Thunders and lightning

It's the rainy season! The weather is so unpredictable; there's no stopping the rain. We are thus left with two choices: either we hate the rain or we enjoy it.

Every morning, I get the privilege of seeing many faces while at the bus or train: a man with tattoo and piercing all over his body, a grandmother holding the hand of a little boy, a woman with thick eyebags who is wildly snoring, a pregnant teenager-looking girl, a sweet happy couple, an old thin man, a girl with sharp eyebrows who looks mad at everyone, an apathetic-looking man with huge headset in his ears...

All of us are in different seasons right now. And just like the outpour of the rain, we've only got two choices: either we get mad and complain OR trust God and simply embrace our season.

I often hear the poem "Footprints in the Sand" but it didn't make a lot of sense to me, until Ate Joy recited it at a discussion of our Victory group.

When I heard this and the meaning sank in, my heart shattered. It felt like I was the one telling God, "You promised me Lord, that if I followed You, You would walk with me always. But I have noticed that during the most trying periods of my life, there have only been one set of footprints in the sand. Why, when I needed You most, You have not been there for me?"

And He replied, "The times when you have seen only one set of footprints, is when I carried you."

We always think that we are alone, that nobody cares for us and God is so faraway, especially when there are storms in our lives - without knowing that we do not feel His presence either because we don't fully trust in Him or we think that we don't need Him.

I also used to think that I could manage to drive my life alone - and I was doing good at that  (or so I thought). Everything was under control, until a big storm came and I felt like my ship was wrecking. God came and asked me to give Him the steering wheel. I was stubborn at first, afraid of losing control of my life, until I finally surrendered it to Him. That's when I got my whole life back again.

I then grasped that surrendering is not always equivalent to cowardice. Surrendering to Jesus Christ is courage and victory. So if you are one of those who think that you are the captain of your own life, lo and behold, even captains pray that a big storm will not destroy his ship.

I'd like to share a poem which I wrote when I was 15 years old. When I again read it, I was taken aback to realize that at age 15, I was already carrying some petty baggage in my heart, lol.

RAINDROPS

While butterflies rejoice with colorful flowers

While grasses sway in the sweetness of fresh air

While leaves dance with the cool breeze

I am there, clouded in the midst of tears.

Staring in nothingness

I reminisce my fifteen-year struggle in life

There even comes a second when I’ll just be in a corner

Realizing how worthless I am.

Yes, friends know me as a person of laughter

A person who won’t know the meaning of sadness

They would’ve no idea at all of who I am, I really am

Whenever I was alone in a dark world of silence.

Sometime, I’ll just think how I’ve been a fool

How fear, shame, and regrets rule my person

I was about to shout and throw these bursting feelings

When tiny droplets of water fell, cheering up my weakened soul

As if saying: Life is just a matter

Of going on with the flow…

After a couple of hours, the raindrops stopped

I am once again the same person they knew

Hiding my problems and miseries anew

I looked above and smiled… a rainbow!

In life, storms will come. Even the Bible assures that. There will be times when the rain will leave you helpless finding for shelter, the wind will blow you away, and you will be frightened by thunders and lightning.

This is the time when you'll just know that there's no sense fighting the storm. This is the time when we have no other resort but to go to our ultimate protection: prayer.

As little children, we used to play in the middle of the rain and we don't care how wet and untidy we get. After playing, we get expectant for the sun to shine again and see a rainbow paint the horizon.

Now, it's no more appropriate to play with rain. But it's still okay to forget the hassle, listen at the music of the raindrops at the rooftop, enjoy the coolness of the night, and be expectant of a rainbow.

When I read the following verse in the Bible, it has kept echoing in my ears whenever I face struggles and my faith sways... "Then He got into the boat and His disciples followed Him. Suddenly a furious storm came up on the lake, so that the waves swept over the boat. But Jesus was sleeping. The disciples went and woke Him, saying, 'Lord, save us! We’re going to drown!' He replied, 'You of little faith, why are you so afraid?' Then He got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm." Matthew 8:23-26

That's life. If you're at the serenity of sunshine, be in thanksgiving. If you're in the middle of a storm, be trusting.*

Today, when we look outside the window, the water in the streets is knee- or shoulder-high; when we turn on the television, the picture is men fighting for life in the midst of strong wind and heavy rain. Perhaps at a time like this, we've only got to be still and know that He is God.

     *They reeled and staggered like drunken men; they were at their wits' end. Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble, and He brought them out of their distress. He stilled the storm to a whisper; the waves of the sea were hushed. They were glad when it grew calm, and He guided them to their desired haven. Psalm 107:27-30

Seasons

There are three groups of people whom I find hard to understand: 1st group is those who do not want to reveal their age, especially when it's their birthday, 2nd group is those who don't want to be called (and even despise the term) "old", and 3rd is the most phenomenal: those who belong to both groups 1 and 2.

Old age for me is something that we should not be ashamed of. An old one has definitely went through the stage of being young and the young one will sooner or later be as old. Thing is, God puts us in different seasons exactly the way He planned.

And besides, when do you call young "young" and when do you call old "old"?

I am 23 years old, turning 24 this October. For the teens, I am already old. For those in their 40s and up, I am still at the hype of my youth. Whatever they call me, it doesn't matter. I love my age. This is my season!

Grade I at SMES (1996)

When I was a grader, I think almost every year, we were asked by our teacher to write an autobiography. I then noticed that every year, my age changes (come to think of it! lol). That's when I formed a mindset (in my so innocent state) that if I am 10 years old now and after a year, I will not be 10 years old anymore, I shall enjoy every day of every year that passes...

My elementary days were fun! I (and my five siblings) went to a small but cool public elementary school, 15-minute walk away from our house. For six years, I was just like playing while learning.

3rd-year high school (2004)

High school was when I had a sort of identity crisis. I went to a private school in the city and it was hard to fit in. Then I learned just what it takes to belong- which since then, I've brought everywhere I go: being myself.

BSA-4th year college (2009)

College, on the other hand, was extra colorful for me. We were 17 in the class who had an extra special bonding. I also belonged to an organization (Phoenix, our student publication) where I met the most varied wonderful people! It was when I started earning a bit for myself (by doing what I love doing-writing), I reached many places without spending (school's expenses), I joined in different contests (where I had a taste of winning and losing) and I had the difficult but beautiful experience of leading.

Phoenix at Baguio (2008)

Then I entered the corporate world. This is where I got to encounter different kinds of people (some are nice, some are pretty hard-to-deal-with) and had a lot of experiences (some are sweet to reminisce, some I don't even want to remember *grin) before I reached my promised land.

Thus far, it has been more than three years of being a single professional, glad with how God shapes me now, and excited how He will lead me to my next season.

God blessed us with life and it is supposed to be lived just once. We will die. This is something that everybody knows but many deny. We may not just know when, but inevitably, it will come in His time. The Bible compares man to grass* - it springs up fresh and new; time swiftly passes, it withers and dies.

Psalm 90:1-6 says, "Lord You have been our dwelling place throughout all generations. Before the mountains were born or You brought forth the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting, You are God. You turn men back to dust saying, 'Return to dust, O sons of men.' For a thousand years in Your sight are like a day that has just gone by or like a watch in the night. You sweep men away in the sleep of death: they are like new grass of the morning, though in the morning it springs up new, by evening it is dry and withered."

Considering this, many fall into the trap that since life is supposed to be lived to the fullest, they think they should do everything they want, regardless if it's good or bad. But there is something way more fulfilling than that - to enjoy every day of every year that passes, in a way that will honor the One Who created us.

This is also my prayer for myself, that in every season of my life, I will make my Creator smile.

I may not be perfect. I am even far from being one. I fall, I sin, I get stubborn at times, but my prayer is that God will continue to purify my heart and work in me, that I may always desire to bring honor and glory to Him.

...so that when my season ends here on earth, I could see my Lord smile when I meet Him face-to-face in heaven and worship Him forever.

What season are you in right now? How old or how young are you? It doesn't matter. If you're still a student or already a professional, single or married, a working mother or a plain housewife, a teenager or a retiree - no matter what you've been through in the past, what matters is how you live your life now. And in any season, nothing is more fulfilling than using this life to please the One Who gave it - and make Him smile...

Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good. His love endures forever. -Psalm 136

So next time someone asks you of your age on your birthday, don't hide it. That means God added another faithful year in your life... He loves you that much! :)

     *All men are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field. The grass withers and the flowers fall, because the breath of the Lord blows on them. Surely the people are grass. The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the Word of our God stands forever. Isaiah 40:6-8