Chiselled to Soar

🕊️ “Chiseled to Soar”

(How God Transforms Us from Doing to Becoming)

You probably know the life cycle of a butterfly by heart since you are 6 years old. But do you know what actually happens inside a chrysalis?

Inside the cocoon of a butterfly, everything breaks down:

• Deconstruction: The caterpillar’s very cells and organs are dissolved into a liquid by enzymes.

• Reconstruction: Hidden cells called imaginal discs awaken and form new wings, legs, and antennae.

• Repurposing: The old cells become energy to build the new body.

• Emergence: When transformation is complete, the chrysalis cracks — and the butterfly pushes its way out.

(I shared during a lunch gathering for Digital Mission Ventures community)

Many of you have been part of my journey — my conversion, my discipleship, and the seasons where God was quietly, and sometimes painfully, reshaping me.

You’ve seen me in my “doing” mode — organizing events, building networks, running Asia Startup Network, and creating Remarkable Women as well. I thought I was walking in purpose, but God was preparing me for something deeper.

I’ve learned that entrepreneurship and community work can be a platform for stewardship — where knowledge-sharing, mentorship, and community aren’t just ways to build businesses, but to allow leaders to shape lives and redeem society for the better.

But before I could steward anything, God had to first chisel me.

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1. The Breaking – The Chisel

“I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you.” — Ezekiel 36:26

There was a season when everything I held on to started to fall apart. In 2021, I lost both my job and my marriage.

Plans I thought were certain, dreams I had worked so hard for — even the version of “me” that I was proud of — all began to crumble.

But that was also the year I found God.

It felt like He had taken a chisel and started knocking away the parts of me I thought were essential.

At first, I resisted. I asked, “God, why are You taking away the very things I built with my own hands?”

But as I began to read the Bible and know Him more, I realized — He wasn’t destroying me. He was revealing me.

Like a sculptor chiseling marble, God was uncovering what He had already placed inside.

And that process — that breaking — was where pride and self-reliance had to die.

That was the beginning of my transformation.

That’s also when I met people like Charmain and Janet, who became part of the community God used to rebuild me.

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2. The Discovery – Talent and the Renewed Mind

“To one he gave five talents…” — Matthew 25:15

During my years at Vertex Ventures, I discovered my true strength — building and empowering communities.

But after three years, I realized something: talent without surrender still leaves you restless.

God began to show me that my abilities weren’t meant to prove my worth; they were meant to serve His purpose.

He reframed how I saw my strengths — not as achievements to display, but as gifts to steward.

He wasn’t just healing my heart; He was renewing my mind — teaching me to think with faith instead of fear, and to see excellence as worship, not hustle.

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3. The New Wine – Becoming a New Vessel

“No one pours new wine into old wineskins…” — Luke 5:37

This verse kept showing up everywhere.

For years, I was running — hosting events, mentoring founders, raising funds, building Remarkable Women.

I was doing so much for God, but not always with God.

Then one day I realized: He was preparing me to hold new wine — a new calling, a new peace, a new capacity for impact.

But the old version of me couldn’t carry it.

God was inviting me to release old patterns — the striving, the pressure, the need to perform — and let Him make me a new vessel.

And in that season, He brought Richard, a mentor, into my life — someone who modeled what godly leadership and wisdom could look like.

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4. The Freedom – He Frees Me

“He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.” — Psalm 147:3

"Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." —John 8:32

When I finally let go of my need to control, I found peace.

Freedom from anxiety. Freedom from people-pleasing. Freedom from the pressure to prove myself.

God didn’t just take away the pain — He gave me purpose.

He reminded me that He chose me not because of what I can do, but because of who He created me to be.

That’s when I realized: I wasn’t chiseled to be perfect — I was chiseled to soar.

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5. The Waiting – Trusting the Process

“Those who wait on the Lord will renew their strength.” — Isaiah 40:31

Waiting is hard for a doer like me.

I used to think that if I wasn’t producing, I was falling behind. I thought I need to strive my hardest to fulfill my full potential.

But in my waiting season, God taught me that waiting isn’t wasting — it’s working on the inside.

It’s like what happens inside a chrysalis — the cocoon of a butterfly.

Inside that shell, everything breaks down:

• Deconstruction

• Reconstruction

• Repurposing

• Emergence

That’s what God did with me.

He deconstructed the old me, reconstructed my heart, repurposed my gifts — and slowly, I began to emerge.

It wasn’t comfortable, but it was necessary.

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6. The Encouragement – Encourage and Inspire

Maybe today, you’re in your chrysalis season.

Maybe it feels like everything is falling apart, that the waiting is too long, or that God has forgotten you.

But it’s not the end — it’s transformation.

God is not wasting your waiting.

He’s repurposing every tear, every silence, every delay.

He’s chiseling you — not to break you down, but to build you up.

So let Him chisel.

Let Him renew your mind.

Let Him pour new wine into your life.

Because the butterfly does emerge.

And when it does — it soars.

“He deconstructed the old me, reconstructed my heart, repurposed my gifts — and slowly, I began to emerge.”

Thank you.