Achievement Unlocked: Single Mom (Part 1)

This is a looong story.

Last Monday, Dad and I joined our parish's annual Visita Iglesia. We joined last year and I was able to convince him to join again this year. At each church, I was reciting very basic prayer intentions:

• Good health for our family
• Financial stability
• Good relationships between me and dad, us, lolo and lola, etc

You know how God takes your prayers and completely turns it around? For example, you ask for the gift of patience, then God goes and gives you a week of incompetent work colleagues and kids with tantrums.  The essence is -- He is giving you situations so you can exercise your patience. And just the physiology of the muscle -- if you exercise it enough, a day will come when the task (i.e. being patient) will not seem as hard anymore.

This is the reason why I no longer pray for patience.

Anyway, God seemed to focus on my relationship-building prayer and pounced on it. Because it the hours between Black Saturday and Easter Sunday, He allowed it to be strained.

TO BE CONTINUED.

Apologies

Dear C,

I have judged you. From the time you told me you were seeing a married man secretly, I judged you. When you told me you were the fruit of a second family, I succumbed to half-baked assumptions. When you were already dating openly, I was disappointed and felt angry "on behalf of his wife". When B got sick and I saw you were beside him every step of the way, I didn't know how I should feel. Should I be proud of you? Should I be praying for him and for your relationship, thinking that you are sinning all these time?

I'm sorry.

God has a way of talking to us and putting us in our place. I saw how his sisters honor you and acknowledge your efforts -- and suddenly, I realized that I do not know your whole story. I have let my assumptions blind me from seeing how you stayed by B's side through the best and worst times. I'm terribly sorry.

I hope I find the guts to tell these to you personally. But what I know is, when I see you again, I will hug you and tell you how proud I am of you. You have matured beyond your years. And while we may not agree on a number of things (including your relationship), I am still proud of you and B for making it through. I pray for his recovery, and your emotional strength. I pray for his kids and his wife. I pray for your relationship, that things may turn out for the best. I hope you find it in your heart to forgive me.

I love you, C. Be strong! God never gives us trials that we cannot handle, He always sends help along the way! 

For sad days

Excerpt from one of Bo Sanchez's articles. Please remember this whenever you feel insecure or inadequate -- you have a Father in heaven who loves you so much, and you have me on earth (or in your heart once I passed) who loves you just as much.

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"Friend, this is the ultimate reason why you need to like yourself.

Because you have a Father who loves you so much.

You're more important than all the stars in the sky.

You're more important than all the galaxies of this universe.

In the heart of God, nothing compares with you.

If He loves you this much, how can you not like yourself?"