Father's Day

What a tough month it would be to celebrate "Father's Day" come the 15th, this year! My father passed away back in December of 2007. Long ago, how easy it was for me to call him on the phone. Despite the many miles between us, we just shared a lot of good talks only a father and his child could have. His health went down really fast, after being diagnosed with colon cancer. Up to this day, I'm really grateful that my brothers and I had the chance to be by his side as he laid on his bed before he passed away. Every minute of each of those days felt like a lifetime's worth of catching up with good mem'ries we lost as we lived our lives in different places of this world. Despite the pain and that predicament he was in, he kept joking around and he wanted to be remembered by everyone that instead of us crying and feeling down, he wanted people to know that he died happy, same with his family and all the people he cared about. He didn't want it to end with mourning, but with celebration of life and joy despite the pain!

I wanted to be strong for him because I knew how much pain he was in even though he wasn't complaining and wasn't able to nourish his body anymore. I recalled every fun mem'ry we all had shared together with our mother when she was alive. What a great feeling to see my father's big smile knowing how much energy he must have used just to do that! The heck with my not so nice voice, I sang with my other brother as I strummed the guitar and he liked that. I would often lay down next to him and asked him to hug me, until the last one was going to be the "last one" for real. Lots of people flocked to his room to pay their visit and prayed for him. They came crying when they saw how fragile he looked but when they left, they were all laughing with tears, their broken hearts replaced by the good spirit my father had shown them through his jokes. Much later, as I figured things out, it wasn't me who kept my father strong. It was the other way around...He was the one who kept me and the others strong. He remained in good spirits and I believe up to this day, it was his deep faith in God that made him survive this hardest trial.

Yes, my father may not be here this Father's Day, but we have a spiritual Father Who is always there for us, going through our tough times. From 2 Corinthians 1:3-7, "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, Who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. For as we share abundantly in Christ’s sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too. If we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation; and if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which you experience when you patiently endure the same sufferings that we suffer. Our hope for you is unshaken, for we know that as you share in our sufferings, you will also share in our comfort."

Happy Father's Day to all of you, dads out there!

Candies and Honesty

I usually pick up all the trash from all the trash bins upstairs everyday and there's one bin in my son's room. Upstairs, we also have a jar of candies and told my son not to eat too much, only a little bit at a time. I wanted him to know that I could trust him and it would start with a simple instruction like that. One day, I found too many candy wrappers in the trash bin in his room and some in the bin close to the computer. I asked my husband if he had eaten a lot of candies and he quickly responded that he ate only 1 piece. I didn't have anything yet so there was only 1 "culprit" left to blame...When I confronted my son regarding my discovery, he whispered in a very soft voice, "ahhh....some of those wrappers were there since Thursday, mom!" [I was thinking, "did he forget that I pick up the trash everyday?" I got upset with the fact that he lied. Much later, he told me that he did that thinking that he would get away with it, he then knew, he got in deeper trouble. He said he was sorry and gave me a hug and a kiss.

What happened was true with all of us. We all prefer to deal with honest people--people we can trust, people who don't lie and don't try to deceive us. But it must start with ourselves, too. A noble goal for one's life is to pursue HONESTY--honesty with ourselves, with others and with God.

I read this from one of the books I had: "An honest man is not a man who never lies. There is no such man. When an honest man is caught in a lie or discovers he has lied, he is quick to admit it. He then speaks the truth. He's not afraid to say, "please forgive me for not being honest." He does not defend a lie.

We surely need God's help to be honest. In a court of law, it is asked, "Do you solemnly swear to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth?" And the reply is "so help me God."

After that incident, the jar of candies do not get empty in just a matter of days. There were lesser candy wrappers in the trash bins by the computer and in my son's room. Most of all, out of that incident, I knew I could trust my son again...

Brace

The orthodontist applied the braces on my son's teeth last week. After a little over an hour, we were instructed about the proper maintenance and care so as to avoid problems as much as possible. He has to wear the braces for 30 months and that seems like a long time. But my son understands, these appliances will help his slightly crooked teeth to be straight and when the treatment is over, he will have a nicer, even teeth. He was fine all night long but when morning came, he complained of some soreness with his upper teeth that I had to give him some pain reliever to make him more comfortable. Thank God the medicine helped him that day and ever since, his pain is much more tolerable. He understands quite well that with the brace, comes some discomfort or pain once in a while. He knows if he learns to be patient, then everything would be worth the wait!

Spiritually speaking, I want the Lord to be the brace in my life. I know and fully understand that He will make my crooked ways straight and only Him can do that. I know that I need to learn how to be patient in order for me to grow in His likeness, despite the expected discomfort and pain from the trials in this lifetime and with the changes I need to make in order to be more like Christ in all of my ways. 1Peter 3:17 says, "Remember, it is better to suffer for doing good, if that is what God wants, than to suffer for doing wrong!".

Romans 5:3,4 - "We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they are good for us-they help us learn to endure. And endurance develops strength of character in us, and character strengthens our confident expectation of salvation."

Becoming more Christ-like in all things is an everyday process called work. If I want to have a Christian way of life, then I must patiently allow the brace [Holy Spirit] to reshape my life. I can do that only by trusting Him.

Romans 8:28 - "And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are called according to His purpose."

Any masterpiece takes time to be perfected.....in the hands of the Master Artist.....God bless.

Hail Storm

It started raining on May 22, 2008. Much to my surprise, it got louder and louder whatever was falling on the rooftops. When I looked out in the backyard, I saw the drains clogging up...with ICE!!!! There was a hail storm and I was sure at that moment that I wasn't alone in getting excited at the sight for we rarely get snow, even hail storm where we live! The wind was a little gusty and there was also lightning and thunder. This work of mother nature didn't last for a long time. It was over in a few minutes...I got worried that my son got caught up with this storm, along with the other students at school. And my husband was coming home, about to drive 8 hours from a special operation they did at work. My worries died down as the storm eased up and soon, the sun was out! In a matter of few hours, the ground was dry like it was all a dream that we had that hail storm.

In this life, we also have sudden tribulations and trials. Only in Jesus, I found that we can have joy and peace amidst such trials. From Philippians 4:6,7 - "Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need and thank Him for all He has done. If you do this, you will experience God's peace, which is far more wonderful than the human mind can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and mind as you live in Christ Jesus." Glory be to God!

As we gathered that evening, my son told me that the teachers kept them in each particular classrooms and they waited out until the storm was over so they were kept safe. My husband came home on time, despite the on and off gusty winds. We even heard that there was a couple of tornadoes few miles away. Thank You Lord for Your protection.