1984 – 2023
“We’re all work in progress.”
Suzannah Ng Funeral Speech
2/7/2023
Ladies and gentlemen, brothers and sisters in Christ from FBC, Choo Hoo, beloved father of Susanah, Catherine, her ever protective elder sister, and William the faithful brother-in-law, we are gathered here tonight to remember a remarkable young woman whose life was tragically taken from us all too soon.
You know, comets are a rare occurrence in the skies above. The most famous is Halley’s comet, and it comes by only once every 75 years, making it possible for a person to see it twice in their lifetime if they live long enough. It was last here in 1986, and it is projected to return in 2061.
As I reflect on the life and times of our dear sister Susanah, I suddenly realize in many ways that she was like a shooting star… blazing a brilliant trail of light racing across a darkened sky. She made you pause and look up as she mesmerized you and literally took your breath away, but like a comet gone far too soon, leaving you hungry for more. Looking back to see if you can still catch a glimpse of that fiery tail, looking forward, always wondering what could have been if she had blazed just a little bit more.
What is so special about this comet?
- Love
- Commitment
- Passion
Love
If you ask me what is the most important characteristic of Susanah that strikes me, it must be the way she loved. She was confident in and of herself. She never gave love in order to gain love or to look good. Unlike many of her peers, she did not need a man to complete her. She was comfortable with who she was and passionate about all the things and people who were important to her in her life.
She loved her mother with a fierce devotion. She was devoted to her sister, Catherine, you can hear it in the way her voice softened whenever she referred to her “che”. As for her father, our dear Choo Hoo… She was absolutely adored by him, who now bears the greatest burden of loss with her demise.
Any one of you who has been her friend and brother in church would have witnessed her love for virtually everyone. I have never heard her murmur a complaint or utter a bad word against anyone. This is amazing given the fact that she is a lawyer (they are not generally known for their love) and has to work with the most difficult people in society, where litigation and intrigue are part and parcel of the fabric of her life. She had an infectious smile that would cut through the tensest situations. She was a virtual breath of fresh air when she would stand by the entrance of the hall and usher worshippers into the second service. If you are ever having a bad day or week, that smile and cheerful greeting is all you would need to make your day. Her love can be seen in her discipleship group in Gamma, where she led a group with often older people in it. Usually, you will inevitably see young people congregate together in church for common interests as their age is an affinity, but Susanah was different; you would more often than not see her with the older folk in church. We would often joke that she had an old soul… But I would venture to say that she was always there to love and give and not to take.
Commitment
Whenever there was any work that needed to be done in our church’s Gamma discipleship program, she got cracking without any excuses that she did not have enough time. When it came to the things of God… even though she was a busy lawyer, she made time. I remember in the early years of Gamma when she was working in Skrine and Company, she would always turn up every Wednesday for bible study, come rain or shine. Knowing how tough it was for young lawyers in the corporate field, I would ask how her bosses took to her insistence on leaving early on Wednesday. She was absolutely fearless and just said that it was her commitment, and they had to deal with it. God’s Word and Work came first. Now, when was the last time you came across a young person in the corporate field who said that?
She had a maturity way beyond her years in the sense that she always knew what was important in life and prioritized them accordingly. Her sense of commitment was so evident that she even agreed to head up our entire church’s advanced discipleship program called Gamma, even though work got pretty tough for her when she started her own business in sports law, dealing with clients who often required her help in the middle of the night.
Her former boss James Kitching described Susanah
“A trusted warrior who went into battle by my side. A true friend. A confidant. Kind, compassionate, caring, loyal, honest, humble. The best kind of person. Susanah Ng was a true unicorn.”
Over the years, Susanah was my go-to person for anyone with legal problems in church; no matter who they were, she would volunteer, and she always came through. It was amazing, nothing fazed her, she would just very calmly get on with the job. She was just there for us.
Passion
If there was one thing that she was absolutely passionate about was her physical sport, whether it be running or cycling. She was all about endurance, and whether it was 50 km or 100km, she did it all.
She would have the scars that bear witness to her passion. Each time I would see her in church, there would be a new battle scar. She would just shrug it off because the scars she recognized were part and parcel of her journey and emblematic of her passion.
Ironically, it would be this very passion that ultimately led to her collision that fateful morning. But think about it, Susanah was never about doing things at half measure, she was always about the passion, and she finally died doing exactly what she was passionate about. Cycling in the bright sunshine of that morning, taking in the beauty of God’s creation, and even sending pictures of the pretty countryside to her father. She was in her element.
Love, commitment, and passion.
Let me draw a lesson that Susanah would want all of you to take home today.
I believe God led someone to actually send me a picture of Susanah the day after the accident. It was a picture of her on the winner’s platform when she won a recent cycling race this year, I believe it was. At first, I was inclined to think that this was a cruel twist and insensitive of WhatsApp because the picture was of the very event and sport that ultimately took her life.
But then I carefully examined the photo.
There she was, vintage Susanah, in her element, head held high, proudly holding up a certificate that stated it was the first prize.
You can see her triumphant grin, her right hand clutching her trophy, and her left hand holding up the winner’s certificate, together with the judge holding the other side of the certificate. Then I noticed two things in the photo that sum up what her life was all about.
She lived for one thing and ran on the other
On her T-shirt is printed the name of her team, and below this is the caption.
“Glory is forever.”
At first glance, you might be tempted to conclude that was what the race was about, her passion for “glory forever,” but if you knew Susanah, you would know that she was an immensely clever person. That caption was never just about the race, still less the trophy. That caption epitomized her whole goal in life.
She knew that the only glory, the only trophy that she would ever win that would truly last forever, could only come from her Lord Jesus Christ. She knew that it was the race of life, to live in love, commitment, and passion, because of what her Saviour did for her on the cross would be the her ultimate glory forever.
So on that day, just as she cycled her last race, she did it just like she ran all her other races, with all her might, with all her heart, and all her passion. She was doing what she loved, but more importantly, she lived her life just as she ran her race. Her face was always set towards her ultimate glory. Nothing would deter her or distract her. That certificate she was holding actually read “The World’s toughest bicycle race.”
That is actually ironic because the toughest bicycle race is the race of life. Tonight she stands tall with Paul and echoes his words…
2 Timothy 4:7-8 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 8 Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing.
That is Susanah’s glory forever; that was what she ran for.
The second thing was what she ran on. You will notice that in the photo, her left thigh bears a tattoo. Verses from the bible, we Christians call it the Word of God, but in the handwriting of her beloved mother. So that every time she ran, she ran on the strength that these verses gave her. These bible verses were a legacy was from her mother it was powered her life and it was the most valuable inheritance she ever passed it on to her daughter knowing that in the rough and tumble of life it is the Word of God that would prove to be the only source of endurance that would sustain her. The Word of God was where she got her power and love because the Word of God was tattooed not only on her thigh but in her heart. It kept her centered, it kept her focused. It kept her on target, and she lived it, leading the Gamma Bible Discipleship program at the First Baptist Church.
Funerals are, by nature, bittersweet affairs. Bitter because of the pain of loss, the grief and sorrow that is ours to share, because it is never easy to let go. Yet ironically sweet because if Susanah were here tonight, she would also remind you that because of what Jesus has done on the cross, this night is also a celebration of her life.
Susanah has lived her remarkable life like that brilliant comet that flashes across the sky; it was a beautiful life. Not one to be mourned over forever, but a life to be celebrated, to be marvelled at because she has shown us what a life transformed by Jesus looks like. If Susanah is to leave a legacy, it has to be in all your lives, especially
Choo Hoo, Catherine and William… the writer of Ecclesiastes says:
Ecclesiastes 3:1-2
For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:
a time to be born, and a time to die;
a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted;
a time to kill, and a time to heal;
a time to break down, and a time to build up;
a time to weep, and a time to laugh;
a time to mourn, and a time to dance
There will come a time when you will need to pick up the pieces and look ahead.
Susanah did not live in vain, she did not run in vain… the comet leaves a trail for us to follow… do her proud… live out the rest of your life and make it count just like she did.
Peter Ng
