DATELINE: Daly San Francisco, USA
AUGUST 05, 2009
9:15 PM
My Abba.. Our FATHER,
Good evening, Lord God.
For the past two days, the sun smiled at Daly City. The past two months of my kids stay here from their summer vacation from Guam, the weather has been cold, windy, and foggy.But nonetheless, whatever kind of weather one is in, when you are around people you love, nothing matters anymore. Praise You for those very, very precious moments.!!
Sometime, many years back, while I was watching TBN- ( Trinity Broadcasting Network), the In-house pastor named Gary Zamora said: - “ Ask the right question and God will give you the right answer.” I would presume that all living beings on this blue planet earth ( as the moon- walkers of Apollo 11 named it ) have had question/s unanswered in their beings one time or the other. It struck my mind, and like the wonder in a child’s mind, I uttered- “ Lord God, is this TRUE?” ( It could be true somehow, because those words came from the mouth of the Head Pastor of said prestigious satellite company, one of the largest worldwide.) I reviewed my list of the many unanswered question/s as far as I can remember, since my childhood..( in later years I would learn that this is part of an “ spiritual discipline” called “ life-mapping.” ), and miracle of miracles, God answered all my questions, at different seasons and times. Simply amazing!
So, it started a “ new adventure/s” in my life! I have been traveling, most of my life, in different parts of the country, doing what I thought then was just a part of “ growing up” at the age of 16 years old , ( little did I know that God was slowly laying down the foundation of my mission work by and for Him.) I love to be alone, most times, but the lure of the country side, beckons me time and again to go to the mountains. There were plenty of wild sunflowers, many other different kinds of plants, trees, grasses, and all that, but what fascinated me most was the lifestyle of the “ negritoes” of the mountains. The barrio folks called them “ balugas.” I remember a song we sang, when we were in the elementary grades. It goes like this - “ negritoes of the mountains, what kind of food do you eat? What kind of food do you eat, negritoes of the mountains? We eat some pork for viand. We eat some pork for viand, we people of the mountains.” They grow their own kind of vegetables. They have “ tomatoes” of their own. ( small, so red and so sour in taste! ) I played with their kids, ate their food, talked with them, bemused by their lifestyle. I had some moments of harvesting with the farmers from the lowlands, sharing with them, knowing and listening to them on their many stories. Those were my first “ mission exposure trips.” That place is called Little Baguio, at Sapang Bato, ( a place of stones, literally) in Angeles, Pampanga. This is a settlement of people, located, at the “ barbed wire fence” outside of Clark Air Force Base, during the early 60‘s. The lowlands, and even the hills and mountains are covered with light grey sands. Why is this so? It is quite unusual to see sands, on top of the mountains.) It is beautiful, they glimmer in the sunlight! That was the first question I asked my eldest sister who have remarried for several years, to a local native of said place. Most of them are born and raised there.They are called “ Kapampangans” or “ Pampangenos” because they are natives of the province of Pampanga. Add up to the sands are great boulders of stones, different sizes are deeply embedded on the ground.? And I started to question- “ how were all the people, before and after them, placed all these things in place.. Natural formations? The only answer my Ate ( elder sister would say, it has been there, a long time ago.) No one knows the answer to my question/s even the older folks in that place.) It became just that, all questions, no answers.
I studied, worked, later married and had a family of my own. The normal process of life. Then the Eruption of Pinatubo came! That was June 15, 1991. It was a day after my late mom’s natal day. That fateful day, a group of workers were installing our deep well water connection, in our home in Las Pinas. It was a love-gift from my second daughter from her working stint for more than 2 years in Australia. The workers and the owner of the deep drilling were chatting and enjoying the sweet guava fruits, we have inside our garden. Then at about before or past 3:00 pm, slowly the skies grew dim, for no reason, at all. It was a very sunny day, and weather don’t just change from sunny to dark at such time of day! We looked at each other, silently.. Something is wrong, somewhere., somehow. There was an eerie feeling amongst all of us present at that time. Later it was shown in our TV screen, that Mt. Pinatubo, in Zambales, erupted! This was the same mountain where the late President Ramon Magsaysay and company lost their lives in a plane crash. March 17, 1957. That day is my second elder sister’s birthday. ( more on this date later.) My parent’s house, my eldest sister’s house and all of her children who lived there, and almost all of the people in said place lost everything they have due to the heavy ash falls. It was so pathetic! As they were narrating on how it all happened, my niece, the eldest daughter who lived on the “friendship area” ( the business sector, in front of CAB) saw it first hand from their quilts and baskets store, in front of Clark Air Base then.It was simply horrifying to see “ big stones, flaming hot red orange in color, at times bigger than the ordinary jeepneys being plied at Metro Manila, being spewed out of the mountaintop! Thereafter the hot flowing lavas, destroying everything and causing havoc within their paths. Geographically, Zambales is quite far from Pampanga. It was said the ash falls reached some place through the skies, and it was felt in some places, worldwide.
Different stories came from the tri-media, and one report said that Pampanga was once a delta, a river, a body of water. According to folktales, and there must be some truth to it, that it was only when Mt. Pinatubo, erupted 600 years or more that a land was formed out of that eruption, and from this came, Pampanga and other neighboring provinces. As I was listening to all their stories, a still small voice whispered, “ now you know.” I said, “Lord, thank you.” As I grew older in my walk with God, in this journey called Life, I no longer focus on the “ big things” God is doing in our lives. I focus more on the “ little things” that God does for us, the “ little serendipities” of life.. The time when surprisingly God will whisper gently in my heart- “ I am here.” There was that song when I was that young - “blow me a kiss from across the room. Say I look nice, when I’m not. Touch my hair as you pass my chair, Little things mean a lot.” It is these “ little things” in our moments with God, a sigh, a tear, a groan when we cannot find the words to say, the Spirit of God quickens us, and open our eyes, to those “ little things” that at times, we take for granted. Look out for those “ little things.“ Be watchful of them.. Most times, they spell a“ big difference” in our every day existence. We just don’t exists, we need to live each day to the fullest! Most times, in our dreary and monotonous days, it lifts us up, it makes or break our day! Every day counts, every moments shared with loved ones, gives color, joy and positive feelings within us. It moves our eyes upward to that One up there who sees us, and died for us for our joy to be full! The fullness of joy, unspeakable. Gratefulness, another name for it is thankfulness in everything, is something He repeatedly stated in His Word. If my Father could give attention to the very tiniest details of my life, then that’s “ One Big Halleluyah!” The “ big things” will come, out of the “ little things” we do in our lives. H said that, isn’t it ? ( Luke 16:10.) He who made the promises are faithful! The long list of my questions and answers since I was that small, have whittled down. I have learned through the years of my life, JESUS CHRIST is the Answer in all aspects of our lives. It took years, but the answer came! Take time out to make your questions/answers list, and you will be amazed indeed, as written in Psalm 139:17-18: How precious to me are your thoughts, Oh God! Were I to count them, they would outnumber the grains of the sand. When I awake I am still with you..
And out of that seemingly tragic event, stories came, mystical stories even, from people and at the end of all their stories, they were thanking God, inspite of.. for sparing their lives.. It will be hard they say, but withhis God’s help they could rise up, and build once again.( Nehemiah 2:18.) As long as there is life, there is hope, that was the common thread of their stories. Praise God! Each one has a story to tell, and I remember the “ Desiderata” of old. Once again, because He has children in that tragedy, their Lord proved Himself faithful.. He never left them, nor forsake them in their hour of need. His eternal love encompassed them as they were going through that rough ordeal, by virtue of having accepted his Son Jesus Christ, as their Lord and Savior, the truth of His Word gave “ deeper meaning” into their lives. He once again, presented Himself of who he really is - as written in Genesis 50:20 - “ you intended it for harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.” This quote came from Joseph, the “ Dreamer” during his dramatic and tearful confrontation with his very own blood brothers after years of separation, restoration has come to their household. The house of Jacob which later on will be renamed ISRAEL.
Through it all, one thing remains constant, and that is God’s unfailing love. The value of having a christian heritage.All these things, I pondered in my heart. Therein started, my desire, that grows deeper into my whole being each passing years, then till now - “ I want to trace my “ Roots” like Alex Haley’s renowned story “ Roots,” written many years ago, by an African slave named Kunta Kinte. I believe that as God has planned, every family has a “distinct role” to play in His Kingdom, with different giftings, at times similar ones. In every family, a member of that clan will be designated a unique role, and that is to be the “ historian, at times called scribe, writer, a chronicler of people and events. It is written in the Bible through all the history of the Jewish people, His very own people, God raised up chroniclers, scribes like Ezra. If not for these people as prompted by the Spirit of God in them, we will not be reading the great works of their fruitful labors. Obedience, excellence of life and skills begot our Manual for Living- the greatest book of all times, and that is the Holy Bible. Herein lies the His-story of humankind, made in their image, (Gen.1:27.) revealing His plans - past, present, and future, because the “ Greatest writer, is God himself !
PRAYER FOR TODAY: Father God, you have a Book, the book of Life… May our life be a constant reminder, that it is your “His-tory” in each and every one of us, that matters to you most, because we are Your children. Help us, guide, teach and mould us into the Jeremiah 29:11 Plan of our life. Our life is your greatest gift to us, what we do with our lives, is our greatest gift to You. May we be worthy of our heritage- the Power of Your Name in us, and we carry that very precious name - “ Children of the King of Kings, the Lord of Lords, the Creator of this vast universe.” Praise and thank You, Lord God, In JESUS NAME, Amen!
