My Fifty-eighth Year

The grand show is eternal.
It is always sunrise somewhere;
the dew is never dried all at once;
a shower is forever falling;
vapor is ever rising.
Eternal sunrise,
eternal dawn and gloaming,
on sea and continents and islands,
each in its turn,
as the round earth rolls.

- John Muir





All the days ordained for me
were written in your book
before one of them came to be.
- Psalm 139:16

LORD, you have assigned me my portion and my cup;
you have made my lot secure.
The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places;
surely I have a delightful inheritance.
- Psalm 16:5, 6




You enlarged my path under me,
So my feet did not slip.
-Psalm 18:36




I waited patiently for the LORD;
And He inclined to me,
And heard my cry.
-Psalm 40:1




The LORD your God in your midst,
The Mighty One, will save;
He will rejoice over you with gladness,
He will quiet you with His love,
He will rejoice over you with singing.
-Zephaniah 3:17

Today is my 58th birthday.

The story of my life is being written by the One who created me, my Creator God. He is the Scriptwriter.

Some of my favorite Bible passages are shown above, including the quote from John Muir.

I look to today in a very special way.

God created me for a purpose, and He gave me a unique personality... one that is tailor made for all the plans He has in store.

No other person in this world has the same chromosomes, cells, and genetic combination that I have. Even my spiritual DNA is not found in any other person.

My life experiences have been used by God to shape me into the woman that I am today.

To celebrate, my two daughters in law, God given and Chosen One, have planned something special. So have my Family Foundations family.

This is how it has been the past years. It usually takes more than one day to celebrate my birthday.

But now, in the first few minutes of this special day, in the stillness of my bedroom, I thank God for creating me. For bringing me into this world. For granting me the privilege of owning all the beautiful experiences I have been through. There are painful experiences that have only become beautiful because God enables me to look at them from a healed perspective.

Yes, it is indeed a privilege to have lived my life the past 57 years. And now as I enter my 58th year, my heart is full, overflowing with thankfulness to God...

For what I have become.

For the many beautiful lessons I have learned.

He has taught me how to live well.

One day at a time.

With open hands.

Giving, without expecting to be thanked
or appreciated
or even to be repaid.

He has taught me that less is more.

That the way up is to take the downward path.

To let my words be few.

To cease striving.

To give the other person the benefit of the doubt.

To welcome adversity as a friend.

To embrace obscurity as a brother.

To choose my battles...
for there are battles that I do not need to fight.

To remain silent in the face of false accusations.

To walk only in the calling that God has assigned to me.

That I am not the savior of the world.

I can leave some things undone...
and many words unsaid.

What seems urgent is not always important.

Some battles can be won
by choosing to put my weapons down,
by walking in the opposite spirit.

That the unfortunate events in my past is not a statement of my worth.

That I am not defined by those who do not love me,
but by those who do...

I can rest in the love of my Father.

That sometimes, the greatest act of love and kindness
I can show a loved one is to move out of her life.

Humility is the character of heaven.

I can choose to forgive.

And above all, to always live in hope,
even when there are no answers.

I will be honest... in my heart are many fears that I dare not voice out. But I talk about them often with God. And I know that the best antidote to fear is to trust God completely... to trust in His unfailing love.

The Lord Almighty is with me. The God of Jacob is my fortress.

He whispers: Be still and know that I am God.



My heart responds:

Yes Father, I know.

It is a lifelong learning process. You are shaping me, chiseling off the rough edges. It is painful... and it hurts to kick against the goads.

But I want to cooperate with You.

You are re-fathering me, re-building me, showing me what it means to be a woman of dignity... because I am of noble birth... and royal blood runs through my veins.

I want to cooperate with You. My life is all about you... and the making of a woman after Your very image.

Thank You for this special day, the start of my 58th year.

Another year in my sacred journey.

Another year closer to Your heart.

The birthday girl

Menchu , Marie Rose, April, Mayang
Jing, Elena, Pat, me

These are some of my friends from church. Every week we meet to do a study called Women at the Well. Last Friday, Menchu threw a birthday lunch for me and Mayang at her lovely home. She prepared such a lovely meal!

Standing: Nanette, Candy
Sitting: Cynthia, me, Ines

These are some of my high school friends. Last week around ten of us met for lunch at a Greek restaurant in Manila. We had a "hilarious" time!

...have patience with everything unresolved in your heart
and try to love the questions themselves
as if they were locked rooms
or books written in a very foreign language....
And the point is to live everything.
Live the questions now.
Perhaps then, someday far in the future,
you will gradually, without even noticing it,
live your way into the answer.

-Rainer Maria Rilke


My Stargazer plant had five lovely flowers waiting for me when I arrived from Manila three days ago!