1. After a two-week hiatus, my church small group finally starts Chapter 1 of A. W. Tozer’s book, The Attributes of God. Together, we learn that God cannot be boxed, and that He is both infinite and intimate. Later, we gleefully rehearse the first few songs of our Christmas cantata. It is a joy to sing “Oh Holy Night” at the top of my lungs, and realize how much I’ve improved as an alto in the past eleven years.
2. Sukha and I make a late night visit to Lei’s hospital bedside in Makati Medical Center. She needs to fast by midnight for her operation the next day, so we binge on pizza, kopi buns and siomai with her before the deadline.
3. All the stress of the past fortnight melts away in the much-missed company of Carmi and Darlene. They are this passage come to life:
“Oh, the comfort – the inexpressible comfort of feeling safe with a person – having neither to weigh thoughts nor measure words, but pouring them all right out, just as they are, chaff and grain together; certain that a faithful hand will take and sift them, keep what is worth keeping, and then with the breath of kindness blow the rest away.” ~Dinah Craik, A Life for a Life, 1859
1. My Ian calls me to say that his car broke down along EDSA. Fortunately, his car chose to conk out near a gas station. An hour later, I look out the bus window and catch a surprising glimpse of him by the roadside. I feel guilty for not hopping off to be with him, but he assures me via text that everything is okay. He is safely at work by lunchtime.
2. Lunch is (and dinner will be) crunchy bacon and fried potato wedges smothered in herbs.
3. The book of Job reminds me of what I should aspire to be, even in times of trouble:
“Have you considered my servant, Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil.”
1. It is almost a fortnight after a serious car accident involving my family and a drunk driver. Lola has had two surgical operations to fix her broken leg and is thankfully on the road to recovery. My parents, brother and niece are also okay and camping out in the hospital, while my brother and I badly need to catch up on sleep. We are overwhelmed by the prayers and concern we’ve received from friends and relatives. I am also getting in-depth lessons on patience and forgiveness. Above all, this rings true: Safety is not the absence of danger, it is the presence of God.
2. I receive a text message from my brother that goes: “Sonogram results in. One piece baby boy.” A nephew, yehey! Thus ends the adorable tyranny of my first and only niece so far.
3. In the next LCM (Love, Courtship and Marriage) session I’ll facilitate, I’ll definitely quote Shamcey Supsup, Miss Philippines 2011. Beauty and brains indeed.
“If I would have to change my religious beliefs, I would not marry the person that I love. Because the first person that I love is God, who created me. I have my faith and my principles, and this is what makes me who I am. If the person loves me, he’ll love my God too.”