My Mother's love letter

Through the years, it was my "Mama Viki" who encouraged, challenged and uplifted us - her children - with words of comfort.

But with the situation she is in right now, how can I return back the favor?

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My dear children,

Time runs so fast and I almost cannot believe that everything will really pass. I keep on telling you lahat ng bagay lilipas even in my sharing with others. But when the reality comes where you are the one concern, the reality sometimes become a "pain". Seldom we talk seriously with each other and I did never open up to you my fears. All you see in me is a mom tough and strong and probably, you haven't seen me in tears before the Lord.

With the situation where our bank is being acquired by a bigger bank, pasensiya na kayo, if I have to share with you what I feel now. Maybe because, I need to pour out my inner self and I have nothing left as my comfort but all of you and the Lord. Thanks God He taught me to face all life struggles with faith & confidence.

Now that my career is already at its sunset, I thank God because He help me out to bring you up to where you should be. I don't have financial wealth to pass on to you but a faith that God will give the best each one of you deserves.

I still have some dreams supposedly for our family but only God knows if this dream will still be fulfilled. I do not know what will come next in a month or two. I just hope and pray for God's intervention.

Grace, you are my single child who could directly help me now in terms of finances. May God contine to lead you and put you in a company where He could prosper and make you a fullfilled person. I trust Joy & Poy that you always have ready & helping hand for Beo to reach his goal.

Above all, may all of us continue to rely and trust God because only He knows our future. You might be contended with what you have now but when the reality comes in . . . the reality of facing the unknown, only trust and faith in God remain. That's why I keep on emphasizing, make our God your partner in every way, never to set Him aside.

In passing, let be our family an example of having a Christian faith. Never break this because God has been faithful to us through the years despite our human weknesses, failures and limitations.

I find the ease now because, I am able to share with you what I feel. We might be distant away from each other but the spirit of love brings us closer together.

Let's continue altogether to shine for Jesus, the author & finisher of our faith.

LOVE,

Mama

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My tears can't help but fall as I read my mother's letter.

I believe God still has greater things in store for her...

Posted this a while ago on Facebook:

"If people are trying to put you down,

it means that you're above them."

~It is disheartening that the world never runs out of people who seems that their purpose of existence is to discourage, criticize and afflict us with emotional hurts.

On the other hand, it is comforting to know that God allows them in our lives to challenge us and make us realize our limitations, so that we can fully put our trust and hope in Him - He who has control of everything...

After all, even our Lord Jesus Christ, while on earth, was not excluded to experience the same.

It Is Well With My Soul

2am and I'm still wide awake -- balancing our office Monthly Financial Statement and Facebook-ing at the same time (I'm just being productive, heehee). Playing on the background is the song "It Is Well With My Soul" from a recently purchased CD, Quiet Time - Inspirational Piano Violin Rendition. The song was written by Horatio G. Spafford. Here's what I google-d regarding the story behind it:

HYMN HISTORY

(source: www.biblestudycharts.com)

This hymn was written by a Chicago lawyer, Horatio G. Spafford. You might think to write a worship song titled, 'It is well with my soul', you would indeed have to be a rich, successful Chicago lawyer. But the words, "When sorrows like sea billows roll ... It is well with my soul”, were not written during the happiest period of Spafford's life. On the contrary, they came from a man who had suffered almost unimaginable personal tragedy.

Horatio G. Spafford and his wife, Anna, were pretty well-known in 1860’s Chicago. And this was not just because of Horatio's legal career and business endeavors. The Spaffords were also prominent supporters and close friends of D.L. Moody, the famous preacher. In 1870, however, things started to go wrong. The Spaffords' only son was killed by scarlet fever at the age of four. A year later, it was fire rather than fever that struck. Horatio had invested heavily in real estate on the shores of Lake Michigan. In 1871, every one of these holdings was wiped out by the great Chicago Fire.

Aware of the toll that these disasters had taken on the family, Horatio decided to take his wife and four daughters on a holiday to England. And, not only did they need the rest -- DL Moody needed the help. He was traveling around Britain on one of his great evangelistic campaigns. Horatio and Anna planned to join Moody in late 1873. And so, the Spaffords traveled to New York in November, from where they were to catch the French steamer 'Ville de Havre' across the Atlantic. Yet just before they set sail, a last-minute business development forced Horatio to delay. Not wanting to ruin the family holiday, Spafford persuaded his family to go as planned. He would follow on later. With this decided, Anna and her four daughters sailed East to Europe while Spafford returned West to Chicago. Just nine days later, Spafford received a telegram from his wife in Wales. It read: "Saved alone."

On November 2nd 1873, the 'Ville de Havre' had collided with 'The Lochearn', an English vessel. It sank in only 12 minutes, claiming the lives of 226 people. Anna Spafford had stood bravely on the deck, with her daughters Annie, Maggie, Bessie and Tanetta clinging desperately to her. Her last memory had been of her baby being torn violently from her arms by the force of the waters. Anna was only saved from the fate of her daughters by a plank which floated beneath her unconscious body and propped her up. When the survivors of the wreck had been rescued, Mrs. Spafford's first reaction was one of complete despair. Then she heard a voice speak to her, "You were spared for a purpose." And she immediately recalled the words of a friend, "It's easy to be grateful and good when you have so much, but take care that you are not a fair-weather friend to God."

Upon hearing the terrible news, Horatio Spafford boarded the next ship out of New York to join his bereaved wife. Bertha Spafford (the fifth daughter of Horatio and Anna born later) explained that during her father's voyage, the captain of the ship had called him to the bridge. "A careful reckoning has been made", he said, "and I believe we are now passing the place where the de Havre was wrecked. The water is three miles deep." Horatio then returned to his cabin and penned the lyrics of his great hymn.

The words which Spafford wrote that day come from 2 Kings 4:26. They echo the response of the Shunammite woman to the sudden death of her only child. Though we are told "her soul is vexed within her", she still maintains that 'It is well." And Spafford's song reveals a man whose trust in the Lord is as unwavering as hers was.

It would be very difficult for any of us to predict how we would react under circumstances similar to those experienced by the Spaffords. But we do know that the God who sustained them would also be with us.

No matter what circumstances overtake us may we be able to say with Horatio Spafford...

When peace, like a river, attendeth my way,

When sorrows like sea billows roll;

Whatever my lot, Thou has taught me to say,

It is well, it is well, with my soul.

It is well, with my soul,

It is well, with my soul,

It is well, it is well, with my soul.

Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come,

Let this blest assurance control,

That Christ has regarded my helpless estate,

And hath shed His own blood for my soul.

It is well, with my soul,

It is well, with my soul,

It is well, it is well, with my soul.

My sin, oh, the bliss of this glorious thought!

My sin, not in part but the whole,

Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more,

Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!

It is well, with my soul,

It is well, with my soul,

It is well, it is well, with my soul.

And Lord, haste the day when my faith shall be sight,

The clouds be rolled back as a scroll;

The trump shall resound, and the Lord shall descend,

Even so, it is well with my soul.

It is well, with my soul,

It is well, with my soul,

It is well, it is well, with my soul.

Horatio Gates Spafford

1828-1888

One Way

Saw this video clip on youtube:

According to Wikipedia, Oprah Winfrey is best known for her multi-award winning talk show, which has become the highest-rated program of its kind in history. She has been ranked the richest African American of the 20th century and beyond, the greatest black philanthropist in American history, and was once the world's only black billionaire. She is also, according to some assessments, the most influential woman in the world.

Wow! Impressive!

I'm not an Oprah fan, though I get to watch a few episode of her show (well, parts of it) when scanning the television channels searching for some good, real entertainment. I must say, I was dismayed upon hearing these words that came out of her mouth:
"There couldn't possibly be just one way!"
And when one of the audience mentioned Jesus, she retorted:
"What about Jesus?"

John 14:6 of the Holy Bible says that

"Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Life.

No one comes to the Father except through Him."

Notice the words NO and EXCEPT, clearly stating that there is only ONE way --- through JESUS ALONE.

Not even through good deeds or a person's "loving, kindness and generosity", as Oprah claimed, can we be saved.
Titus 3:5, "He saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of His mercy."
Ephesians 2:8-9, "For it is by grace you have been saved through faith - and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God - not by works, so that no one can boast."

Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Life.
Without the way, there is no going;
Without the truth, there is no knowing;
Without the life, there is no living.

29 years of God's Faithfulness

Today is my 29th birthday. And if I were to choose a song for my life, it would be "Great is Thy Faithfulness".

Looking back, it was (and is) God who helped me through. There were instances in my life that I was knocked down, but not knocked out... Yea, as the song goes - pressed but not crushed... struck down but not destroyed. And it is because of God's loving mercy, goodness and grace that I will be forever grateful.

"Thank You, Lord for Your unfailing faithfulness for the whole 29 years of my life:

for Your showing of strength in my weakness,

power in fear,

joy in times of sorrow,

peace in despair,

hope in uncertainties,

comfort over difficulties,

wisdom in my senselessness,

faith in disbelief,

miracle in impossibilities...

For being my refuge in troubled times,

the answer to my needs...

For finding me when I was lost,

forgiving me of my sins,

freeing me from bondage

healing me from sickness..

Thank You for giving me beauty for ashes,

and turning my brokenness into wholeness of being...

Above all, for Your "Oh-so-Great" LOVE I do not deserve, yet freely given...

Words are not enough to express everything You have done for me.

May You see me living this gifted life as a "Thank You" to You, my Lord.

Amen."

Great is Thy faithfulness, O God my Father;
There is no shadow of turning with Thee;
Thou changest not, Thy compassions, they fail not;
As Thou hast been, Thou forever will be.

Great is Thy faithfulness!
Great is Thy faithfulness!
Morning by morning new mercies I see.
All I have needed Thy hand hath provided;
Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me!

Summer and winter and springtime and harvest,
Sun, moon and stars in their courses above
Join with all nature in manifold witness
To Thy great faithfulness, mercy and love.

Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth
Thine own dear presence to cheer and to guide;
Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow,
Blessings all mine, with ten thousand beside!