by Soo-Inn Tan | Feb 14, 2025 | 2025, Articles, Discipleship, Intergenerational, Soo-Inn Tan, Spiritual Friendship
He was a young doctor, in his late 20s. I am close to 70. He was showing me around his town when he turned to me and asked, at my age, what advice would I give to someone his age? I paused for a while. I don’t usually get asked this. (Wonder why?) And I usually...
by Soo-Inn Tan | Jan 17, 2025 | 2025, Death & Grief, Spiritual Friendship, Widowhood
Grief is not a disorder, a disease or a sign of weakness. It is an emotional, physical and spiritual necessity, the price you pay for love. The only cure for grief is to grieve. — Dr. Earl A. Grollman Yesterday (15 Jan) I met up with a friend for coffee. He lost...
by Soo-Inn Tan | Sep 27, 2024 | 2024, Spiritual Friendship
A few friends excitedly told me about an article that appeared in The Singapore Straits Times recently (1). Part of the article read: It was recently suggested to me that I should consider joining or forming a group of close confidants comprising men —...
by Soo-Inn Tan | Aug 15, 2024 | 2024, Community, God's Grace, Gratitude, Loving Others, Spiritual Friendship
I am on a mission to thank the friends who stood by me in my darkest moments. Those of you who know me will know of my ten black years, a period that started with the death of my first wife from cancer and ended with a journey through clinical depression, with a...
by Soo-Inn Tan | Jul 26, 2024 | 2024, Intergenerational, Mentoring, Spiritual Friendship
This past weekend I was in Malacca for some teaching and preaching at City Community Church, a leading Assemblies of God church in the city. It was a trip with many highlights. I was especially glad to spend some extended time with my friend Fook Meng who chairs the...
by Soo-Inn Tan | Jul 5, 2024 | 2024, Intergenerational, Spiritual Friendship, Third Agers, Work & Vocation
I had breakfast with a dear friend a few days ago. He is about 10 years my junior. He said he struggled with fatigue because of the many duties he had and that he took longer to recover from the things he had to do. I said that sounded exactly like me. We both...