Bread for the Journey: Timely Encouragement

A Helping Hand

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...a word in season, how good it is!

- Proverbs 15:23

This past weekend, I went through a harrowing experience of being emotionally assaulted.

It is best not to go into details here, but a few things do need to be said.

One's view of self and others, events, circumstances...all of life depends on the perspective we have. We see the world from the kind of lens we are wearing. Our eyeglasses are colored by so much of our past, and most of the time we are not even aware that we have such eyeglasses on.

No matter how much someone longs for you to be their friend, friendship simply cannot be forced. My best friendships are those that have no demands or expectations for me to give what I cannot give. When I am in a relationship that stifles me and controls me, I shrink back.


Friendship cannot be legislated, and love cannot be forced or bought, it can only be gently drawn out...and graciously received.

I believe that when you do acts of kindness without any strings attached, and when you love without expecting to be loved in return, when you go through life with open hands, grace overtakes you... and love just comes into your life, taking you by surprise.

I believe that is the nature of love.

A lovely relationship flows according to the unforced rhythms of grace... in the words of Eugene Peterson. This is true of a friendship that is evolving, not heavy with demands, not ill fitting.

My relationship with my husband was such...and it is also the kind of friendship I have with a very few close friends. Flowers bloom where there is room, and in the same manner, I love it when I am free to be who I am and what I am.

I can't be a true friend when I know I am being measured up against one's expectations of what a friend should be. Surely, I shall fail miserably...unable to meet that very high standard.

Also, there are levels of friendship. I'm happy to be a different kind of friend to each of those who call me so. I don't always have to be the only friend they have, or even the best one.

I give people the freedom to put me at the level of friendship that they are comfortable with!

This kind of friendship is so freeing, and gives one so much room to grow.

Recently I was misunderstood, as I had shared in a previous post.

Things have not turned out the way I had hoped they would.

A clear sign that it was the enemy at work was the condemnation and false accusation heaped on me.

The enemy steals, kills, and destroys.
God, on the other hand, invites us to reason together...to speak the truth in love...to ask questions...to listen before jumping to conclusions.

But, having decided to rest my case, there is no urgency to correct or explain my motives and actions... no urgency to defend myself or protect my reputation as a "friend." (I really do not want to devalue the meaning of such a beautiful word!)

There is peace in being vulnerable and allowing God to be my Defender.

He will cleanse, He will undo, He will rebuild...

I do recognize that I have my own blind spots -- and in due time they are being revealed, and I am being healed.

But the truth also stands that as an imperfect human being, I can never feed somebody else's deep hunger for acceptance, significance, and value, and love. There comes a point when I will surely fail.

God alone is our well of hope! In him there is always the possibility of change, and growth, and becoming mature.



Gifts from the Heart
God the Father surely knew what was ahead of me... that He sent me some tangible encouragements from friends I have never even met face to face!

One of them is a gift, sent by Linda of Absolute Grace. The parcel containing the gifts arrived in the mail a few days ago, and they are just a cup of fresh water to my soul! She sent me two books by Paul David Tripp, and a sweet card which really boosted my spirits! Her blog itself is a study in encouragement and grace. Linda, you are a blessing to me, and I appreciate your kind gifts at this point in my life journey.

The other gift is a blog award given by Maryleigh of Blue Cotton Memory. She confers the gift to me in a special blog post entitled Bread Basket Award.


Maryleigh, your gift really blew my mind.

The special thing about this award is that it is only meant to be received, and not passed on. Somehow, this makes it easy to do -- the award is not for anyone else, it is just for me... It made me feel so special.

Then Maryleigh featured some of the blog posts I have written, and this also made me feel so good and valued and appreciated.

Her posts are feasts for the spirit, containing serving after serving of side-dishes that are full of soul nutrients. Please visit with her:

• The Price of Freedom
• The Refiner’s Fire
• The Heart of Worship
• Jewels on My Crown
• In Quietness and confidence
• Call Favor Home

Thank you for blessing me so much this past year!

Thanks, again, Maryleigh.


Bread for the Journey
Bread for the Journey is one of my favorite books. Written by Henri Nouwen, it has a brief devotional for each day of the year. Tiny nuggets of spiritual bread that provide nutrition in the form of joy, hope, strength, faith, endurance...and so much more, all needed as we travel through life.

This is what these two gifts have done for me these past days.


I have received a lot of encouragement from other sources too, especially from my dear family and small circle of friends. God knows just what we need to keep us refreshed and encouraged.


Yesterday, I arrived back in Manila to do a series of private Ancient Paths seminars in this city. So, it is another welcome opportunity for me to be with Obedient One, my only daughter.

It is a wonderful life, even if the path sometimes takes us through a valley of tears. I will still choose to rejoice in today, and I will open my eyes to the beauty that surrounds me!

In closing, I share a poem written by John Leax. I must have read it twenty years ago, and I have never forgotten it! From time to time, I go back to it, just to gain encouragement for the road ahead of me!

Enjoy the road ahead of you, my dear blogging buddies! Don't take life too seriously! Sometimes I realize I do... and then it's time to call a dear friend to share a cup of cafe latte with me at Starbucks, or go up to the rooftop of El Fisher Hotel to watch the sun go down, take pictures of my garden, or go to Felizia's to sip a few margaritas with another friend.

Life is good, and life is beautiful... and even more so when we reach heaven's shores!

But in the meantime, enjoy the scenery, dance to the music, and learn to laugh at yourself!

Love be with you all today!


At The Winter Feeder
by John Leax

His feather flame doused dull
by icy cold,
the cardinal hunched
into the rough, green feede
but ate no seed.
Through binoculars I saw
festered and useless
his beak, broken
at the root.
Then two: one blazing, one gray,
rode the swirling weather
into my vision
and lighted at his side.
Unhurried, as if possessing
the patience of God,
they cracked sunflowers
and fed him
beak to wounded beak
choice meats.
Each morning and afternoon
the winter long,
that odd triumvirate,
that trinity of need,
returned and ate
their sacrament
of broken seed.


sac·ra·ment n.

1. Christianity A rite believed to be a means of or visible form of grace.
2. A religious rite similar to a Christian sacrament, as in character or meaning.

(Definition taken from the Free Online Dictionary)




Sacrament of Broken Seed, Insight for Today, by Charles Swindoll
Broken, Sharing Encouragement's Weblog