Slap In the Face

How it hurts when you get slapped in the face. I don’t mean the ones you physically get slapped. What I am talking about is those moments when reality hits you and wakes you up from your fantasies.

Today, on my way back to my place, I stopped at a gas station to fill up my car. As I’m getting out of the car, I start to complain (to myself) about the heat and how my car doesn’t have air conditioner. I was not in a bad mood, but just complaining. I make my way to the self-service machine to pay for fuel. As I’m entering all the numbers and clicking commands, I turned to my left and see this woman with a huge bag of ice on her shoulder walking back to her car. I say to myself, “Well that woman sure knows how to keep herself cool in this weather.” Soon, enough the woman and I are having a small conversation about the heat and how my car doesn’t have air conditioner. Then she gets inside a black truck that’s on the other side of the gas pump I am using.

Hope in God

I walked back to my car to pump gas, and noticed I parked too close to the gas pump. Somehow, I maneuver to pump gas and as I’m doing so, the husband of the woman I had just had a short conversation with is pumping their truck. He starts the conversation by saying how hot it was. Thus, again in the next two minutes I have a conversation with this random man. We continued talking about the 100 degrees hitting our city, and again I bring up how my car lacks coolness (air conditioner).

Man: That explains why your windows are rolled down

Me: Can you imagine? I have to do what I have to do to stay cool.

Man: Imagine how hard it is to deal with these high temperatures and on medication.

I paused for a minute, not because he had said medication but to check the gas meter. I was too focused on myself (bam!!!)

Man: Being on medication with this heat is not good.

Me: Wait, you are on medication right now?

Man: Yeah. I’m waiting on a liver transplant.

I, honestly, was in shock and not knowing what to say. I was speechless. The first thing that came to mind and what I actually said,

Me: A liver transplant?...I will be praying for you.

Man: Thank you. Thank you so much! My name is Greg and I go to (mentions the church, but I will not insert it here).

Me: Wow, I’m glad to know you go to church. I will keep you in prayer!

As he is getting to leave, he turns around and says:

Please, keep me in your prayers. God bless you!

I got in my car after I finished all that work of pumping my car. As I was driving away, it all of the sudden hit me! All this time, I had been so self-centered with my life and the things that (in reality) should not matter to me at this moment for God knows when it will happen when others are facing greater battles. I had never in my entire life met anyone who needed an organ transplant until this day.

I didn’t need to know the entire life story of this man to show me how faithful he is in God. It was clear to me the last thing he would lose in life was hope and faith. BAM! Another slap in the face! Hope is the last thing one should lose for where there is hope there is faith in our Creator who will make things work out according to His plan. I know that He has and will never give to us what we cannot handle. He knows what He is doing; if He brings us to it, He will get us through it. Do you agree with me?

Always remember, DON’T LOSE HOPE, HAVE FAITH, AND PRAY!

Soon after, I realized this, I prayed to God for this man and for putting him in my life for those two minutes. Even though this was a short interaction, God sure woke me up and opened my eyes. There are things out there that truly matter; it is up to me to take action and stop being self-centered. We are on this earth for a purpose, to serve God by helping those who need us and in my case through prayer for this man. Let us trust our Lord for He has everything taken care of!

“With God all things are possible” Matthew 19:26

Making Choices

Psalm 139

Life is full of choices…The question is: what choice should one make to not make a mistake? Wait, isn’t making mistakes part of the learning process of life? Why should we be afraid of making mistakes when we have our Savior who will make things work for us regardless of the route we take?

Just recently, I was faced with a decision I needed to make for good, for my own good. I had been in prayer (and still am) with God about it. Nonetheless, the process of making a decision of this degree has been overwhelming to me. I have consulted my girl friends as well for wisdom and their perspective, but even then that has been difficult to handle. One person can tell you to do one thing and the other another thing. Should one choose to listen to them is another decision to make.

Nonetheless, what I find it to be the most important decision to make is to go the route God wants us to go. Yes, we all know that God does not give us concrete answers to our requests for help, but He certainly does put that answer in our hearts or presents them to us in ways that we cannot even understand. He knows where we are going; He knows what our next move will be; He knows us from the minute He decided to send us to this world. That is the beautiful thing about being His creation for as Psalms 139: 1-6 says to us:

            O Lord, you have searched me and known me!

            You know when I sit down and when I rise up;

                        you discern my thoughts from afar.

            You search out my path and my lying down

                        and are acquainted with all my ways.

            Even before a word is on my tongue,

                        behold, O Lord, you know it altogether.

            You hem me in, behind and before,

                        and lay your hand upon me.

            Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;

                        it is high; I cannot attain it.

How can we fathom how much God knows about us if we do not believe in Him?

Our Creator has a plan for us, and we are living it every day.  We make choices from the moment that we wake up to when we go to sleep. Everything we decide to do determines what will happen next, but always keep in mind that God is who gives us free will—He allows us to make our own choices through Him.

Our complex lifestyles allow us to choose to include certain things in and decide to cut things out. In the end we make our choices. Let us not to forget the best choices made are those God put in our hearts for it is the Holy Spirit He sends to us to make the decision to walk our journey with Him. Thus, always pray about the choices to make or already made because in those choices God should always be glorified!

The Beginning in the End

"Just living is not enough," said the butterfly,
"one must have sunshine, freedom and a little flower."

About three weeks ago, I closed a chapter of the life that doesn't belong to me, but only belongs to my Creator. He has fearfully and wonderfully made me in His image for He knows who I was, am, and will be. He is my all and ultimate love. He is more than enough to me! 

I know that He has, is, and will always be there for me; for those who seek Him; for those who ask for Him; for those who are in need; for those who want to know him; for He wants us to seek Him, ask for Him, need Him, want to know Him. Matthew 7:7-8.

Not knowing this before beginning the journey as a college student four years ago did not make the journey an easy one…

Through the grace of God, I graduated from college after enduring four tough, challenging, and life changing years. Through this experience, I have made long-lasting friendships, have learned about who I truly am, have grown in my faith for Christ, and much more. Let me just mention that during these years, I went through so much that now I look back and can happily say I lived by the motto "It's not the years in the life that count, but the life in the years." However, not everything was perfect; isn't that why we call this life? There were times in which I just wanted to give up, drop everything, and forget about life. Even in those times, I would remind myself what I was doing was not for my own sake, but for the glory of our Creator. I was reminded I shouldn't care whether I was getting credit for the work or not or if at the end of the day I was going to fall dead tired (figuratively speaking) on my bed after a busy day. Shouldn't we all be living God's plan for us? To glorify Him in everything we do? For it's not about what we do for Him but what He did for us on the cross. Yes, there you have it. That was the reminder that would burst my bubble in the midst of my struggles, and even in the good things. This is one of the things I learned as I walked this path. 

Throughout this journey, I also learned the importance of love. Not just the love people give to their "special someone," but the unconditional love we get from those who truly care about us and vice versa. Often times, I would find myself thinking about the relationships I had created with many of the people in college. These people proved to have been placed in my life by God for a reason. And when I say for a reason, trust me it was for the best. With these relationships I learned so much that I would not change them even though we faced many tough moments. Some of the people I developed friendships with left their footprints in my journey and have stuck with me, while others have left but not without allowing me to learn from them. Do not get me wrong, the pain that comes to let go of those who had significance in my life was unbearable at times. However, even then I knew He was there with me; He has and will always be the One; He will never disappoint me when others do. Believe that God puts people in life for a reason. He also has the power to take those people away from you for the best. He knows better, just trust in Him.

As I finished my last year of college, I realized that I had grown so much in my spiritual life. I had come to college as a lukewarm Christian, spiritually dead inside but wanting and desiring to learn about God. My walk with God on a Christian campus was challenged. In the challenge I knew the Holy Spirit was working in me, for that was what I had asked God for. I asked and He answered. At the same time, the people I had (unintentionally) surrounded myself with shaped my life. Even when they were different than me and were of different walks in their faith, they taught me to seek truth for the glory of Him. We are not perfect, that I know, but we sure allowed ourselves to learn from one another. I know my journey with some of them is done, but I also know that I am thankful for those who were part of these four years and still are. 

My journey here is not done yet. My beginning of a beautiful chapter is just starting. I know that in the midst of this, I will be faced with challenges, new friendships, love, risks, and much more. However, I know I can trust our Creator for He knows the plans He has in store for me. I may not be able to see them now, but I know He will show them to me as I live His plan each day. I am ready for the challenge for this is the beginning in the end.