Rain

“It is no hard matter to adhere to God while you are in the enjoyment of His comforts and consolations; but if you would prove your fidelity to Him, you must be willing to follow Him through the paths of dryness and desertion. The truth of a friend is not known while he is receiving favours and benefits from us; but if he remains faithful to us when we treat him with coldness and neglect, it will be a proof of the sincerity of his attachment.” 

... Backhouse and Janson, A Guide to True Peace

It was chilly this morning as I tiptoed in the lurking darkness of the impending dawn that was still soaked with yesterday’s much needed rain showers. My husband was still asleep and same thing with my son when I peeked in his room. Quietly, I prepared myself to take advantage to have my private conversation in His presence. Like the severe drought, my spirit was always thirsty, satisfied by nothing but the Living Water.

It had been two weeks again that I was not able to work as our prison was well staffed when the Nurse Manager decided to pull some of the nurses from the other facilities. I discerned he did it to make some nurses suffered. Those were the nurses who went against him confirming to have his own spouse to take the position right below his.

Some people or maybe just one nurse went to our Ethics Committee and reported it. The memo that he posted where everyone could see it was taken down few days later.

The wife was not placed in the position right under his.

I never desired for anything bad to happen to them despite what these couple had done with my position also. Terminating my regular position and ignoring my valid request about specific working conditions, they thought it was easier to have Human Resources dealt with my case. They intimidated me and put me on a forced leave until they resorted to demoting my position to becoming a Per Diem Nurse. Meaning....”only as needed…” The plans they kept coming with never caused me to fear if that was what they hoped for. They never knew, in my weakness, that was when I would become stronger. Not by my own strength but because of God’s provision.

I heard my husband woke up a bit and asked me if I was okay. He wrapped his warm arms around me and it felt good to ward off the chilly air enveloped around me. We laughed so hard. Then, we both realized, if not for God, we wouldn’t have moments like these. Peaceful amidst life’s tribulations. Quiet spirits merged despite the chaos and life’s unexpected changes. Contented despite not knowing what life has in store for us because we both knew Who held the future for us. We were once drought-stricken spirits satisfied with His healing rain.

“May he be like rain that falls on the mown grass, like showers that water the earth!” – Psalm 72:6 (ESV)

everything looks so fresh a day after some rain as i woke up this morning...

I love the rain. It washes away the dirt, lowers the pollen count and the air just smells so fresh! Thank You Lord for the rain. But most of all, thank You for the Healing Rain!

Step Forward

“For I know the plans I have for you," says the LORD. "They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.” –Jeremiah 29:11 (NLT)


These people in higher positions I had been battling with had some plans in progress again. Though I had discerned long time ago what they truly wanted for me which was to quit or resign my position ever since I had requested to remain working part-time, they never seemed to stop trying to intimidate me.

I visited the county Human Resources webpage and there it was again. They had opened another position for a Per Diem Nurse, when the other Per Diems and myself were not able to work lately because of the Nursing Manager’s action of pooling the other nurses back into our main prison that made it adequately staffed.

I could feel “anger” starting to surface in my heart. It was that kind that always sought for justice and for these evil plans to cease. It was that type that wanted a fair treatment and wanting an honest response from them. I never got those. But no matter how they tried to deceive me, the Lord had already shown into my heart that it would be okay, no matter how much these people would plan, He got it covered! Except….I needed to be patient and I needed to remain trusting on His plans instead!

The poisonous “anger” that made my heart in racing pulses began to slow down as I glanced at the unopened mail that came yesterday.

I saw this white envelope that came from a Christ-centered university offering some degree programs for nurses and other Sciences. What was printed on the back of top flap caught my eyes:

“To the angel of the church in Philadelphia write: These are the words of him who is holy and true, who holds the key of David. What he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open.” (Revelation 3:7) ~ (emphasis was mine)

His truth immediately coated and overwhelmed the ugly kind of anger stirring up in my heart. This growing anger could have become selfish on my part and seemed to distort His goal in my life. It would have boiled over if not for His restraint. He did tell me that I would not be able to avoid being angry sometimes, except I must learn to deal with it properly.

I love being a Nurse. A Correctional Nurse where He placed me 11 years ago. Because of God’s continued reassurance through His faithful promises, I know that there is nothing that happens in my life that He has no control of. Those people might think they have been harming me to force me to quit. They will never know (maybe they will God-willing) that God always directs someone’s steps (Proverbs 16:9).

It is not them. It is all up to me to choose what God’s call is in my life. If He put me in Correctional before after getting hurt at the hospital I worked for 10 years as an Orthopedic Nurse, I know that He can bring me somewhere else if I choose to follow His leading. If He wants me to stay working in the prison, so be it. Their plans might make me step back three times but God always appear and makes me be able to step forward miles and miles farther ahead. For when we are weak, because of God, we truly are strong!

No matter how hard my enemies try to pursue and scare me, their tactics will not work because of God's faithful promise as I continue to take a step toward the other end of this "Red Sea" I'm walking on.

“Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the LORD will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still.” - Exodus 14:13,14 (NIV)


I choose to take that step forward Lord, no matter how hard it takes...because of You!

Trick and Threat!

I visited my friend yesterday. Two of her next-door neighbors were busy up on the roof putting up some spotlight to highlight what they had displayed in front of their gravel lawn. Some figures mimicking ghosts and other scary things. I looked around and saw others with spider webs dangling from the front arches of their entry yards. One black figure stood out among the front yards with glowing eyes which got even more creepy as the sun went down. A real black cat gazed from a distance as it kept staring at the glowing eyes but immovable figure. Candies were out as we decided to go to a nearby Target store.

“Wow!” my friend exclaimed… “The candy aisles were emptied out!”

People get busy when Halloween comes. They love to follow this old tradition. Just because… Even if many of them do not understand the origin.

“Trick or treat!” is what comes out from the mouths who love to go door to door and expect candies to be handed over to their bags, as they wear different costumes. Parents watching from a distance to keep an eye on their little ones hungry to get more candies or treats and hoping for their bags to be filled with goodies.

As my family and I accepted the Lord Jesus, this tradition was one among the things He wanted us to purge as we prayed for Him to show us things in our lives that would never please Him. I don’t remember how long now but we never turn on the front light to give a cue that we are not interested to participate in this tradition. It’s not these people’s fault. It is their lack of knowledge.

“My people are destroyed from lack of knowledge.” – Hosea 4:6 (NIV)

As believers we are not to compromise with what we believe in. We are to please God not men.  Jesus said that no one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other (Matthew 6:24).

Some things we allow in our lives that may seem harmless or insignificant may not be necessary true in our spiritual lives. In its truest sense, it could be disastrous!

“Trick or treat?”

No…thank you… It is “trick and threat!” A real threat to one’s soul…

“Don't be afraid of those who want to kill your body; they cannot touch your soul. Fear only God, who can destroy both soul and body in hell.” – Matthew 10:28 (NLT)

Lord, empower us with your Spirit and give us Your gift of discernment. Help us see things through Your eyes. Help us remove things that hinder our walk with You. Help us get rid of things that do not please You. Please open people's hearts and minds for them to know the truth that comes from You. As for us who have already been found by You, may we draw nearer to You and know more things about You. Thank You Lord for Your love, mercy and grace. In Jesus' Name. Amen.

The New Bed

 “¹³ All these great people died in faith. They did not get the things that God promised his people, but they saw them coming far in the future and were glad. They said they were like visitors and strangers on earth.¹⁴ When people say such things, they show they are looking for a country that will be their own.¹⁵ If they had been thinking about the country they had left, they could have gone back.¹⁶ But they were waiting for a better country—a heavenly country. So God is not ashamed to be called their God, because he has prepared a city for them.” – Hebrews 11:13-16 (NCV)

My son got sick since Tuesday. Typical. Seasonal allergy that bogged him down when the Santa Ana winds visited the canyon passes and the valleys, accompanied with the dropping humidity. From what we learned from his past seasonal attacks, he learned well to prepare well-ahead by trying to increase his fluid intake as he could tolerate and by taking his organic allergy pills.

“Rest! As soon as you get done studying,” I cautioned as the clock almost hit 10:30 p.m.. It was not his fault. He had been taking advanced classes that required a lot of studying and perseverance on his part. He always tried his best to finish everything on time, sometimes, ahead of time.

I slowly pushed the door to his bedroom quietly when I heard him coughed a little bit in the middle of the night.

“Are you okay?”

“Yes, Mom. I’m fine,” he sleepily replied.

As a watchful mother, you could not help but notice everything even in the dark slightly illuminated by the nightlight in one corner of his room.

“Oh my!” I exclaimed in my mind. As my son went back to sleep, I noticed how much he had grown and did not really fit right on the length of his bed anymore. Either he bent his knees to be accommodated by the warmth of his bed or he must had learned to lie down on a slanting position on his back so his legs could fit and not hit the bars at both ends of his day bed. Yes…unconsciously. But…He never complained to me or my husband nor had asked if he could get another bed.

“Please get the bed today!” I requested my husband and thanks be to God that it happened to be yesterday, Saturday, when he was off from work and could make that run.

My patient and always supportive husband took his time to go to a far store to get the bed for our son and when he got home, patiently assembled the parts.

“Why are you smiling?” I asked my son as I covered him with a lighter blanket last night.

“Thanks, Mom and Dad…Ahhh…It feels so good,” he replied. “I could stretch my legs now.”

my son's new bed

In the middle of the night, as I checked upon him with now lessening coughs, I saw how comfortable he was, hugging his pillow, his new bed even had given him a wider space to make his turns side to side and was longer than his height. Height that kept growing seasons upon seasons. No matter how short or tall he might be, he was after all my child that I love so much...

I kissed his head and softly caressed his hair. I always learned something from my son. From his discomfort, he taught me how it should be in this life’s journey: to never complain and just keep pressing on because we all long for that rest. Eternal rest that the Lord provides to those who truly love and obey Him. He is our watchful Father Who always wants the best for us. Eternal Father Who loves us all first.

“Thank You Lord for everything…” I whispered as I made my way back to my bed carefully, finding my old steps aided with scattered night lights. I glanced at the stars through the windows, visible and so beautiful up on the dark skies as if Abba Father had left those night lights for me to give me reassurance of following His steps despite the darkness surrounding me in this life’s journey. Until I return and find that eternal comfort I always longed for.

^"6 So God’s rest is there for people to enter, but those who first heard this good news failed to enter because they disobeyed God. ⁷ So God set another time for entering his rest, and that time is today. God announced this through David much later in the words already quoted:    “Today when you hear his voice,
      don’t harden your hearts.” - Hebrews 4:6-7 (NLT)