In the sixth part of Everyday Christianity: Faith@Work, Cheryl Seow shares her perspectives on faith and family in this season of her life. Cheryl has had 20 years of experience in private and in-house legal practice before she recently took a break from work to raise her adolescent daughters. Cheryl has been worshipping at Wesley Methodist Church for 26 years and is an active Church volunteer. She is currently serving as a worship leader, a marketplace ministry leader, and the Chairperson of the WSCS (Wesley Women’s Society of Christian Service).
Hello, Cheryl. Please share your story with us. First, tell us a bit about yourself, your family and how you become a Christian.
I grew up in a non-Christian family and attended a secular primary school. God led me to discover Him during my formative years at Methodist Girls School (Secondary) (MGS)—stay tuned for more of that story at the end of this article! My parents were busy corporate professionals, and there were several lawyers in my extended family, so I considered the legal vocation from a young age. I knew I wanted to become a corporate lawyer by the time I entered university.
My husband, Ade, and I met while studying at the same university in the United Kingdom. He is a banker, and he moved to Singapore in 2007 for better career opportunities and for us to get married and start a family. We were married at Wesley in 2008, and we have two daughters—the older one is 15 years old, and the younger one is 12 years old, and she will be sitting for the PSLE this year.
Please share with us what you were working as before becoming a homemaker.
I have close to 20 years of work experience as a corporate lawyer, both in private practice in a large local law firm and in in-house roles with multinational corporations and listed companies.
I am currently taking a temporary career break to focus on building my relationship with my daughters. Ade and I had been praying for many years for God to reveal to us His timing so that I could take this break. Throughout last year, God told me clearly and repeatedly that it was time to re-prioritise my life goals and focus on the children. The truth is that we have very limited time left with the girls during their formative years. I knew that if I took this step to pause my career, the opportunity to spend quality and quantity time with the girls would be recovered. I would eventually like to return to the workforce, but I have left these plans in God’s hands and will see what doors He opens for me in His good time.
What is it like to transition to a stay home mom, after practising as a lawyer for so many years?
The transition took many years of prayer and preparation, and Ade and I sought godly counsel. I had previously taken a short sabbatical from my then-current job in 2021. Thus, when we decided it was time for me to assume my new role as a homemaker, we were prepared for it.
I was initially worried about my career prospects and finances, but over the years of preparation, God has taught me that my value and worth are not tied to my profession and my salary. I feel God’s peace, which is the surest sign that taking this step is part of God’s plan for my life.
Tell us how you lived out your life as a Christian as a homemaker now.
In the past, I had little time to practise intentionality. I was constantly running from pillar to post, never present for my children even though I may have been physically present, and extremely disorganised and forgetful. My mother would nag me to eat more ginkgo nuts, hoping my memory would improve!
As I now have more control over my time, I feel it is essential to steward my time most efficiently and responsibly, in a way pleasing to God. In this current season, I am trying to plan and prioritise how I spend my time better, focusing mainly on my family. Given that I now spend more time with my daughters, I also have more opportunities to practise being present for them, actively listening, speaking and responding with intentionality, and discussing their daily struggles and challenges in their faith journey.
What are your challenges, and what motivates you daily to care for your family and household?
My greatest challenge is being a better parent to my two teenage daughters! There is no comprehensive instruction manual on raising adolescent children in today’s hyper-connected world of worldly distractions and influences, except perhaps the Bible.
My greatest motivation may be a cliché, but the Christian values and beliefs I hold truly ground me. The Crucifixion and Resurrection of Christ are the ultimate lessons in unconditional love and forgiveness of sins. This understanding keeps me going every day. Christ did that for me and expected the same of me as a parent; I would also add that taking a break from work is a privilege I do not take for granted.
Tell us what a typical week is like for you now.
My typical week consists of driving the children around, running errands, spring-cleaning my home, and spending time with the children. It is nice to catch them in the mood to talk and share what has happened in their day at school, their challenges, feelings and views, and upcoming activities and outings.
I also exercise twice to four times a week and cook and bake for the family at least once weekly. I try to devote time daily to God and work on church ministry matters. I have also been learning conversational Japanese for over a year and do daily Japanese language practices online.
Do you currently serve in any community activities or church ministries? What are some of the ways you have served in Church ministry?
I am the current chairperson of the Wesley Women’s Society of Christian Service (WSCS). We organise programs that focus on women’s needs and fellowship. We run various workshops on women’s topics, art and craft workshops, monthly befriending visits to elderly ladies at an old folks’ home, and the Sunday breakfast service at the church pantry after the 7.30 am Traditional service. We co-organise the Food Fair with the church team. We are also involved in WSCS activities at the Trinity Annual and General Conference levels. As chairperson of WSCS, I am also part of the LCEC (Local Church Executive Committee) at Wesley.
Before the pandemic, I was an usher with the Prayer & Praise Ministry and am now a holy communion steward for the same ministry for the 9.30 am Prayer & Praise service. I am also a worship leader with the Worship & Music Ministry for the 9.30 am Traditional service. With this year’s church theme being Discipleship in the Workplace, I have also started serving with the Marketplace Ministry as a marketplace support group lead, where I facilitate monthly sharing sessions with a group of young adult female lawyers, and we share about our work, life and family matters in a safe space.
In what ways do you share your faith in your family and community? In what ways can a homemaker glorify God where they are?
The truth is that I have juggled the role of a homemaker alongside my other roles as a wife, parent, daughter, employee, employer, colleague, ministry servant and friend for the longest time. I may not be an employee in this current life season, but my other existing roles continue, and there are many opportunities to be an ambassador of Christ at home and outside the house. The harvest is plenty, as I have many pre-believing family members, ex-colleagues and friends. Thus, I prioritise having more fellowship time with them and generally create opportunities for me to share about my faith, faith journey and ministry work.
One recent example was the Wesley Podcast ‘Workplace Conversations’ episode on Work-Life Integration, where I was a guest. I shared the podcast episode link with my ex-colleagues and friends, hoping the episode would bless them somehow. It was a catalyst for some of my friends to reflect on and share their experiences and struggles with work and life. (Listen to this podcast at Workplace Conversations: Work-Life Integration – Wesley Podcast).
What are your views on work and rest? How do you keep your Sabbath and find rest in God as you carry out your various roles & responsibilities and ministry work?
Work is part of God’s creation and presents opportunities to serve as God’s ambassador in the workplace. Rest should be an important priority and not optional—even God and Jesus rested! However, it has been a struggle for me to practice a regular Sabbath once a week; I succeed in some weeks, but most weeks are challenging.
Connecting with God daily through listening to daily devotions, keeping up with my Bible reading plan and talking to God through prayer is my daily Sabbath time. In doing so, I find rest in God. This spiritual discipline charges my spiritual battery to carry out all my daily roles and responsibilities.
How do you balance your family and personal life while serving in ministry? How much time do you spend serving in ministry now?
Having clear priorities helps me to find balance. However, balance denotes a sense of equilibrium at play, and this may shift from time to time, depending on which of the priorities become more critical and specific issues or matters that need urgent attention. I usually spend 1 or 2 hours on most days working on ministry-related matters and serving in the ministries I described above.
It sounds like you have a lot on your plate. How do you deal with stress?
Exercise is a great stress reliever! I play tennis two to three times a week, go to the gym, and take walks at the Botanic Gardens. Cooking and baking are my other stress relievers. I am very passionate about good food.
How do you find God in the mundane and ordinary?
It is about noting the simple things, looking out for small blessings from God, and being thankful for them. I love walking through the Botanic Gardens and being in awe of the flora and fauna God created.
How do you view your success and as a parent, your child’s success in today’s world?
Adults’ definition of “success” generally equates to owning assets and possessing titles linked to materialism and power. When I had decided to pursue law as my vocation, I had probably implicitly thought that such a profession would derive a greater possibility of me achieving such “success”. However, as I matured in my walk with God, I realised my value is not derived from my profession, job title, or anything else. My true value lies in my being God’s child, lovingly created in His image, and forgiven despite my sinfulness.
The typical definition of ‘success” for children in Singapore would comprise the following: getting good grades, winning Edusave and school awards, studying in a “good” school, and attaining achievements in extracurricular activities. As a parent, I am conscious of not using my children’s worldly successes as a benchmark of whether I am hitting my own parental “key performance indicators”. As a Christian parent, I can only do my level best, with God at the helm, to nurture the girls to master Christian values, grow and become independent, and serve in whatever ways possible.
As a homemaker and mother, what are some of the issues that are close to your heart?
I often pray for God’s wisdom to parent my daughters alongside my husband as a team. It is challenging when my husband and I disagree on parenting approaches, especially now that our daughters are teenagers.
We experienced our first PSLE journey with my older daughter during COVID-19, which was highly stressful for everyone. This impacted my relationship with her, and we are still working on healing and mending our relationship. Thus, I am mindful of managing PSLE stress for my younger daughter. I want my relationships with my daughters to strengthen despite the upcoming PSLE and other stressors.
Where and how have you seen God work in your life so far?
As previously mentioned, I grew up in a non-Christian family. I should have done better for PSLE to enter the school I selected as my top choice. MGS was a relatively unknown school to both my mother and me at the time, and my mother had wanted to appeal for me to join another school. However, she decided to drop the appeal and asked me to attend MGS. It was one of her best decisions for me, as I enjoyed my years in that school. At MGS, I learnt about God and Jesus, had daily devotions and prayer during assembly, and attended weekly chapel service. I accepted Jesus as my Lord and Saviour when I was 16. I have been very blessed to have formed life-long friendships at MGS, and these friends remain my spiritual family.
In 2017, I invited my mother to attend the Alpha course. After completing the course, my mother was saved, took up the Baptism and Membership course at Wesley, and has since participated in mission trips. With the benefit of hindsight and reflection, I know God had plans for my mother and me to know Him, even though we had no clue. I also know God had placed friends from school and my husband, Ade, in my life to walk this faith journey together.
Photos courtesy of Cheryl Seow
For more on how Cheryl’s perspectives on work-life balance and how she shares her faith while also prioritising and caring for her family, please tune in to this episode of ‘Workplace Conversations’ podcast on Spotify moderated by Rev Raymond Fong and featuring Cheryl, Aw Choon Hui and Andrew Ng: Workplace Conversations: Work-Life Integration – Wesley Podcast | Podcast on Spotify
(You do not need a Spotify account to listen to this podcast)
Read also: ‘Our Faith Needs to Permeate All Aspects of Life and Work’: An Interview with Aw Choon Hui, Deputy CEO of a Financial Advisory Firm ; ‘Life is not a competition but a race’: An Interview with Stephen Chia, a full-time Christian Ministry worker
Everyday Christianity: Faith@Work is an interview series with Wesleyans from diverse age groups and walks of life. In this series, published in conjunction with our church’s theme for 2024 – Directions 2024: Discipleship in the Workplace , we hope to discover more about the perspectives of Wesleyans in different vocations on how they live out their faith every day, specifically in their workplaces, homes, or communities where they serve. More than just stories of success in victory, we also want to hear their stories of perseverance that point to the reality that our Father is a living God who is ever present in the mountain peaks and valley lows of our everyday lives. For more on Workplace Conversations, please listen to our podcasts by Rev Raymond Fong at Wesley Podcast • A podcast on Spotify for Podcasters .
