A Sacred Journey

Coconut trees at the Bacolod-Silay Airport
taken upon my arrival this afternoon

Gratitude is an art of painting an adversity into a lovely picture.
- Kak Sri




Let another man praise you and not your own mouth;
A stranger, and not your own lips.

- Proverbs 27:2




Do all things without complaining and disputing,
that you may become blameless and harmless,
children of God without fault
in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation...

- Philippians 2:14

In my very first post for this year, I wrote of the special start of the year retreat that my friends and I had at Sonya's Garden in Tagaytay. From January 3 to 5, we were privileged to experience the presence of God in our midst, and we received a fresh word from Him.

God is true to His promise, if we seek Him, we will find Him. But He will not come in the way we expect... for God is indeed the God of the surprise visits. He will come in His own way, and He will say what needs to be said.

He cannot be manipulated... controlled... or forced to fit into our man made molds.

After being in Manila for nearly a month, I arrived back in Bacolod City this afternoon.

Our plane was parked a few meters away from the terminal building and we had to use the stairs to disembark. As I was walking toward the building, I glanced up at the sky and saw a beautiful rainbow. Quickly, I took my camera from my backpack, hoping to get a shot of the rainbow, but I was stopped by an airport security person who was making sure that nothing obstructed the smooth flow of runway activity.

Whenever God wants to speak hope into my heart, He sends me a rainbow.

Thank you dear Father for that message of hope. It is clearly a sign of Your care and love for me.

He knows. The past days I have been asking Him for something tangible, something to encourage me, and give assurance to my heart that He is doing something in the midst of my circumstances.

Show me... I had been praying.

Show me, Lord, that my present circumstances are a means for my transformation and growth, a means for Your glory to shine through.

When I saw the rainbow this afternoon, my heart leaped.

Through the years, God has been teaching me how to be thankful for the smallest thing that comes my way, be it good or "bad" ... the slightest irritation... the unexpected interruption... the sudden twist in the circumstances of my life...

Every disappointment is God's appointment!

I thank God for taking time, for the methods He uses, to build His character into my heart... to teach me how to be set free from the prison of a demanding, complaining, and fault finding spirit...

Indeed, it is a lifetime process...

The Godhead - the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit - have a school where they teach their willing students the way out, a pathway through any storm or difficulty, a school called adversity.

Adversity is not always as bad as it sounds. Adverse circumstances can be as simple or as small as a certain plan or expectation that doesn't happen the way we want them to.

There is always another way... a better way. In the "either-or" situations of our life, God always has a third alternative, and He is seeking those who will walk down the path of obscurity and servanthood with Him.

He has taught me and yes, I have learned, to welcome adversity as a friend.

This is the journey I am on, my sacred journey.

Becoming more like Him and less like me.

That He might increase, and I decrease.

That His my will, not mine, be done in my life.

It is not an easy road to travel, but I have discovered that God walks with anyone who chooses this path.

I do not want to grow old having become so used to always having my way in anything... and turn out to be a demanding taskmaster in the lives of people around me...

My desire rather is to be a gentle touch, a kind word, an understanding, compassionate heart.

A breath of fresh air!

Changing the environment with my presence... never drawing attention to myself, but becoming a signpost for others to see the Father!

My heart a reflection of the Father's heart.

I want to train my eyes to see what is right and good around me, not what is wrong...

To be able to say... "It is good enough, and now I will enjoy my rest... tomorrow is another day."

To enjoy and savor each moment as it comes, even when hard work is being done, to be able to do it with gladness and a song in my heart ...

That others may drink from my well... and find rest in my healing presence.

Father, help me to be real, to be open with my flaws and my shortcomings... and not try to hide my woundedness.

We may fool others, window dress our spirituality, sugar coat our words, pretend to be kind, or generous.

But God can never be mocked. He sees right through us.

In this season I'm in, Father... I hunger for more of You.


Are You with me? Am I on the right track, Lord? Or have I lost my way?


Then He opened my eyes to see that beautiful rainbow this afternoon... A timely reminder of His promise.


Thank You, my dear Father for speaking to me so tenderly.