What we Prepare will Tell Where We’re Going!

Sometimes life would pose us the question: “Do you know where you’re going to?” – so as the song goes … “Do you get what you’re hoping for, when you look behind you there’s no open doors”…

At the vastness of the “journey” called “Life”, we may at times feel tired, wanting to give up because things are just as vague as we seem not to determine where the road we’re taking would lead us: “yong feeling na parang ang layo layo na ng nilakad mo, pero di mo alam kung saan ka pupunta; at kung ano’ng pwedeng mangyari don sa pupuntahan mo.  And because things are so uncertain, bigla na lang, sasabihin mong “ayaw ko na”. Bigla na lang, you would let your emotions rule over you; at kapag nakagawa ka ng maling decision dahil pinabayaan mong lituhin ka ng emotions mo, sasabihin mong: “sorry, tao lang!”

Reflecting on the Gospel of Mark 14:12-16,22-26 I cant help but admire the two disciples whom Jesus sent when they asked: “Where do you want us to go and prepare for you to eat the Passover?”. Not so sure if they would exactly find the place Jesus has instructed them, they went off, not complaining, not questioning, not wavering in their faith … until they found the place just as Jesus had told them; and there, they prepared for Jesus’ coming.

All because they did not give up on the purpose for which they were sent, the meal with Jesus became possible.  Their efforts were comforted and healed — when as a reward, Jesus offered them a portion of His bread & asked them to drink from His cup.

What a very symbolic gift.

Just the mere presence of our Guest, is already so gratifying. Much more that he shared to a great extent himself with us, not only triples our strength-back after all the preparations we’ve done.

But it’s not just a symbol!

This is more of a reality: What we prepare will tell us where to go.  How much we prepare will tell us what to get!

Today, I hope we will realize that the Holy Body and Blood of Christ which He offered in the Last Supper is a Gift which intends “to make us one with Him”. In body, in blood and in soul, He has been with us. In weakness, He showed us that we are not “tao LANG” – for it is in saying “sorry, tao lang!” that we tend to justify why we usually allow ourselves to fall into sin,  each time we are faced to temptation.

If we will only ponder on this so deeply in our hearts, it is actually our willingness to prepare our “self” which matters most of the time. Much that if the reason for such preparation eventually made Himself available for us, this page would not even be enough to say “THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR BEING OUR GUEST! Having you with us made us feel that the door to relationship has been opened and eventually made us realize that you are also inviting us to a Personal Relationship – with You and with God.

“Thank you so much for such invitation as well! We will strive to make ourselves available too! ”–sunset

Sometimes, we have to “keep distance…”

“I want to pick you up each time you fall, I want to cheer you up each time you frown, I want to ease you each time you’re stressed, I want to calm you down each time you flare up, I want to clear out your mind from bugs when you think that people are against you…”

“I intend to teach you the wisdom that you need when loads are heavy, I intend to make you feel that I am just here in support of the good things that you do, I intend to save you from committing mistakes when you think you seem so right…”

“…BUT, your reactions, your ways of thinking and ways of feeling never allow me. Your justifications keep on pushing me away.  Your self-centered beliefs has created the wall that hinders you from seeing and from realizing — that all that I intended, and all that I wanted is to help you become the person that God wants you to be.”

“Nevertheless, how I still wanted to give you a hug just for you to know that things will soon be fine and for you to feel that despite the pain that you’ve inflicted in me because most of the time you misunderstood me, still, I will keep on searching for ways ‘till you eventually understand, because I know, deep within my heart that YOU ARE A WORK IN PROGRESS.”

“There may be times when I will have to keep distance, to give you the chance to listen to my silence and make you look within, hoping that you would grab the opportunity to reflect on things and to see the difference when you decide to also look up and ask if I would still be back so that you could cope and make up.”

“This is never easy, but because the Holy Spirit keeps on working in me, I will also never give up on you, my child…’till that day you’ll eventually let go of your pride and let your FAITH in God lead you closer to Him  .”

These lines, I have personally composed for my kids and for the youths of today’s time. I am pretty sure that most parents would also want to boost these lines to their kids, specially those who feel the intensity of manifesting the love when we forgive despite the pain and in never giving up, notwithstanding the difficulty through the force of the Holy Spirit for the purpose of building a “church” in every child.

In recollection, I have several times told my students that such “church” is actually our “personal relationship with Jesus”. I personally feel that we should be channels of this personal relationship which we could sample-out to our kids so that they may witness for themselves the difference of a life in God.#

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“Our Legacy in a Road Less Travelled”

“There are times when we have to leave, let them on their own so that they may see for themselves if they can manage to apply the things that we’ve taught them.”

This is my usual justification everytime I would spend the whole day of Saturdays for a part-time job in Makati. The kids would have to mend things on their own and have to make sure that things are well just before I go back at night. Of course what made me confident leaving them so early in the morning at such, is the condition that I have already taught them “the how’s of mending” things. Plus, just as I drive away from home, what would relieve my worries “if they can turn the day well” is when I whisper a prayer for them.

Yes, at times, I would also have apprehensions while at work, but the gospel of John 17:11b-19 is so assuring, as it gave me the realization that this is what Jesus also did: Resurrection-after, He spent rigid time training His disciples; but off to His Ascension — end of His 40 days when He already had to leave. Yet, such long prayer to His Father just before he went, assured Him of the strength which should be founded in His disciples as they carry out the work which He begun.

For decades, Jesus has been OUT OF SIGHT, YET PRESENT in many ways. And so today, the present where we’re in, proves that His disciples won a legacy for Him; and I personally feel that up to this day, Jesus is still profound in inviting us to be His disciples in today’s time. Just like Him, Jesus wants us to raise our own legacy.

Where else to begin?

“A man cannot leave a better legacy to the world than a well-educated family.” — Thomas Scott.

No matter what we’ve done for ourselves or for humanity, the best place to begin raising our legacy is within our own family.

Kids may seem to find it a far-fetched idea that we want them to make the difference by living out the values which we’ve made them experience at home because they will always tend to compare themselves with their peers who do not get the same training from their busy parents.

But – if we will be as persevering as Jesus did to His disciples our family will also win a legacy for us.

There would be no easy way to road less travelled in our today’s time where we are faced to a lot of media pressures, but if the good news which Jesus wants us to spread will linger in every child’s mind, moreso in their hearts, Jesus’ legacy would never die – all because us, parents also strive to win a legacy for Jesus in our time. #