By His Grace

I sustained an injury in 1997, working in a busy Orthopedic floor in a well-known hospital. I couldn't do the same work I did and it saddened me. The doctor had advised for me to get out of Nursing. But deep inside, I knew I had that important decision to make. To listen or not listen to that advice, knowing that by faith, God had no limitations with what He could do.

He brought me to the prison. I had fear. I was being taken away from my comfort zone and was being brought to a place not known. I was being delivered to a place where I had to re-learn new skills, different interventions, and with much autonomy with decision-making. I was brought to a place where spiritual enemies abound, but only to prove to me how powerful the Name of Jesus was, that enemies cowered... I knew turning back at that time was not an option. He opened this door to allow me to grow with my spiritual state. I faced that fear.

That was 11 years ago. Strengthened by His power, sustained by His grace, covered with His protection, taught by His wisdom, guided with His discernment, I was injured again. A different kind of wound I sustained. It was my heart that was wounded when hurled with lies. I was constantly accused about my previous injury. They never acknowledged my contribution. Not that I expected anything in return. I loved this place. Knowing I owed it to the One Who helped me conquered my fear and limitations. He didn't give me an option but to fight and never quit. He was the one who enabled me with my limitations.

When you feel weak...When you think you can't overcome...When you think there is no hope and solution...When you think you are not able...Look up to the One Who is able! God Who is able! God of Armor! God of love! God Who is faithful! God Who is righteous! God Who always forgives! God of compassion! And so much more...

"But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them--yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me."
 -1 Cor. 15:10 (NIV)

May this strengthen and encourage you:

I Don't Need Luck

“Jesus looked at them and said, "With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible."

- Matthew 19:26 (NIV)

“Rcubes…call me back if you’re interested in coming in tonight for 12 hours or any hours you want to work…”

Our home’s answering machine picked up this message. The caller was a “fill-in Charge Nurse” who I knew well as we had also worked together for a long time. She was not aware of my battle. She was not aware of my current situation. My career smothered by evil intentions. Temporarily.

I called her back and acknowledged and thanked her. She was surprised to hear that I was put on a leave. She didn’t understand “why” when it was always short of staff. We all knew that. But I told her it was not the right time for me to say anything. She wished me “Good Luck.” I kept silent.

I didn’t need “luck”. I knew I was serving a God Who already predestined everything. Those involved and I needed to learn something through this battle.  The sad part was we were never on the same side. Luck would not help anyone. It was lack of knowledge that would destroy anyone.

They outnumbered me. I was never afraid. I had One Who could do anything for me.

They broke my trust. I was hurt at first but letting go of that hurt was easy compared to the faithfulness He had always shown to me.

They believed their own wise words. I kept silent knowing He always knew and had always weighed any person’s intentions or motives.

They put me on a “forced leave.” I thanked them, much to their amazement and they were dumbfounded with my gesture of kindness in return for their threatening schemes.

Today, God had given me another thing, well, actually, two things, to be added to my already overflowing cup of weapons. I would post it in His perfect time.

Luck…I don’t need that…I only need God. The One Who uses ordinary things and turns them into “extra-ordinary!”

Stand Up For What Is Right

“You can bend it and twist it... You can misuse and abuse it... But even God cannot change the Truth.”- Michael Levy

 “What?” exclaimed one of my co-workers on the other line after I had told her that I was put on a leave after my meeting with some powerful people last Monday.

“This had gotten way out of hand!” she added.

She was like me. A nurse working quietly until those pair of evil eyes saw her and now, tried to steal her joy.

She was a number. I was also a number. But the statistics seemed to be growing. Others did not fight. Avoiding the hassles of a legal battle, they exited the prison door.

But I didn’t take that route. She knew that. She decided to walk on the path I chose. Then, there was another one. Now, it seemed a lot of us were sprouting from here and there. Situations that were caused by some people in power who taught that they could always get away with their wild, evil schemes, knowing that they were on top that nothing would happen. No one would know.

She told me another story from work where a group of LVN’s were affected and were treated unfairly. Now, those group wanted to file a charge against that person in power for creating a hostile environment.

And this was one of my prayers as I sought the Lord for His safety. That people would stand up and do what was right. For people not to be afraid when their rights were being violated.

I knew from the beginning that my battle was in the physical and spiritual realm. I knew that in order for me to become successful, I needed to surrender. To Jesus. Because this battle was not mine. It was His.

And how in reality, as believers, we must also be united and willing to stand together. All for one cause. And that is to defend our faith. To defend the truth!

As my husband grabbed and enveloped my hands into his, to do our early, daily morning prayer, he always prayed these words: "Lord, give us the courage to do the right thing..." and this morning, it had penetrated my heart as if I just heard those prayers anew. I heard those pleas done everyday...He was right. We need the courage to do the right thing because we are waging so many battles each and every day. The truth is the battle starts deep within ourselves. And God alone can give us that strength we need to make the right decision to always "do the right thing..."

“In everything we do we try to show that we are true ministers of God. We patiently endures troubles and hardships and calamities of every kind. “ 2 Cor.6:4

^“7 Now we pray to God that you will not do anything wrong—not so that people will see that we have stood the test but so that you will do what is right even though we may seem to have failed. ⁸ For we cannot do anything against the truth, but only for the truth.” – 2 Cor.13:7,8 (NIV)

The Rock

"One reason the devil is called the dragon in the Bible is because he knows how to make difficult circumstances drag on." -Francis Frangipane

Foggy morning obscuring view of Morro Rock in Morro Bay, CA.

From the moment the battle at work started, I already had a clear view prior to these people’s attempts to make me quit my current position by assaulting me with constructed, unfounded lies. They had tried many times to obscure my view of the future and had desired for my work to end. Darts of lies were constantly thrown. Mysterious plans to put hindrances on the road I was walking on were constructed. They wanted to satiate their hunger to change my path and thought they had their plots devised well. They wanted to see me tremble with fear and worries.  They wanted to see me shed tears and perhaps, fall down and beg for their mercy. They shrouded any attempts of mine to bring truth and honesty with every encounter we had.

Looking back since this battle started at work, I caught a glimpse of what the Lord had planned before me. After sustaining an injury from the hospital where I used to work for almost 10 years, He opened this door in a Correctional setting. This was the place where He taught me to grow and learn how to engage in many forms of spiritual warfare.

I saw many injustices and corruption done by those people who puffed up themselves with pride as they took higher positions. Injustices against those hard-working nurses who were afflicted by physical illnesses and instead of helping them out, had chosen to harass them and stopped their careers right there. Instead of fighting back, most of them chose not to stay and had chosen the easy route: to surrender their badges and end their duties.

I saw the unseen evilness by God’s grace. What I thought I would be dealing with like problems from inmates was wrong. I began to see that God trained me to be strong in His power because I would be dealing with a bigger problem. That was to face these corrupt people.

I was never moved nor shaken by their schemes from the start… God had already provided His weapons way ahead of those ploys.

They wanted to see me fall… But I was adept at that as I had fallen down to my knees many times as I intertwined the fingers of both of my hands in prayers.

They constantly accused, assumed, and set traps. But God gave me a hedge around me, sprinkled with His blood.

They were strong in number as we met couple of times now to pretend they were giving me options when there was none, as they spoke things that were not the same on a piece of paper they were writing on. But I always asked for His gift of discernment and His divine wisdom that I chose not to sign and they didn’t know that…I was never alone…

This was another attempt done when I met with them two days ago. They had put me on a leave for a long stretch of time. Another attempt to make me quit on my own as I discerned that move. But I wasn’t called by Him to be a “quitter”. I was a disabled vessel, enabled by His power!

So, I chose to fight back. I chose not to take the easy way out that others had taken before me. I chose to fight, not only for me but for those who didn’t have a chance to avoid the traps they had placed before them. I chose to fight so that these evil deeds would be exposed in His light so that no one else could ever be victimized. I chose not to yield to their evil schemes because it was very clear from the beginning I invited Christ to live in me: “He has the best future for me!”  I saw that clearly!!!

^"3 And we can be sure that we know him if we obey his commandments. ⁴ If someone claims, “I know God,” but doesn’t obey God’s commandments, that person is a liar and is not living in the truth. ⁵ But those who obey God’s word truly show how completely they love him. That is how we know we are living in him. ⁶ Those who say they live in God should live their lives as Jesus did." - 1 John 2:3-6 (NLT)

Morro Rock in Morro Bay, CA.

“From the ends of the earth, I cry to you for help when my heart is overwhelmed. Lead me to the towering rock of safety.” – Psalm 61:2 (NLT)