First of all, belated Christmas greetings to you all. I have for the most part been very busy since my last blog post. Much has happened since returning to Melbourne, and only now as the year draws to a close have I had the chance to sit down, reflect and write something down. I started this reflection early on Christmas morning and thanks to writer's bloc and other distractions, only managed to finish it just now:
It is the wee hours of Christmas morning as I sit in my bed writing this. It's so warm that I can't sleep and my brain is full of thoughts, so I'm writing things down while they're still fresh in my mind. I've just finished watching for the first time that classic Christmas film It's A Wonderful Life. Like Carols in the Cathedral, which again was a highly-acclaimed success, watching this film is going to become an annual Christmas tradition for me, as it already is for many others, if only to remind me every year of just how blessed I've been.
In case you don't know the plot, a hardworking, big-hearted businessman named George Bailey (portrayed brilliantly by James Stewart) is about to commit suicide due to not being able to pay $8,000 to a visiting bank officer, due to an accidental mishap by his business partner and uncle. He is saved by his guardian angel Clarence, who shows George all the bad things that would have happened to the people around him if he had never existed. In some regards, the story is a reverse of Dickens' Christmas Carol, but thankfully both have a happy ending. If you haven't seen It's A Wonderful Life yet, watch it yourself to find out what happens in the end.
Anyway, the film got me thinking about the year that is about to draw to a close. This time last year, I was of course still in London, not quite midway through my intended stay, but by the time I left in August I knew that I had had enough. Although there are certainly some aspects I still miss from my time there - the comparatively reliable Tube and bus services, pubs, Marks & Spencer, reading the Good Deed Feed in the Metro, the libraries, singing with the London Philharmonic Choir, and making new friends - it was also in London that I made the biggest mistake of my life thus far.
To keep the story as brief as possible, I'll keep to the main points. I invested over AUD 100,000 of my savings into a group called Banc de Binary and lost virtually all of it in an elaborate scam. To make matters worse, it was not even my own money but the hard-earned cash that my parents had saved up over years and put in for me to buy a house one day. I was assigned an "account manager" who would give me trading signals over the phone, and while in the beginning things looked rosy, it very quickly went downhill.
It is at this point that I have to thank my family and friends, especially Amanda and Andrew, for pointing out and confirming my worst fears that I had fallen for a scam, and more important prayed for me. I believe now on looking back that it was thanks to those prayers that 1) I was able to close my account with Banc de Binary before leaving London, and 2) I hadn't gone into debt due to my losses.
It's also at this juncture that I must give thanks to God for my girlfriend Vanessa. We've now been together just over three years, this has easily been the most testing year so far, first with our physical separation, temporarily broken over Easter holiday, and then the aforementioned scam, which I will now say threatened to completely ruin my time in London. I would have understood perfectly if Vanessa decided to ditch me after losing all that money, especially since she's determined for us to find a place of our own as soon as possible. But she has stuck by me, which means that she really does love me after all, I guess.
Although I will probably have to wait until I get to Heaven to see how I've been a blessing to people around me during my time on Earth, I can at least be thankful not just for God's protection and guidance, but for the various people who have invested in me over the years and continue to do so.
And so I returned gladly to Melbourne, albeit humiliated and chastised by my financial folly. However, God mercifully came through for me again in two major ways. First, He provided me with work back at DUELI, which helped me 1) to start rebuilding my shattered bank accounts and 2) quickly readjust to life back in Melbourne. Then in late October, completely out of the blue, I received a message on Facebook from the Head of Languages at Presbyterian Ladies College (PLC), whom I had gotten to know through being on the committee of the Association of German Teachers of Victoria (AGTV) with her. She notified me that there was a part-time position going for German, and asked whether I would be interested.
Now at this point, I faced a small dilemma. After my time teaching in London and learning about the Michel Thomas Method, I was determined to continue teaching, just without the stresses of a high school environment. I therefore planned to set up my own language teaching business using the Michel Thomas Method. However, this opportunity was clearly something from God, as if He was saying, "I want you to give it another chance", and not just at any school, but one of the best in Victoria, if not Australia, furthermore a school where I will be able - and encouraged - to practice my faith.
So I went for two interviews and then late last month I got the call from one of the Deputy Principals offering me the position, to which I said yes. Now, taking up this job is something of a leap of faith, given that I will be getting less pay (compared to working as a casual employee at Deakin) and it's only a one-year contract. But God has been gracious enough to grant me this job, He has looked after me and blessed me so abundantly over my 30 years that I have no excuse not to continue to trust His guidance and obey His word. As that great hymn says:
Many things about tomorrow
I don't seem to understand
But I know who holds tomorrow
And I know who holds my hand
Stay tuned for my upcoming annual review.
Cheers and God bless
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