taking their O Levels and stood a chance of getting in if they passed an interview. And if they passed the interview and got offered a placement in the school, they would have to achieve a minimum O Level score to secure their placement.
After much deliberation, I agreed to moving to the Arts stream and gave the EAE a shot. I gathered my portfolio together, got my interview date set and went for the interview. Long story short, I got accepted into the Mass Communication course!
Consequently, I did well on my Preliminary Examinations and ultimately did well on my O Levels as well! I went from getting 35 points for my preparatory exams to 16 points for my Preliminary exams to 9 points on my O levels. With my grade, I could get into many JCs in Singapore! On top of that, I did better than most of my classmates who were in the science stream.
The point of me writing this is not to boast about my own effort or to claim that it was through my own abilities or the smart choices I made that I managed to emerge victorious in this whole situation. No. I want to boast of God’s power and His work in my life. About how He took my broken pieces and used it for His glory.
Everything was not a coincidence. God had planned for Ms C to speak to my parents. God had planned for the tertiary education fair to happen on that day. God planned for my parents to visit that particular poly booth. God softened my parents’ hearts, changed the way they viewed poly and education. God even planned that the poly ambassador would be a senior from the course I would study in the future and that she would tell me more about what the course entailed. God planned for me to hear about the early admission exercise even though I had previously missed a talk my school held about the exercise. God knew and He had it all planned out.
God had heard my cry. He heard my desperate pleas through my tears on sleepless nights with my head pounding with migraines. God knew all of my anxious thoughts, my worries about my future and what others would think of me. God heard my parents’ prayers and their concerns about my education. God knew, and He heard me. And in His own way, God assured me that everything would be alright and that no matter how bleak my future seemed, He had a plan for me.
I want to encourage you today that if you are struggling and you cannot seem to see the light at the end of the tunnel, keep trusting in God and keep surrendering all your plans to Him. Beloved, God cares for you and He wants you to know that you don’t have to rely on yourself to get yourself out of the situation you are in. Rely on His power and His promises. He sees you and hears you. Your prayers are never ignored and even if your prayer is a feeble and simple “God, help me”, He hears you.
Here are some pointers and verses to help you as you journey on and continue to trust in God:
1) I am not forsaken
Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. Psalm 23:4
Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Joshua 1:9
2) God has a good plan for my life
For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Jeremiah 29:11
being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. Philippians 1:6
3) Hope and trust in God
We can make our plans, but the Lord determines our steps. Proverbs 16:9
Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. Philippians 4:6
Even now, I still do face many challenges and get worried about my future and how things will turn out. But I hold on to God’s promises and I trust that God will continue to provide and that I can fully trust Him as He holds my future in His hands. I am learning to keep surrendering myself to God and to submit myself to His will.
I want to end my sharing with the lyrics of the song Yet Not I but Through Christ in Me by CityAlight. I hope you will be encouraged by it and know that God is always with you and that His grace is sufficient for you:
The night is dark but I am not forsaken
For by my side, the Saviour He will stay
I labour on in weakness and rejoicing
For in my need, His power is displayed
To this I hold, my Shepherd will defend me
Through the deepest valley He will lead
Oh the night has been won, and I shall overcome
Yet not I, but through Christ in me
To God be the glory!
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