Testimony of Aaron Graham Tay – A 2nd Chance in Life

Dear Friends,

Every one of us has a story. We are all born into this world with a purpose to fulfill. This purpose is ordained by God for He knew us even before we were born. Everyday of our lives is written in His book even before it came to be. Therefore, we can find our purpose and destiny by knowing God and His will for our lives, and believe me; only by fulfilling His will and walking in His ways can we find true satisfaction and fulfillment in our lives.

My story is as such. At 8 years old, I was diagnosed to have kidney problem due to lupus. Lupus is an autoimmune disease whereby your own immune system starts to attack its own cells, in which my case was my kidneys. My journey with illness, medicines, doctors and God then started. I had a burning sensation when passing urine and my body was bloated with water. I was started on a high dose of steroids and other medicines which rendered me with a lot of side effects, for example, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, weight gain, and others. Imagine an eight year old boy taking a cocktail of medications everyday and having these symptoms which even an elderly person may find it overwhelming if they had to go through the same course.

Not only the medications, I also have to abstain from physical exercise, tasty foods, sweet drinks, ice cream, and many other luxuries of life which other children of my age could enjoy. I told myself, “Life isn’t fair. Why am I made to suffer all this restrictions, take medications, be pierced by needles for blood tests and visit the doctor every month?” I developed an inferiority complex as a result, especially in the area of physical fitness. Whenever it was physical education lesson, I had to sit at a corner and watch all my other classmates enjoying their game of soccer or other games. I felt so left out!

As I could not excel in the area of physical fitness, I began to pride myself in the area of my academic achievements. By the grace of God, I have fairly good results in my primary school and secondary school. Being young, I had dreams for my future, I wanted to be a doctor and help people who are in the same plight as me. This dream was inspired by my doctor at 14 years old, when I was transferred from the children clinic to the new doctor. She was very knowledgeable and gave me a sense of confidence that I will do well physically.

Besides seeking help from competent doctors, I also turned to God for help. I was studying in a Christian school and I began to go to church services. I also went to healing conferences where healing miracles were expected to happen. However, every time I went with an expectation to recover, I was disappointed at the end of the day. I began to think if it was a mere psychological attempt and decided that healing miracles may not be meant for me. But I continued to pray each day for recovery and good health, and holding on to the faith that there is still a God and He may hear my prayers.

In my junior college days, my illness was not such a burdensome issue anymore. I had grown accustomed to the fact that I had to visit doctors every month, get poked by needles for blood tests every month and eat a cocktail of medicines every morning and night. It was akin to brushing my teeth or bathing, a daily routine and a part of my life. My faith in God was also lackluster. I was going to church activities, but I was preoccupied with the daily affairs of my life, getting good grades, having fun with friends, doing ministry activities, spending time with my girlfriend, and others. I had neglected investing time with God and also my family. I was caught up with my own ambitions, of being a doctor, and being popular with my friends. I became self-centered, confident in my own abilities, even to the point of arrogance. I had forgotten that what I had in my life was all by the grace of God who by His merciful Hand was sustaining me.

After my ‘A’ Levels, I had to go to the army despite my medical condition. I was posted to an office environment where I had a 9 to 5 work schedule. At that time, I was straying away from God. Godly values no longer had a strong influence on my life. I was a ‘Sunday Christian’, doing all the religious activities, but never having a true relationship with Jesus. I was distracted by the pleasures of the world. I would go out with my friends to clubs, dancing, late night suppers, and indulging myself in the ‘fun’ life exhibited by the world. The only restriction I gave myself was smoking. But needless to say, my health was also going downhill. Not only my health, my relationship with God, my family, and my girlfriend were also deteriorating. Sad to say, when I entered into university, not only did I failed to enter into Medicine (I entered into the course of Pharmacy instead), my relationship with my girlfriend of 3 years also failed, and even worse, I did not dare to confess to my classmates that I was a Christian, for fear they will judge me by my unrestrained lifestyle.

God had no choice but to intervene. My health collapsed. I knew that God was disciplining me. He did not cause me to fall terribly ill. He allowed it to happen and it was due to my own folly that caused me to be bedridden for one whole month in the hospital. I was in shock that my health had deteriorated to such a condition. The lupus was flaring up and aggressively attacking my kidneys and my kidneys were fast failing. Doctors tried many medications to curb the attack, but no avail. I was in depression. I had lost my vision. I had lost my direction. I had failed to become a doctor. I failed in my love relationship. I had failed to protect my health and had become a burden to my family. As a result of depression, I had to quit school and seek psychological help.

During the one month in hospital, I felt that I was reduced to ground zero. All my academic achievements meant nothing at that point when death may be eminent. All I longed for was my loved ones to be by my side. But I had neglected them all these years, pursuing my own dreams and not investing quality time with them. I was grieved with sorrow. Evil thoughts of death filled my mind and I even wanted to end my life as I could not see any future in front of me. The psychologist and a brain doctor whom I was consulting said to me that I may not be able to complete my university studies due to my illness and a MRI scan actually showed the structure of my brain to be akin to a 50 year old man!

I was repentant and I cried out to God. I knew that only He could turn the situation around. The doctor predicted that my kidneys will totally fail and will need dialysis in 6 months time. I could not accept that fact that at a young age of 21 years old, I will have to be on dialysis for the rest of my life. I had so much I wanted to do with my life! I started to confess all my sins I have committed. Also the sins committed by omission, of the things I should have done but did not do. Peace gradually came into my heart and I was at rest. I read the Bible, focusing on healing scriptures, and I came to realize that God intended healing for everyone, not just a selected few! I have been always believing a lie that healing was only for those God meant for them to have! Now I know by Jesus stripes, death on the cross and His resurrection, we have access to His healing power by faith! My faith arose and my condition gradually got better.

By the mercy and grace of God, I knew I was forgiven and had a 180 degrees shift in my mindset. I started to become positive and focused on my relationships with my family and loved ones. Success, material possessions, fame, power, had all become secondary to having fulfilling relationship with God and the people I love. I had the joy of the Lord in my heart. It was at that point that I really knew I had a true relationship with Jesus and I committed to follow Him all the days of my life. I started to dream again, now not for myself, but for Jesus. I had a dream to set up a medical foundation to help kidney patients like myself and share the love of Christ with them, for Jesus can heal them in spirit, soul and body, just like how He has done for me.

By faith, I applied for a course in Business Studies in the university. I had a new dream, a new vision. I needed funds to set up the foundation in the future and I believed God will grant me the ability to acquire wealth through business ventures for His Kingdom purpose of healing the lost, sick, poor and needy. By the grace of God, I was admitted to the course and graduated with an Honors degree in 2005. When I was completing my final year exams in 2005, I eventually had to be put on dialysis, long after the doctor’s prediction of 6 months back in 2001. Miraculously, my results was one of the best in that semester, even though I had to undergo dialysis 3 times a week, 4 hours each time, rendering me weak and tired. It was only possible by the power of God.

God had sustained me through the illness and granted me many blessings in life, my family, friends, a good career as a financial consultant, and others. But my heart was longing for a complete healing of my spirit, soul and even body. I held on to the faith that God was able to heal me completely, with no dialysis, no needles, and no medications. God was indeed faithful. After 19 years of suffering from lupus, the doctor certified that I am no longer under the throngs of lupus and I am completely free of lupus. Praise the Lord! I could not believe my ears! After 19 years of carrying the burden, I am finally free! My faith grew even stronger and I started to believe God for even greater things.

In 2008, things took a different turn. My heart started to feel palpitations and I was always retaining much water in my body. My blood pressure was high and I felt breathless. My heart was getting weaker due to the 4 years on dialysis. Other problems started to crop up, such as biochemistry imbalance in my blood. I had infections. I was suffering and had to go into hospital quite frequently. My doctor recommended a kidney transplant urgently, because if my heart gets weaker and weaker, even a transplant will not be an option for me.

It was another dark period of my life. Holding on to God’s faithfulness, I prayed, my family prayed, the church prayed, for God’s will to be done in my life. My younger brother, Caleb, agreed to donate his kidney to me! I was overjoyed and touched by his act of kindness and love. I knew of other patients whose family members were not willing to donate their kidneys to them. Caleb shared that he could not imagine himself go through what I had suffered these 20 years, and he always wanted to help me, but did not know how to. Now that there is this opportunity to do something for me, he knew it was the right thing to do and thus he decided to go through the operation to give me one of his kidneys. When I heard his sharing, I was deeply touched and I felt God’s unconditional love for me through my brother. Our family and friends also was inspired by Caleb’s act of love.

Therefore, on 29^th September 2008, my brother and I were wheeled into the operating theatre. The night before the operation, I gathered Caleb and my youngest brother, Jaron, into my room and we prayed together for a successful transplant. And indeed God was gracious, for He gave me a new healthy kidney through Caleb. After the transplant, my blood results were totally normal and I passed urine normally. I felt so much healthier and appetite increased tremendously. My strength came back and I no longer felt breathless and weak. Hallelujah! I felt that I was given a new life, a second chance in life, all by the grace of God.

Today, it is a new page of purity and holiness before God. I fully surrender my life and plans to God, for He knows what is best for me and He will lead me into His perfect will. Having waited 20 years for the full manifestation of the healing, I firmly believe that God is faithful to every promise He has given in His Word. In the process of waiting on the Lord, I have learnt many lessons. I learnt that a good relationship with my family and loved ones is priceless and it is the only thing that matters at the end of our road in life. I learnt that material possessions and wealth is fleeting and temporal by itself, it is what we do with our wealth, our talents and abilities, which really count. And for me, to invest my wealth, time, energy, abilities into empowering the lost, sick, poor and needy patients will be my life’s calling which I know will have eternal value.

I was once lost, but now I am found. I was blind, but now I see. I hope my story encourage you in your walk with God. No matter what we are facing now, be it sickness, financial crisis, relationship problems, or other crisis, God is able to turn the situation around and use it for His glory. No matter what we have done or experienced in the past, if we are willing to humble ourselves, pray and confess to God and repent of our wrongs, God is willing to forgive us and remember our sins no more. God will heal our hurts and give us a new life. Yes, a full and abundant life in Christ. He has done it for me and He will do it for you too. Amen.