On A Side Note...
So many things happened over the weekend and right now I'm just going to rest because my throat hurts. I don't think the soreness will go away anytime soon. Please pray for me that this heals quicker than usual.
I'll try to break down this weekend's thoughts soon. I just have to doze off and get a good night's rest for a change. I think my immune system is breaking down again. Woe is me! :((
Saturday, July 16, 2005
Wednesday, July 13, 2005
A Matter of Time
A Matter of Time
I just heard the weirdest thing yesterday. Going home after attending a friend's D-group (that's "discipleship group" for you) meeting. I was lazily slumped at the back seat of an R&E cab listening to the AM jockey do his round of greetings for the station's listeners when I heard something I shouldn't be hearing. I heard a Christmas song.
I heard "Give Love on Christmas Day".
It was one of the more significant Christmas songs for me not because of the message that it gave but because that was the very first Christmas song that I remember memorizing. Back when I was in prep, we did a holiday presentation for our parents, I believe. I could never forget that we sang that song until it was second nature to us. We memorized that song more than we memorized each other's names. At 6 years old, who could you vividly remember in your class anyway? At least for me, I could only remember literally a handful of classmates.
So there I was, listening in disbelief to a song that was being played months in advance. I couldn't help but ask myself what month it was. It hasn't even hit the "Ber" months yet. (i.e. September, October, etc.) Maybe the DJ played it on purpose or maybe he just felt that he needed to send out a message to the Filipino people who were listening during those brief five minutes. Maybe he just needed to say what was really inside of all of our hearts during this time of testing. We all need love. We all need to practice it in our daily lives. The irony of it all is that the song implores us to "give love on Christmas Day" when in reality, the Philippines and its people need it each and every waking hour. With all of the hatred and all of the pointed fingers we are carelessly thrusting, we all need to hear the simple message that the song implies: live a life of love and live it now.
I was able to have lunch with some of my closest friends and I was truly blessed to hear stories of reconciliation that has recently happened in their lives. I just praise God because I remember praying for that just a few months ago. I really didn't focus on it because at that time I was already looking for a job but I distinctly remember asking a brother in Christ to pray for reconciliation to happen in my friends' lives. I didn't even cry out to the Lord yet He remembered what was my desire that time and He honored it. After everything, I walked away from yesterday's lunch out with a profound gratitude for those friends of mine. I thank the Lord because He has given me people who are as wonderful as them. I look back at the event and I cannot deny the love that we had for each other. No disdainful remarks or hurtful words. It was possibly an ordinary day for the rest of the people at Podium but it was definitely a special one for me. I thank God for friends. They remind us how we should treat people and not just people we know or care about. Friends remind us that because of the love that we both give and receive, our lives are richer and become more bearable. Because of the love that we willingly bestow and graciously receive from these people who were once strangers to us, we smile more often.
I can't help but think, if that can happen to our group...if that can happen to people who were once strangers, then why not give other people--the present strangers in our lives--the benefit of the doubt? To a nation that is witnessing the depravities of its countrymen and the betrayal that goes on in every nook and cranny of our land, it would really help if we treated other with respect and love for a change. Not because we're motivated by the probability of getting something in return but because of the possibility that a few months or years down the road, you'll be sitting down with people who were once strangers and you'll be thinking, "I'm glad I met this person."
A blessed week to all of you. :)
I just heard the weirdest thing yesterday. Going home after attending a friend's D-group (that's "discipleship group" for you) meeting. I was lazily slumped at the back seat of an R&E cab listening to the AM jockey do his round of greetings for the station's listeners when I heard something I shouldn't be hearing. I heard a Christmas song.
I heard "Give Love on Christmas Day".
It was one of the more significant Christmas songs for me not because of the message that it gave but because that was the very first Christmas song that I remember memorizing. Back when I was in prep, we did a holiday presentation for our parents, I believe. I could never forget that we sang that song until it was second nature to us. We memorized that song more than we memorized each other's names. At 6 years old, who could you vividly remember in your class anyway? At least for me, I could only remember literally a handful of classmates.
So there I was, listening in disbelief to a song that was being played months in advance. I couldn't help but ask myself what month it was. It hasn't even hit the "Ber" months yet. (i.e. September, October, etc.) Maybe the DJ played it on purpose or maybe he just felt that he needed to send out a message to the Filipino people who were listening during those brief five minutes. Maybe he just needed to say what was really inside of all of our hearts during this time of testing. We all need love. We all need to practice it in our daily lives. The irony of it all is that the song implores us to "give love on Christmas Day" when in reality, the Philippines and its people need it each and every waking hour. With all of the hatred and all of the pointed fingers we are carelessly thrusting, we all need to hear the simple message that the song implies: live a life of love and live it now.
I was able to have lunch with some of my closest friends and I was truly blessed to hear stories of reconciliation that has recently happened in their lives. I just praise God because I remember praying for that just a few months ago. I really didn't focus on it because at that time I was already looking for a job but I distinctly remember asking a brother in Christ to pray for reconciliation to happen in my friends' lives. I didn't even cry out to the Lord yet He remembered what was my desire that time and He honored it. After everything, I walked away from yesterday's lunch out with a profound gratitude for those friends of mine. I thank the Lord because He has given me people who are as wonderful as them. I look back at the event and I cannot deny the love that we had for each other. No disdainful remarks or hurtful words. It was possibly an ordinary day for the rest of the people at Podium but it was definitely a special one for me. I thank God for friends. They remind us how we should treat people and not just people we know or care about. Friends remind us that because of the love that we both give and receive, our lives are richer and become more bearable. Because of the love that we willingly bestow and graciously receive from these people who were once strangers to us, we smile more often.
I can't help but think, if that can happen to our group...if that can happen to people who were once strangers, then why not give other people--the present strangers in our lives--the benefit of the doubt? To a nation that is witnessing the depravities of its countrymen and the betrayal that goes on in every nook and cranny of our land, it would really help if we treated other with respect and love for a change. Not because we're motivated by the probability of getting something in return but because of the possibility that a few months or years down the road, you'll be sitting down with people who were once strangers and you'll be thinking, "I'm glad I met this person."
A blessed week to all of you. :)
