November Reflections

Journal Entry: November 2, 2009

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No spring nor summer beauty hath such grace
as I have seen in one autumnal face. - John Donne



Therefore we were buried with Him
through baptism into death,
that just as Christ was raised from the dead
by the glory of the Father,
even so we also should walk
in the newness of life.

~ Romans 6:4

November is here!

November has always been a special month for me. It is during this month that we celebrate the birthdays of Ernie and Worshiper, only three days apart.

And now, it is also the month that we celebrate Ernie's homegoing to heaven.


The word November comes from the Latin novem meaning "nine" and was the ninth month in the Roman calendar, which had only ten months. The order was changed when Catholic countries adopted the Gregorian calendar in 1582.

In numerolgy, nine stands for new birth.


I have always associated this month with the fall season. How beautifully God has orchestrated the timing of the important events in my life, allowing them to happen during the month of November and within the autumn season.

If the month of November stands for new birth, then surely the autumn season also sets in motion a kind of birthing process. Fall is the season of harvest; fruits ripen, and sheaves of grain are gathered into barns.

In the middle of the harvest festival comes Thanksgiving, a time when we pause to give thanks for the plentiful harvest.



We do not hold official harvest festivals in our country, though our farming communities have their own way of celebrating the plentiful harvest. Nevertheless, November will always have a special significance for me.

It marks the season of letting go,

of pruning,

of dying,

of waiting,

of preparation,

of change,

of new growth... and new birth...

of giving thanks for what has gone before, and for what's in store!


Autumn is both an ending and a beginning! Such a beautiful, meaningful season!

--0--

Today is Ernie's birthday.

It is his first birthday in heaven, if there is such a thing. We really have no idea as to what birthday one celebrates in heaven; I'd like to think that heaven celebrates the day we were born into this world.

I woke up very early today with a tinge of sadness, and nostalgia.

Looking back to three years ago, in 2006, we celebrated Ernie's 60th birthday at the ICU, just a day after his first heart attack, which he miraculously survived.

Two years ago, we celebrated his 61st birthday in Chiang Mai, Thailand. Our children Worshiper and Obedient One arrived in Thailand that day to be with their father for this special occasion.

Last year, we celebrated his 62nd birthday here in Bacolod City with his sisters and their families. It was to be his last birthday here on earth.


This morning, as I awoke, I thanked God for my husband's life again. What a great gift he was to me!

His kindness, his goodness, his joyful spirit, his servant heart, his unconditional love for me and our children...

His faithfulness, his thoughtfulness, his teachable heart, his willingness to go beyond the second mile.

Oh, indeed, what a privilege it was for me to have shared life with Ernie for thirty years!

I knew that his two sisters would have wanted us to get together again to celebrate their brother's birthday...

But in my heart, I wanted to spend this day differently.

As early as a month ago, I knew that there was an Ancient Paths seminar scheduled for our team on November 2 and 3. I had informed our national coordinators that I must leave those dates open, so I didn't make any commitment to join them.

However, as October was coming to a close, I sensed that God was prompting me to join the team for the seminar which was to be held outside Bacolod City, in a convention center up in Guintubdan.

Guintubdan in our dialect, means where water flows.

Located at the foot of Mt. Kanlaon, it serves as the gateway to that famous volcano and is a lovely place of lush mountain greenery. True to its name, Guintubdan boasts of a chain of scenic waterfalls cascading into the valley below.


I decided to heed God's voice and join our team. There was peace in my heart as I quickly stuffed my things into my backpack . God was bringing me to a place where I would no longer look at Ernie's passing away with a sense of earthly loss.

God was "repositioning" me, filling my heart with a new sense of eager expectation... again, that sense of good things happening!

Somehow I understood what God was doing at this point in my life journey. There are some people who continually talk of past unfortunate events in their lives...a bankruptcy, an illicit affair, a shipwreck, an accident, a failed undertaking...a death in the family.

It was time to stop talking about the shipwreck and move on! There are things to be done, there are still new territories waiting to be discovered, new battles to be fought...


So, my children and I had an early breakfast together at a nearby restaurant to mark this special day.

Then, our FFI (Family Foundations International-Philippines) team headed for Rafael Salas Convention Center in Guintubdan to hold a two-day Ancient Paths Seminar for the members of Trinity Christian Fellowship.


It is nearly 11 p.m. as I write these lines. It has been a long, tiring day of travel and ministry and adjusting to cramped accommodations. I hear that familiar call to move out of the comfortable...to come up higher.

And my heart is responding!

As this day is about to end, my heart is filled with thanksgiving to my heavenly Father for having spoken clearly to me, allowing me to be in this place on this special day.

Finding myself up on this mountain, enjoying the change of pace, the cool mountain air, the scenery... God again speaks to my heart of many new things that He has in store for me.

--0--

Below are pictures I have taken of this special day.

I don't know the name of this plant. It has been growing in our garden for many years, but this is the first time it has budded! I took this picture very early, at about 6:00 a.m. on Ernie's birthday, November 2!

Remembering Ernie on his birthday, early breakfast at Bob's, Ernie's favorite restaurant.
From left to right: Worshiper, me, First Born, God given, and Forerunner.

Here's Forerunner (Matt) giving the waiter a big smile!

Sunset over Bacolod City as seen from Guintubdan, November 2.



Just a few minutes after sunset, still on November 2.



This is the team, posing with the twilight sky as our backdrop.
Standing: William, Ruby, Buddy, Honey Grace, Raffi
Seated: Trudi, Louella, and me



Moonrise over Guintubdan, November 2, 2009.

I took these pictures on our second day in Guintubdan, November 3, 2009.

Early morning of November 3. This is Bacolod City as seen from the Guintubdan foothills.

View from Rafael Salas Convention Center dining area.


Angels' Trumpets


After breakfast, Louella and her son Matthew.


A macro shot of a weed


Weed macro shot - 2



Turning over a new leaf


Weed macro shot - 3


Fog at midday.


Fog clearing up just a few minutes later.

And finally, I want to share this picutre. I took this shot today, November 7.

Some of the buds had already bloomed (See the first picture above which I took on Ernie's birthday just five days ago)!

The flowerettes are so dainty, so beautiful.

Somehow, these flowers bloomed for the first time, and the timing couldn't have been more perfect...a year after Ernie's last birthday here on earth.


Thank you, Father for speaking to me in a very special way! I feel your love and your care! Thank you! You are speaking to me of new life, and new birth, and hope, and beauty, and love! Thank you, my dear Father!