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. 

Healing Hands

“…and laying his hands on each one, he healed them.” – Luke 4:40

The x-ray showed a fracture in my younger son’s hand. The orthopedic resident in the emergency room presented a grim scenario – my son will need surgery to insert a pin so the bone will set correctly. It has to be done under general anesthesia. 

The diagnosis was from the orthopedic surgeon the resident had sent pictures of the x-ray to. We were advised to consult with him the next day.

My insides churned with fear. Surgery. The word brought images of my son in pain, complications during the procedure, and a gaping hole in my pocket. That was a heavy load for a mother’s heart to bear so I requested for prayers from my community that we find another doctor and my son will not need the operation.

The wonderful thing about being in community is the avalanche of prayers you get with just a couple of text messages. A prayer brigade was started by The Feast Alabang Intercessory Ministry and the request spread like wildfire. 

I wanted a second opinion, one that didn’t involve surgery so I asked for recommendations. I got another doctor’s name from a doctor-friend we trusted. The appointment was set two days after I brought my son to the ER. But my son wanted to be checked right away so off we went to the doctor who made the original diagnosis. 

I was not very hopeful because he already gave his opinion through the resident. He gave two options: 1) to put a cast and hope it heals properly and do the surgery if it doesn’t; 2) go straight to surgery. My son chose option 1. The doctor manipulated the bones in my son’s hand and sent us to get an x-ray to see if he was able to align it before putting the cast. I thought that was it. Nothing more will be done.

Then I saw God’s healing hand move. The doctor followed us to the X-ray Department and said he will try to set the bone correctly while viewing it through the x-ray. I sent a couple more requests to friends to be prayer warriors. After two attempts, the bone was aligned and the surgery option shelved (this I claim in Jesus’ mighty name).

Sometimes we doubt if we are doing the right thing or we feel that we are asking the wrong person. But when we surrender everything to God, everything falls into place. He can touch anyone and correct anything with His healing hands.

Feast Alabang Rocks GK Taguig

The priest introduced our group as the Fantastic Feast. We chuckled. He just read that on our shirts and thought that’s the name of our community. We were clad in Feast Alabang’s 4th anniversary shirt which said “Fantastic 4 Fantastic Feast”.

But come to think of it, the introduction was apt. There are many fantastic things that happen at The Feast – relationships are healed, financial and physical health are restored, and faith is deepened among many other things.

As for Feast Alabang (FA), the “Fantastic 4” stood not just for 4 years of weaving miracles in people’s lives in our area but also for our phenomenal growth. In 4 years, Feast Alabang has given birth to 4 more Feasts: Wednesday Feast Alabang (WFA), Saturday Feast Alabang (SFA), Feast Bicutan (FB) and Feast Alabang Town Center (FATC).

And here we were being blessed to join hands with another community in pioneering another fantastic event – The Feast Outreach. Gawad Kalinga (GK) thru one of its leaders, Alex Wollboldt, invited FA to bring The Feast lock, stock and barrel to their project in Taguig.

We met bright and early on October 6, a Sunday. It was a day many of us would rather be in dreamland a little longer but our team (SFA Builder James Nicolas, his wife Jinky, Evangelism Pillar heads Dom & Dee Dimalanta, and servants of the Music, Outreach, Intercessory and Media Ministries) was called to serve at the GK Family Fest and we answered.

The event was held in a gymnasium with about 400 to 500 people in attendance. After the mass, SFA Music with worship leaders Yo Martinez and Meds Rana rocked the place.

Standing by the Tech booth in the back, I was awed by the transformation I saw. In the beginning, only the GK members were participating in the worship. There were old people sitting and staring blankly at the stage. There were teens huddled in groups chatting. Small children were running around. But by the third song, they were all singing and dancing their praises to God.

When Bro James gave the talk, one of my co-servants commented, “You can really feel their hunger for God’s word”.  The talk “Pasasalamat vs. Utang na Loob” from the series Original Pilipino Magnificence was just the nourishment they were seeking.

The Feast Alabang Team

It was astounding to realize that the talks from The Feast can move people from all walks of life. It has the same effect even when transported to a totally different place.

We left the place with a warm feeling (literally and figuratively ;) knowing that God’s Word has reached more people and from the thought that through The Feast Alabang, we change lives in FAntastic ways.

Photos by: Romy Are

Burn Notice

“Had the Lord not been with us…” – Psalm 124:1

Blam! The contents of the pressure cooker exploded on my hands. I screamed from shock and pain. Bits of matter scattered all over the floor.

I wasn’t anywhere near the Boston Marathon. I was in my kitchen preparing what was supposed to be a delightful Crispy Adobo Flakes dish for my sons’ lunch.

My hands and my chest were scalded by the sauce. The stove area looked like it was part of a crime scene except that there was brown sauce instead of blood and garlic cloves instead of shrapnel.

It was one of the stupidest mistakes I’ve ever made. It ranks way up there in the Top 5 together with turning on my laptop that was just drenched in a storm. 

Of course I knew I wasn’t supposed to force open a hot pressure cooker. But the guy in the department store said its new safety feature is that it won’t open if the button wasn’t down. It looked kind of down already…sort of midway. I was hurrying because my son was leaving for work soon. This was his packed lunch. And I still had to fry it to get that crispy goodness. 

My hands were so red, they looked like steamed crabs. I thought I needed to go to the emergency room for treatment. But after I soaked my hands in ice water and applied ointment, they didn’t look like they just suffered a horrifying experience. And the sting even lasted for a shorter time than when I de-seeded jalapeño peppers with my bare hands the first time I made Grilled Bacon Jalapeño Wraps (also in my top 5 stupid mistakes).

Although they looked like a leper’s hands when the peeling began, now, 3 weeks after the incident, they look like I just had them exfoliated at the spa. The skin is soft and smooth where the burn was.

I thank the Lord that despite my stupidity, my hands are scar-free and that He is always watching over me to keep me safe from permanent harm.

Blessed To Be 1!

“Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, who sent his angel to deliver the servants that trusted in him.” – Daniel 3:95

I know it’s cliché but I just have to say this: time does fly. Two Saturdays ago (March 9), Saturday Feast Alabang (SFA) celebrated its first anniversary. I just can’t believe it’s been a year since we started.  

It was one hectic year! Many times I felt like a triathlete as I raced against time to complete the tasks I had to finish. My days were crammed with things I had to do for SFA Events. Added to that were my responsibilities for the Media Ministry and extra duties thrown my way like assisting in the production of the Kerygma Conference Catholic Faith Stream and our upcoming Holy Week Recollection*. And of course there are also my family duties and work assignments for the magazines I write for.

I must admit that getting things done the past year was like swimming against the tide,  balancing on a unicycle and running on a sprained foot all rolled into one. But as the passage above from Daniel said, the Lord sent His angels to deliver me. 

How else could I have survived the year that was? There were various instances when the Lord sent me angels in the form of family, friends and co-servants who helped me do the job and get through some nerve-wracking glitches. There were also many lessons I learned through my “angels”. 

As for SFA, it continues to bless many people because about a hundred committed servants have entrusted to God their time, talent and treasure for Him to use in this ministry. SFA would not have made it to its first birthday without their untiring support.

Let me end by sharing the blessings we received during SFA’s first anniversary:

• The spotlights blew up a few hours before the event. Naturally, I was clueless about how to fix that. One brother from the community came early to take care of that. 

• Our program flow got really messed up because one of our speakers was delayed. But the rearrangements in the program worked for the better and the audience did not notice we had to turn things upside down. 

• It was a fun, fun first birthday party for SFA. Like the kids we were dressed as, SFA Builder James Nicolas, servants and attendees enjoyed the party fare complete with ice cream cart. In the beginning our Food Ministry head was afraid the food will not be enough but like the miracle of the loaves and fish, the multitude was fed. 

• The builders (Arun Gogna, Jonathan Yogawin and Mike Viñas) and pillars of Feast Alabang came in full force. We got a delightful treat with the presence of SFA’s very first builder, Makati Feast Builder Randy Borromeo.

• AND, we got a big surprise when Bo Sanchez graced the occasion. We thought he wouldn’t be able to make it as he had another appointment. 

Truly when we trust in God, He will deliver us from all our difficulties just as He kept Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego safe in the white-hot furnace. He even surprises by throwing in a couple of unexpected blessings.

*Be Still, Feast Alabang’s Holy Week Recollection will be on March 28 to 30, from 8:00 am to 12:00 noon at the Filinvest Tent, Muntinlupa City.

Birthday Blessings

“He shall receive a blessing from the Lord, a reward from God his savior.” – Psalm 24:5

The table at the far end beckoned me to sit and peruse the letters tucked beneath its glass top. The low armchair cuddled me in its comfortable embrace. This spot seemed to have been reserved especially for me.

Café Mary Grace ATC with its rustic ambiance was the perfect place for my solo birthday lunch. I ordered Caesar Salad, Wild Raspberry iced tea and Mango Bene for dessert. The selection matched my persona – a trying hard health buff with a sweet tooth.

This was my birthday blessing from the Lord. A crack in time in the frenetic hours spent on community service. It’s Kerygma Conference time and I was in the thick of preparations for our stream aside from my usual Saturday Feast Alabang and Media Ministry duties.

I actually had to force myself to eat leisurely. No need for the customary rush. I had an hour before The Spa opened. There’s time enough to savor the food and go window shopping. 

As I licked the cream off my fork, I thanked the Lord for my solo celebration. It was not lonely as one may think. It was actually my choice and already Day 3 of my birthday bash. The past two days were spent with people I love and who cared for me. 

On Day 1, I was kidnapped by my FAMMily (Feast Alabang Media Ministy) for a surprise celebration. It was a simple pizza, Krispy Kreme chillers and cake affair highlighted by laughter and singing. It was so much fun that we only left the place because the guard was threatening to turn off the lights.

On Day 2, my family and I gorged (and I say that literally) on Japanese-Korean food in the newly opened Sambo Kojin in Southmall. We had to gingerly walk out of the restaurant afraid that any sudden move will dislodge the strategic position the sushi, the yakiniku, the tempura and their gang mates have taken in our overstuffed bellies.

So on Day 3, which was my actual birthday, I planned for a “Me day”. I heard mass with my parents (a concession because I wanted to thank the Lord for the life they gave me) and then headed for the gym to Zumba away the extra calories from the night before.

And then there I was just hanging out with myself at lunch time, looking forward to the indulgence and pampering I would soon experience – a dip in the Jacuzzi and a 90-minute massage at The Spa which was my son’s gift.  There’s also the Tous Le Jours birthday cake I had wished for and unexpectedly got. Candle blowing at dinner time. 

I’d like to think that these birthday blessings are God’s rewards for my service. Thank you, Lord.

Tough Love for People-Pleasers

“For you are like whitewashed tombs which on the outside appear beautiful, but inside they are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness.” 
– Matthew 23:27

What do you call utter denial of a bad situation? Or glossing over someone’s mistake/bad behavior so that the illusion of perfection is not jeopardized.

My son would probably call the first: sweet lemon-ing (“mixing lemons with cuploads of sugar until they actually taste sweet.”) It’s trying to justify a bad life event by searching for the “silver lining” even if it’s as tiny as a silver needle in a haystack. 

The passage above from the Bible calls the second: whitewashing. 

Last Saturday, I was feeling angry about a wrongdoing that was not properly handled. I felt that “lemon” was being dredged in tons of sugar and then getting spray-painted. 

I was amazed at how quickly God assuaged my feelings and how He affirmed my anger. In my prayer time this morning, I read in Companion a reprint of Bo Sanchez’s article “How to Have Necessary Conflicts”. It was sub-titled: Sometimes, You Just Have to Pick a Fight. 

In a nutshell, the article said it’s alright to be angry when you see that something wrong is being done. In this situation “anger is a gift from God…Because anger or its other name – tough love – can be the only thing that can wake them up.” 

The article was about abusive people and how their co-dependents (a.k.a victims of their abuse) help them to go on sinning by being silent doormats. 

Initially, I couldn’t relate. First, the examples in the article were an abused wife and parents dealing with drug dependent children. Second, I cannot picture myself quietly suffering as I’m quite opinionated and I always try to speak my mind or at least write about it (obvious ba?). 

What struck me was that part about tough love and people-pleasers. Bo said, “If we don’t use anger or tough love, we actually need the people in our lives more than we love them. And that’s selfishness.”

He ends the article thus, “If you have no conflicts, then that means 3 things:
• You’re a people-pleaser, wanting to please everyone.
• You’ve compromised your convictions, not wanting to offend anyone.
• You’re a sissy. A coward. Therefore, a selfish person. 
But a genuine, loving person will have a few conflicts.
And he’ll get angry a few times because it’s the loving thing to do.
So be a loving person today.”

I was relieved by this article. It showed that feigning that nothing is wrong is being a people-pleaser.  We cannot right a wrong when we pretend it’s non-existent. 

Yes, it’s always a good thing to find the silver lining in our trials but when it becomes a needle that pricks our eyes and blinds us, it serves as an instrument that perpetuates the wrong that’s being done.