A Soldier- Father

I will walk about in freedom, for I have sought out your precepts.
~ Psalm 119:45 (NIV)

“Has it been 22 years already?” I thought silently. I was pondering about my husband being involved in the war against Iraq in the 90’s. How fast the years had gone by. As if they were sand that slipped through our fingers.

I remembered those times. Of facing fears. Whether we would still be seeing each other. Whether he’d be coming back in one piece or not. Of worries. If he was safe. Able to eat. Able to get some rest and sleep that was hard to come by, perhaps, as him and fellow soldiers were always on high alert.  Of wondering. If they were safe as they trusted on the security from the battleship that tried to avoid scattered mines being tossed by the Arabian waters.

I remembered praying harder. For God’s protection. Comfort. Courage. Strength. Endurance. And most of all, His provision to safely bring him back, along with the other soldiers who were willing to risk their lives. And bring him back, God did. Except he was a changed man.

A soldier by career but also became a father who from past experiences, became eager to build than destroy. His heart that loved to see life despite the risk of death. Not taking things for granted. The man who learned that he needed to tackle a much bigger war than the war he was in. And that was to hold his family together, despite the adversities that he faced and still face in his home.

He is now a “father-soldier” who teaches his son to look up to the One Who heard his prayers and my prayers. The One Who comforted him during those lonely moments as his turn came to searched for mines, miles and miles up ahead to keep their battleship intact and lives protected from dangerous blasts. The One Who gave him the courage to face each day and gave him hope despite the dangers that surrounded him. The One who protected them and provided for their needs in a foreign land.

As wars continue nowadays, some died young. Well…a lot…They knew that sacrifice. And they knew that freedom was worth fighting for. May we remember our courageous soldiers in our prayers. For those who had departed. And for their families' comfort and strength. Like what Gen. Douglas McArthur said, "The soldier above all others prays for peace, for it is the soldier who must suffer and bear the deepest wounds and scars of war."

And a lot of times, those unseen battles in their hearts are what they must fight harder against... 

The Power Outage

People are like stained-glass windows. They sparkle and shine when the sun is out, but when the darkness sets in their true beauty is revealed only if there is light from within. ~Elisabeth Kübler-Ross

Photo Credit

The tea lights flickered, creating a dancing form of ember lights upstairs at the loft. We had an unexpected power outage last night. It seemed like just the houses in our street were the ones covered in darkness. Thank God for my husband’s preparation for times like those, each of us was able to get a flashlight within reach. I love tea lights so I lit up some and in no time, we, three, were able to see, able to let go of keeping the flashlights in the palms of our hands.

The power returned by almost midnight, a little over 3 grueling hours of darkness, perhaps, for some of the neighbors. My family and I took advantage of telling each other stories, sharing laughter and enjoying the not-so-often incident.

“So, how did you like it last night?” my neighbor hollered as he passed by holding on to the leash of his beloved pet as they started their morning walk. I was sweeping in the front yard.

“Oh, I guess it was okay. Thank God, I love candles and tea lights so I just lit up some,” I replied.

“Man!!! It took us a while to find a flashlight. It was awful! That was a good idea what you just said. Guess I’d be doing that,” he uttered, trying to keep up his pace with his dog that started to have quicker steps from his 4 paws.

“Well, since we don’t know what happens anymore, it’s good to be ready. But you have a nice day!” I added as his form slowly disappeared and wished me back the same with a waned volume.

I shared my encounter with my neighbor to my son as we both were having breakfast before he went to school. I told him how spiritually, it was the same. How awful it must be to not have the Light (Jesus) in our lives! It would be hard to see like the blind ones. But to be able to see yet, see things falsely must be more awful than being blind!

“But if your eyes are bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!” – Matthew 6:23 (NIV)

“Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter.” – Isaiah 5:20 (NIV)

“Make sure that the light you think you have is not actually darkness.” – Luke 11:35 (NLT)

Home Is Where He Is...

"Jesus said, "Don't let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust in me. There are many rooms in my Father's house; I would not tell you this if it were not true. I am going there to prepare a place for you. After I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me so that you may be where I am."

Photo Credit

- John 14:1-3 (NCV)       

I wiped a tear or two that fell from the corner of my eyes. As my husband, child and I embraced each other after our morning prayer.

“Remember that song?” I asked my child.

“Yes, Mom. We were in a hotel,” he replied.

In 2003, we sold our first house after living there for 10 years. We stayed in the same area but just found a house on the other side, newly-built homes and the reason why we needed to leave the previous house was the backyard was close to a major freeway. When the place boomed, the noise from the vehicles became unbearable. On top of that, we believed our child was sickly because of the fumes. I never believed in coincidences anymore since being found by Jesus. The move, though seemed to be full of hurdles and that was from the enemy, but committing it with Him from the beginning, actually went smoothly. The house that we applied for, was no longer available as another couple had gotten it first by the time we checked it out. Then, all of a sudden, my husband needed to go to Vermont for a special training.  But by God’s grace, everything was truly in His perfect time. After my husband’s training, we put the old house in the market. After 1 week, we already had interested buyers. We geared to apply for another house, but with the same tract like the first house we wanted. Then, we heard good news from the lady who managed the sales. The other couple’s escrow fell and we were next in line, so we were qualified to get the house we originally wanted.  She summoned us to go to their office so we could still opt for the flooring that we wanted.

We ended up staying in a hotel for 2-3 weeks as the sales of our old house closed and the buyers moved in. The new house was not ready at that time. I kept playing the song. My child, at that time, would sing it with me. Inside the hotel room.

I cleared my throat as my child hugged me again….

“So true…We can live anywhere…but our true home is where He is…”

“Where Jesus is…”

I pray that this song will encourage you that no matter how tough your journey is, He is always with us, never leaving us. Until we reach Home...Just have FAITH....and BELIEVE...

Wound Care

“I haven’t really seen your wound from the start. How is it to you?” I asked the middle-aged, male inmate with a haggard-looking face.

“Actually, it looks much better,” he quickly replied with a positive tone.

If not for my strong stomach, perhaps, trained during my nursing school years, I held my breath as I slowly opened the dressing on his left, inner thigh. Nursing staff usually changed his dressing everyday during the morning hours specifically scheduled in their unit. He missed that day’s dressing change as he was included in the doctor’s sick call follow-up.

His wound was so deep. A big piece of muscle missing in the center as the surrounding tissues appeared pinkish. There was no more bleeding that was previously charted in his notes. A wound as a result of a dog bite when he tried resisting his arrest.

I cleansed it well with a wound cleanser and packed it with a special thin strip of dressing. I asked him to take a deep breath as I applied the gel that would aid in the wound’s healing. As I was applying the big dressing that would cover the wound, he started whining.

“Don’t use that! That’s not the dressing they used,” he uttered.

“I know, Sir. But as I removed your dressing, I noticed the redness around the edges of the former dressing. I wanted to make sure your skin is not getting irritated from that kind of dressing. I want to try this non-allergenic one. But you need to trust me. If you don’t like it, you can tell the nurse in the morning to change it when they do your dressing change.”

He didn’t know what to say. His mouth did not protest anymore. He finally realized that he needed to let the nurses have their way in treating his wounds. Things might not be the same. Things might change because it would depend on the needs of his wound.

How often we also resist the leading of the Spirit? He is quick to reach out and never holds His arm to save us. But we must come to His presence, broken and willing to surrender. Everything. Daily.

“We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us.” – 1 Corinthians 2:12 (NIV)