Happy Mother's Day

12 years ago, in my son’s Kindergarten class, the teacher had them write something about their moms in sort of “fill-in-the blanks” styles. I was sure that must be challenging for their young minds or imaginations.

One question out of about 5 fill-in-the blanks struck me the most:

My mom__________. (My son’s reply: “knows everything.”)

As we both recalled that time as we happened to take a tour back to those old paths by looking at the pictures I had kept all those years, I asked him what he thought about that now.

Oh, he was quick to give me a reply with a 17-year old wisdom:

“That isn’t true, Mom!” As he gave me a hug and a kiss as if to counter any potential harm to this mother’s heart.

I hugged him tight and I said, “That’s right! Only God knows everything!”

“I know,” he replied with a big smile, perhaps with a sense of relief that his “mama” didn’t get emotional!

As time goes by fast, year after year, I often reflect on those memories I share with my child. As a mother, I want to be better, help him in any possible ways with the hope and prayers that he will always walk in that right path. The narrow path that isn’t easy but leads to the eternal.

As mothers, we are a part of our children’s journeys. We have a part in their history even when that time comes that they have to create their own.

So, as my last words at that time when I was talking with my son, I added:

"Your mom may not know everything but by God's grace, He tells me a lot so I end up knowing a lot!"

He nodded his head in quick agreement.

Happy Mother’s Day to all of you, friends and sisters in Christ! (And I’m not only talking about those who have children. I know many also who never have children but have a loving heart like that of a mother’s)…May God’s wisdom and discernment continue to guide us as mothers to our children, and not only to them but to others as well. For this journey is not easy. But with God’s help, we can always make it! We can endure.

What will your child say about you as a mother?

Frozen Drinks (My Treat!!!)

Nurses started complaining after a very busy shift. Charts with doctors’ orders still piled high from the previous day became a burden for that day. We labored and hardly breathe until we leveled those bins. My hands were achy and my neck from endlessly using the computer, as it was for the others who had no choice but work harder that day. That was not including the inmates requesting to be seen for their ailments.

Photo Credit

I asked for the Charge Nurse’s permission if I could go to a nearby Starbucks as the thought of a frozen coffee sounded good. A little reward so to speak for a hard day’s work. I knew she might not allow me but I chose to use my 15 minute break that way. She was surprised to hear that I would like to treat everyone for the drinks that they liked. The list grew. Some of them were embarrassed to order what they wanted. But I insisted. They knew I worked lesser hours and knew it would be expensive for me to do such an act of kindness. I told them I would rather give, not that I always expected for something in return, but because God was the One Who gave bigger blessings. I would always be grateful for what I had knowing He always provided. And I was very sure at that time that I wanted to buy my co-workers a drink!

Most of them didn’t work hard. Some of them stabbed me in the back. But my decision to buy them a drink anyway would originally not be my choice. Hypocrite you would say! I wasn’t being one… God reminded me at that moment that He was always fair about everything. About giving blessings to both good and bad people. Deserving or not. (“In that way, you will be acting as true children of your Father in heaven. For he gives his sunlight to both the evil and the good, and he sends rain on the just and the unjust alike.” – Matthew 5:45 NLT).

One I hardly knew because I worked lesser came often to thank me and truly was touched by me buying her a cold drink for free. She said she needed that to quench her thirst. She was grateful that anywhere she met me: in the hallway, inside the Clinic or whenever I would go to the Pharmacy where they were just kept thanking me. Others didn’t. I expected that.  

I took a sip from my frozen drink and how it seemed to wipe away the soreness from my achy body. I glanced and saw the others enjoying their drink and smiling at me.  While others I couldn’t see and didn’t hear from them.

“Thank You, Lord,” I softly uttered. Thank You for giving me lessons every time from everything in my life. Thank You for reminding me how fair and just You are. Never leaving anyone out. Inviting everyone to come to know Your love and grace.

And I know…like that nurse who kept thanking me, only those who come to accept and truly believe that His offer of drink is “free” will be the only ones to enjoy it!  

“Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost.” – Isaiah 55:1 NIV

The Lord inspired me to write this song on 12/31/03 after my oldest brother had shared the Good News to our two other brothers when they were in Japan and both had accepted Jesus into their hearts. The second part of the song, the Lord didn't give me until 2/22/04:

The Good News
(-rcubes 12/31/03)


How will people know about You?
How will people know Your love is true?
How will they learn that the word is on their mouths?
And hearts if only will believe....

Chorus:
How beautiful are the feet of those who bring
The Good News to all the ends of earth
You have done wonderful things for us, Lord
And victory is ours, when You opened Your arms and gave Your life...on the cross...

Lots of souls don't know You
Some don't care You're the Son of God
But when they surrender and place their faith in You
The Good News, their hearts will surely know...

(Glory be to God!!!)

(Romans 10:9 - If you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved)

I Failed

He was one among the others I had dealt with before…In need of help from the medical staff as they battled the symptoms that plagued them for years. Being locked up made it even harder for them to deal with ever growing loneliness behind those thick prison walls. The moment the heavy, metal doors slammed behind them, males or females, they had to face a lot of other battles immediately: isolation, rejection, harassment, intimidation, bullying, shame, hopelessness, onset of sickening withdrawal symptoms from abused illegal substances, mental torture and hearts slowly being drowned with waves of current troubles they carried with them from home.

The female deputy wheeled in a young, male inmate from her unit. About to fall off from the wheelchair she was pushing, his body was obviously rigid, his mouth constantly opening yet it failed in producing complaints that he wanted to say. He was shaking uncontrollably. His heavy, very rapid breathing like that of a car racer’s engine was going on, unstoppable with the verge of collapsing on the floor.

All of a sudden, he grabbed my right hand. The deputy and the other nurses stood nearer to make sure he was not going to hurt me with his "not welcomed" behavior displayed. I sensed the tight grip of my fingers from his rigid hand as I met his eyes, which started to turn red and filled up with tears.

“It’s okay,” I told him and the staff on alert.

“Are you scared?”

“I…just…needed…to talk….to someone…” he uttered in broken words as the tears flowed from the corner of his eyelids, struggling to produce each words.

“You can tell me anything you wanted to share…if you feel that it will help you…” I reassured, his grip loosening a little bit.

No words came out. He never turned his head and just stared at me. Eye to eye.

I had seen that look before. My spirit sensing his need. Not for our help from our physical hands. But a need for a Savior. I felt like a failure every time. With others surrounding us, I couldn’t bring up about “Jesus”.

There were 3 of us, nurses, who surrounded him and tried to calm him down. We knew he was having a severe panic attack. I called the ER doctor to get an order for a calming medicine. I told him we needed a “shot form” to make it work like “Stat!”. He understood the desperation as I barely knew his medical background. I could only relate the symptoms I was witnessing. I looked at the syringe again, filled with the clear medication that would oppose his symptoms. I aimed for his right thigh. We watched the improvised “vomit bag” to cover his mouth and saved some of the carbon dioxide he was exhaling at a rapid pace. His rigid body made him grimaced time to time, complaining “pain” as he or we tried to move him to get his comfort. A few minutes passed…he began to relax his breathing, his muscled, tired from being rigid and perhaps from spasms became relaxed.

As we kept and monitored him for a few hours, he was able to sleep and kept thanking us. In between those moments of rest, he was able to tell me that he caught his best friend with his wife having a relationship but they were not the reason why he was jailed. He was there because he was a “parolee” and during one of the officers’ routine checks, they found the 3 guns he was keeping. Then, he got worried about his 2 little sons so he wasn’t able to sleep since he was incarcerated. That was when the anxiety attack hit him hard. I reassured him that I would have the Mental Health Doctor see him as we transferred him to another unit capable of caring for those individuals who had mental health issues.

“Good job, Rcubes!” the Charge Nurse hollered as she saw me let go of the inmate from the Clinic.

“You handled the situation very well,” she added.

“Thank you, but you were also there,” was all I could say.

She would never know. It was the opposite for me. I felt like a failure and unable to help that man. Spiritually… Every time I waited for that perfect place…For that perfect time to share about the Good News...It was always wrong…Because there was no such thing! Oh, I pray that God may give me more courage to plant that seed from Him even with the expectation that the ground about to receive it is never ready. For Jesus alone is the One Who will till that soil. I am only to plant. And I fail…every time I don’t even try to throw that seed. Same seed He planted in my heart. Forgive me Oh Lord!

 "And he said to them, “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation."
Mark 16:15 ESV

 "And he said to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest."
Luke 10:2 ESV

A 911 Emergency Call you will never forget from teamjesusconnect on GodTube.

The Slow Snail

Biblically, waiting is not just something we have to do until we get what we want. Waiting is part of the process of becoming what God wants us to be. – John Ortberg

Photo Credit

I saw it there…Early this morning when I rushed to dump another bag of trash into the bins by the curb. Awaiting trash pick up and I wanted to make sure I had all the trash out before the rain came down again. The shower that came down at the wee hours of the morning was brief. Followed by just a single blinding lightning and the thunder that was long and roaring as if a giant hollered to wake up everyone sleeping. Indeed, the deafening roar  shook our house, woke up my son and startled me.

Inch by inch it tried to make its way perhaps, looking for a drier ground. I was talking about a snail. Its upper tentacles erected so high as its vision tried to see the way up ahead, a longer path he took in the cold, wet, cemented driveway.

I closed the garage door and finished making breakfast for my son and I. After an hour or so, placing his backpack straps on his shoulders, my son opened the garage door and there I was, headed again toward the big bins with another bag of trash.

I saw the snail able to make it to the mid part of our driveway, about 10 steps for me and it took more than an hour for it to reach that destination. But it kept going. Never stopping despite the hardship its slow body tried to gain for another few inches.

“What patience!” I thought to myself as I started marveling at its courageous mission to reach another destination despite the wet, cold ground and a lot of hours it would take him for what would be equivalent to only a few steps into my human capabilities.

The sight took me back…Thousands of years ago…Because of its patience, it was rewarded by God for its life to be spared from the impending flood that would cleanse the earth of wicked men.

I wondered….how long and laborious it took the snail to reach Noah’s ark…But that shouldn’t matter what hardships it had gone through. What mattered as I stared again at the slow, slimy body was that the snail reached the ark and was saved. It was not because of its patience….It was because of God’s patience…Who waited for it to reach Noah’s Ark.

And if God loves the snail, how much more with us, men, He created after His image? And no matter how difficult a man’s trek is in this place, God is still patiently waiting for everyone to be saved…The question is… “Is the pair of a man’s eyes able to see?”

“But you, Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God,
   slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness.” – Psalm 86:15 (NIV)

“May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you the same attitude of mind toward each other that Christ Jesus had.” – Romans 15:5 (NIV)

“This calls for patient endurance on the part of the people of God who keep his commands and remain faithful to Jesus.” – Revelation 14:12 (NIV)

“But you must not forget this one thing, dear friends: A day is like a thousand years to the Lord, and a thousand years is like a day.” – 2 Peter 3:8 (NLT)