Solo Parents...Twice the Love…Triple the Blessings

This poster on the Feast Alabang Solo Ministry Facebook wall sums up what it’s like to be a solo parent. We carry the burden alone so the rewards of raising our children are returned to us in double portions.

It’s stressful and tiring to be a solo parent. But not a trace of that was seen on the faces of 78 happy moms (including 10 from Feast Bataan) who gathered for the Solo Parents Retreat on October 18 and 19, 2014 at the Angels’ Hills Retreat and Formation Center in Tagaytay.

It was a cool weekend and it rained – with an abundance of blessings.

Blessing #1

The people who organized and conducted the retreat.

They made the experience something we will remember as a rejuvenating break in our hectic solo mom schedules:

• Juvy Ramirez, Solo Ministry head, and her Core Group
• Cris & Lani de Guzman, Discipleship Pillar heads
• Fr. GC Carandang, retreat master
• Bro Arun Gogna, guest speaker

Blessing #2

The fun, the laughter and the new friends.

It’s an all-female retreat, so tears were expected. We had trials to share and insights to reflect on. But the laughter, the singing, the dancing and the camaraderie overshadowed everything else.

We rollicked with glee during group activities like the alien invasion – an exercise that showed just how confused the picture gets when we don’t communicate.

We danced with abandon – during worship, during the retreat proper and during the impromptu Sunday morning exercise. We zumba-ed and swayed like the Atomic Bomb Dancers that we felt we were.  

And, we found sisters to share our lives with. Some have taken the solo journey before us while others are just taking the first steps.

Blessing #3

This last one is personal – the anointing to lead a spirit-filled worship.

It was a wish whispered by my heart that was granted, not a privilege I asked for but was freely given. I was honored yet anxious about it because I didn’t know the arrangements about the music. I didn’t want to assault the attendees’ ears with my solo singing so I prayed to the Lord for angels who will sing with me – heavenly or earthly, I left it up to Him.  I got my angels: the keyboardist and 2 music ministers. Not only that, God gave me a bonus, a dance minister, to rev up the worship.    

The retreat’s blessings are God’s reminders that we have a special place in His heart. We may stand solo but we get double the love and a host (many times not just three) of God’s graces.

*Photos courtesy of Annabelle Ignacio 

TCOGB: Taking Care of God’s Business

“Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this…and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it.” – Malachi 3:10

The manual for new recruits I was writing has been stuck on Step 3 for weeks. The prospects list I had been planning to fill up has remained an untitled Excel file. This week, I thought I’d finally have time to input the data needed for my business. All the family and community events I had to organize were done.

Then a rush project for the Media Ministry landed on my lap – the Tithing Bulletin. It was needed this Sunday to cap the Tithing Challenge issued at The Feast. The thing was, only 2 testimonies were submitted on the deadliest deadline I gave. That was not enough, so everybody was pressured to search out people with stories to tell. We were deluged with 8 more testimonies. I even had to reject two because of time constraints.

I was tasked to interview a couple of sharers and write the articles. I also had to rewrite or edit the other submissions. It was crunch time and I didn’t want to waste time hunting down my members I can delegate the tasks to. I only roped in my trusty Associate Editor, Bern, to help me proof and do additional edits. 

“There goes the manual and my prospects list again,” I thought. My business mentors have always stressed we need to do something every day or at least every week to take a step towards success. I’ll be missing that chance this week. Or so I thought.

Bro Arun Gogna, our Senior Feast Builder, says this prayer every time we have a Servants’ Assembly: “Lord, bless your servants. Please take care of their business because they are taking care of yours.” Many times in the past, I could only sigh and add my supplication to his prayer. Last Wednesday, this prayer was very clearly answered.

In the midst of all the rush, I got a call from one of my prospects. She said she was ready to purchase the products we were selling and asked if I can meet her in the office. It was unexpected. I didn’t even have time to follow-up on her yet. Of course, I agreed and hurriedly texted JB, my upline and mentor, to ask if he can go to the office for 2 things: for the interview for the Tithing Bulletin and for support with this prospect. By God’s grace, his very busy schedule was open. 

But I hit a snag. JB was delayed and my prospect just wanted to buy on retail instead of signing up as distributor and getting a complete package. I tried to convince her because there was just a small difference in price but she said she had no use for the other items in the package. Being a greenhorn in the business, I failed to convince her otherwise. 

Downhearted, I lined up at the counter to purchase her items. Then out of the corner of my eye, I saw JB at the door. My hope leaped and I was amazed by God’s perfect timing. I hurriedly introduced him to my prospect. And, to make a long story short, he found a way to convince her to sign up as an independent distributor instead. 

After my new recruit left, I interviewed JB. His story and mine where one: when you give your time, talent and treasure, God will always out-give you. When you take care of God’s business, He will take care of yours.

The Gift of Distance

“Father, they are your gift to me.” – John 17:24

They were blessings I thoroughly enjoyed – a gym and a yoga studio right outside our village. I could leave my house 10 minutes before the classes start. I could even walk there and back again if I wasn’t in a rush.

When the gym closed for renovation and my yoga teacher opened his own studio in the next town (yes, the next town, not the next village or the next barangay but the next TOWN!), I now had to make an hour-long trip just to practice yoga.

I wondered why the Lord would do such a thing – take away the convenience of workout places just a skip and a hop away from my house. Did he want my love handles to balloon from lack of exercise so I can just roll like a ball instead of walk? I don’t think so. I know God’s plan is always for our good, so a trim and healthy “me” would be His grand design.

I wondered why He would let me take the long trip just to exercise when He very well knew my driver’s license has a restriction: I can only drive within a 10 kilometer radius. My license beeps like an ankle monitor when I go past my set boundaries. (Kidding – I just hate driving to far places!)

Then I realized that needing a ride to get to the yoga studio is a blessing. I have gotten to know my yoga classmates better. God gave me the gift of new friends.

Before, I would just say hi and hello and then I’m off. I knew their names and not much more. The long ride to and from the yoga studio gave me the chance to connect, to take a peek into their lives and to form bonds of friendship.

There is a purpose in everything God allows to happen. There is a gift hidden beneath every trial.