Blog Anniversary and a Friend Named Melanie

Crown of Beauty blog is one year old today!

A year ago, Ernie and I were still living in Chiang Mai, Thailand. So in a sense it is true, this "baby" was born in Chiang Mai!

Well, as I always say, I believe that there are no accidents in this life--only divine appointments, open doors of opportunity, or God-ordained moments.... allowed by the Almighty to put us back on track, or in sync, to phrase it in today's jargon.

Years ago I came to realize that each one of us on planet earth is created with a destiny.

The word "destiny" comes from the same root word as "destination"; this alone makes it clear that one's destiny if lived out correctly, will lead to the destination God intended for us.

It makes sense: there can only be one final destination for us when our journey here on earth is over.

God invites us all, and has made provisions for us, to spend eternity in heaven. But He gives us the freedom to choose.

And that is what this blog Crown of Beauty is all about. It is the story of my journey to that fair homeland. My heart beats faster even as I am typing out these words: Heaven is my final destination.

But even while here on earth, living as a foreigner, a citizen from another kingdom, I have seen the sights and the smells of my heavenly home.

It can't be adequately explained, or put into words, but God does show us glimpses of heaven here on earth!

We see it in our deepest desires and longings.

We are touched by a beautiful work of art, or a melody.

We react against injustice; inhumanity, or pollution, stirs up a righteous anger inside our hearts.


I can best express it this way: heaven is bursting with life and creativity. And wherever I come face to face with life, I feel a creative force at work...the touch of the Supreme Life-Giver, God Himself.

It is but inevitable that at many points on this journey, I have felt the touch of heaven.

Nothing in my life is accidental, I am not a product of mere chance. Someone out there, My Creator, is watching out for me. He has planned for me. My God, my heavenly Father has my best interests in mind.

And so, on this my blog anniversary, I want to thank all of you my dear friends and loved ones, who have come to make this world a better place, the journey more worthwhile.

In one way or another, you have touched me with the very life of heaven. Your words have encouraged me, your love has motivated me to take another step, your comfort during my time of loss has brought healing to my pain.

We did not just happen to "bump" into each other, that is clear to me. For a deeper reason, our paths have intersected, whether face to face, or in cyberspace. We are all fellow travelers as we journey toward our final destination.

Thank you for being interested enough in me and my message to keep reading what I have to say on this blog.

Through this medium I want to be faithful to my calling to be an end-time messenger for the body of Christ, a redemptive agent, and a voice to speak healing and hope to the nations.

May this blog be as a shining light to help keep us on the right path, and to draw others in who are looking for the road that leads to our eternal home!

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A Friend Named Melanie

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Oh, the comfort - the inexpressible comfort -
of feeling safe with a person -
having neither to weigh thoughts nor measure words,
but pouring them all right out, just as they are,
chaff and grain together;
certain that a faithful hand will take and sift them,
keep what is worth keeping,
and then with the breath of kindness
blow the rest away.

- Dinak Craik, A Life for a Life, 1859


Some people come into our lives and quickly go.
Some stay for a while, leave footprints on our hearts,
and we are never, ever the same.

~Flavia Weedn, Forever, © Flavia.com

And speaking of friends, there are still many stories inside my heart, waiting to be written.

Today I want to share a story about my friend Melanie. The friendship poem written by Dinah Craik best describes what I feel for her.

It was in the early 1980's that we first met each other. She was a young mother with two sons, I was older by a few years, and I also had two young sons, plus a daughter.

The details of those early years are no longer so clear to me. She worked in a shipping firm, I was the principal of our church school.

Our children began schooling at the same time -- her first son Danjo was the same age as my son Worshiper, her second son Jericho was in same class as my daughter Obedient One.

We found ourselves in the same Bible classes and church activities. She worked as a top executive in a shipping company; I was the principal of our church school.

Melanie has an eye for detail, and she does all things well, including her friendships.

Our friendship was a gradual process, and I guess we discovered that we had many things in common.

I think one of the best things about our relationship was that it was so free. There were no demands, not too many expectations, and above all, it was always a delight for us to get together.

We were both busy with our own lives, but whenever we could, we would meet for coffee and cake at our favorite pastry shop, Calea, just beside the L. Fisher Hotel on Lacson Street. It would always be a treat, something to look forward to.

We both belonged to a small group called "Moms in Touch" during which six of us would meet once a week to lift up our children to the Lord in prayer.

When Melanie was 39 years old, her husband died.

Since the early years that I have been getting to know her better, she has been struggling in her marriage. She would do her part, work hard at it, be faithful in praying for her husband, trust the Lord for the answers... but somehow the answers always seemed short-lived.

She would begin all over again: believe in him, forgive him, bail him out... always hoping for the best. But the joy never really lasted long enough.

A few years after the death of her husband, the shipping firm that she worked for began experiencing problems, and eventually, she had to give up a career that she never expected to end that way.

The loss of a husband, the end of a promising career. If Melanie was going through pain, one would not have known it. She exuded strength under pressure, grace in the midst of the storm. She is a beautiful person inside out.

And I know this for a fact: it was her faith in the Lord that kept her from giving up. She would wake up in the wee hours of the morning, kneel by her bed, and cry out her heart to God.

In the early 2000, we began praying for God to give her another husband, for as Melanie herself put it, "There is still so much love inside of me, I am asking God to help me find the right man."

In a specific answer to prayer, God gave her the desires of her heart. In 2002, she met a man named Edward, and in August 2003, they were married!

Edward and Melanie on their wedding day

It was a sad day for me when Melanie had to say good-bye to her family, her friends, and her country...and move to the United States, for the man she had married is an American.

Well, there are no chance events in life. Not only has God given her a kind Christian man for a husband, Edward also received a godly woman for a wife. They were meant for each other.

For a while, it was difficult to get used to not having her around. Melanie loves me like her own sister. She is fiercely loyal to me. She will fight for me, she will defend me to high heavens. She doesn't say things about me behind my back.

The best friend one can ever have is someone who believes in you, and knows all your weaknesses, but will never take it against you. She still loves you anyway.

God knows just how much comfort Melanie can bring to my heart. And I know it was God who told Melanie to come home to the Philippines for a vacation at the exact time that I needed her last November.

She arrived in Bacolod City on November 22, my husband Ernie died the following day.

At around 4:30 a.m., as Ernie's lifeless body was still warm, Melanie and two other friends of ours, walked into the Emergency Room of the Doctors' Hospital. She put her arms around me and wept with me.

I also have other close friends whom I love and who love me in their own special way. But I will not hide the fact that Melanie and I have gone through a lot together, and this has forged a very special bond between us.

I did not even know she was arriving on that day. God sent her at a time that I needed a very special friend by my side.



Melanie went back to the US just a few days ago. I will miss her, but I know she is never far away.

Distance does not separate us, neither does time.

Melanie and I are "friends forever."








Below are some pictures of Melanie and me taken during her recent visit.

Melanie and me at home, after praying for Israel on January 2, 2009

Melanie, me and Miriam at Bascon Cafe

Melanie, me and Miriam again, this time at Bob's Cafe

"Moms in Touch" Christmas get-together at Bar 21:
Miriam, me, Melanie, Eileen, and Jing

New Year lunch with Max and Grace Hughes
front row: Worshiper, me and baby Matt, Obedient One, First Born, God-Given, Melanie and Grace
back row: Danjo (Melanie's son), Max (Grace's husband)

Melanie and me at Sweet Greens Cafe on January 28,
just two days before her birthday.

Piglet sidled up to Pooh from behind.

"Pooh!" he whispered.

"Yes, Piglet?

"Nothing," said Piglet, taking Pooh's paw.

"I just wanted to be sure of you."

~A.A. Milne

With Melanie, I am always sure.