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