Will I Know It?

History never looks history when you're living through it. It always looks confusing and messy and it always feel uncomfortable. - John Gardner

Will I know when I'm walking through the story for the first time? Will I recognize the event that will begin the chapters of my love story with my mate? Will time stand still for one moment to tell me that this person, this one person, out of all the billions bustling on the planet -- is the One? Will I recognize when it happens? Or might I miss it? Some questions are probably best left unasked. I know I should push them aside and wait for life to unfold its mysteries.

Someday when I'm older and wiser, I'll sit back and tell my story to someone who will listen. And as I tell my story, will I remember the doubts and questioning prayers of today? Or will I have forgotten the silent longings; will they wash away like footprints on an ocean shore? I'll probably tell some young fool the same things I get tired of hearing from others. I'll tell her to bide her time, "for it sure work out in the end." And of course, "you can't rush these things."

Someday I'll have a story to tell. How will I respond when one day I look back on my love story? Will it bring tears of joy or tears of remorse? Will it remind me of God's goodness or my lack of faith in that goodness? Will it be a story of purity, faith and selfless love? Or will it be a story of impatience, selfishness and compromise? It's my choice. I am encouraged (and continue to remind myself) to write a love story with my life that I'll feel proud to tell. - Excerpt from "I Kissed Dating Goodbye" by Joshua Harris

An axiom in mathematics means that if your premise is incorrect, then your conclusion is bound to be wrong as well. Use the wrong formula and the answer is certain to be incorrect.

But who knows which is the right way? No one, except God... we can always ask Him for guidance. I remember asking the Lord, "Lord, how will I know if he is the one for me?" For some, it might come as a coincidence, but for me I take it as His answer to my question.. reading from Isaiah 18:3b "When a banner is raised on the mountains, you will see it, and when a trumpet sounds, you will hear it."

Simply telling me that when love comes knocking at my door, I will hear it and when the right one comes, I will surely see him and not miss the start of my love story.. God is good... God is great... and He loves me so... I can simpy trust Him to take me to the right place at the right time when I am ready. I surrender to the One who knows the best things for me.

Single Life

I received this SMS from a friend:

Pagiging single ay masarap..
solo mo tym mo,
walang dumadagdag sa problema..
di ka obligado mag text..

ang pagiging single talaga ay masarap..


pero di ko sinabi na MASAYA..

from a single's forum BENEFITS OF BEING SINGLE:

1. u get to focus on something u want to do...
2. u get to go out with friends anytime u want...
3. ur not answerable to anybody...just ur parents...hehehe
4. u get to go overtime with ur work
5. u get to meet alot of people (guys and girls alike)
6. u get to roam around the city without thinking na may magagalit sayo kasi naglalakwatsa ka....
7. and most especially....u have all the freedom u want

dagdagan ko pa....

• di mo kelangan magreport minu-minuto kung nasaan ka na
• di mo kelangan magpaalam kung may pupuntahan ka
• di mo kelangan ang opinyon nya tungkol sa suot mo
• pwede kang magsabi ng "Sama ko!" anytime
• free kang gawin anuman ang gustuhin mo (like enroll in a driving school, learn to cook, bake, etc)
• pwede ka nilang i-link kahit na kaninong "available"
• hindi mo kelangan alamin kung anong magiging reaction ng bf/gf mo pag nagpagupit o nagpakulot ka ng buhok
• di mo kelangan bumili ng gift kapag bday ng bf/gf mo

kasi nga wala ka naman bf/gf... hehe

Kapag may kaibigan kang ikakasal... ikaw at kung kelan ka susunod ang siyang madalas na maging paksa ng usapan. Kahit nga pasko at bagong taon at mga reunions, madalas kang matanong, "Kelan ka mag-aasawa?" O kaya, kapag may nakasalubong kang kaibigan na matagal mong di nakita, eto ang tanong agad: "May asawa ka na?"... hehehe

Yung iba naman na kakilala mo, ayun! Aligagang-aligaga (busy) sa paghahanap ng pwedeng i-match sa iyo... merong tipong "boy-next-door" ang hitsura, minsan kulang na lang eh pati ang "boy" ng kapitbahay nyo ay ireto sa iyo... may "cute" at meron din namang "nakakata-cute". Pati nga nanay ng kaibigan mo eh ipinaghahanap ka... hehehe...

Natataranta ba sila na baka mahuli ka sa byahe? Samantalang, ikaw eh eto, nagpupuyat sa kasusulat ng blog entries, natutulog, kumakain, lumuluwas at umuuwi pag gabi... Patuloy pa rin ang buhay.

Sa mga nagtatanong, masaya ba ang pagiging single? OO naman... masaya ako eh.

At sa mga nagtatanong ulit, pinangarap ko bang maging single for life? HINDI.

Isa pang tanong, "may balak ka bang mag-asawa?" OO naman.

Ang sabi ng iba, "baka kasi mataas ang standard mo". Ang tanong, alam ba nila ang standard ko? May nagtanong na ba kung anong standard ko? hehehe

Ang sabi ng iba, "baka naman pihikan ka?". Ay oo naman... alangan naman pumili ako ng batong ipupukpok ko sa ulo ko... hehehe

Naalala ko ang biro sa akin ng dati kong officemate na si Manny, "Dapat maglagay ka na ng SIGNBOARD sa harap ng bahay nyo, "WANTED: Husband. No Requirement basta lalaki. Benefits: Lot with Title" (hindi ko na maalala kung ano pa yun ibang benefits na sinabi nya.. hehehe)

Well, hindi ako yung klase ng babae na "ligawin" as in araw-araw eh may umaakyat ng bahay (kasi wala kaming hagdan? hehehe). Pero may mga nagtangka naman (kahit konti). May sobrang kulit, ayun nabusted tuloy. hehehe... May foreigner pa nga... busted din, muslim eh. hehehe

Tapusin na natin ang entry na ito, at ako'y inaantok na.

Para sa akin, masaya ako sa estado ng buhay ko.. sa pagiging single. Kung nangangarap ako na ikasal at magka-asawa, oo naman. Siguro, di pa lang dumarating yun tamang lalaki para sa akin (pero, sana nama't isinilang na siya! sana.. sana... hehehe). Maaaring pareho kaming "under construction" pa. Inihahanda para maging maayos ang buhay may asawa. Hindi ko rin alam, baka nga maging "single for life" ako. Only God knows and I trust Him.

Ang punto ko lang naman... "Be happy in whatever stage of life you maybe in right now. For who knows, God will bless you with that GOOD THING you were praying for, when He sees that you are contented and thankful for who you are and where you are now."

Single life may be only a stage of a life's journey, but even a stage is a gift. God may replace it with another gift, but the receiver accepts His gifts with thanksgiving. This gift for this day. The life of faith is lived one day at a time, and it has to be lived -- not always looked forward to as though the "real" living were around the next corner. It is today for which we are responsible. God still owns tomorrow. - From "Let Me Be A Woman" by Elizabeth Elliott

When it's not yet time

21When Jesus had again crossed over by boat to the other side of the lake, a large crowd gathered around him while he was by the lake. 22Then one of the synagogue rulers, named Jairus, came there. Seeing Jesus, he fell at his feet 23and pleaded earnestly with him, “My little daughter is dying. Please come and put your hands on her so that she will be healed and live.”
24So Jesus went with him.

25And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years. 26She had suffered a great deal under the care of many doctors and had spent all she had, yet instead of getting better she grew worse. 27When she heard about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, 28because she thought, “If I just touch his clothes, I will be healed. 29Immediately her bleeding stopped and she felt in her body that she was freed from her suffering.

30At once Jesus realized that power had gone out from him. He turned around in the crowd and asked, “Who touched my clothes?”

31”You see the people crowding against you,” his disciples answered, “and yet you can ask, ‘Who touched me?’”

32But Jesus kept looking around to see who had done it. 33Then the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell at his feet and, trembling with fear, told him the whole truth. 34He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering.”

35While Jesus was still speaking, some men came from the house of Jairus, the synagogue ruler. “Your daughter is dead,” they said. “Why bother the teacher any more?”

36Ignoring what they said, Jesus told the synagogue ruler, “Don’t be afraid, just believe.”

Jairus’ pleading with Jesus was heard. Jesus went with Jairus! The fact that Jesus will go to their house, there’s a sure blessing – assured blessing! But along the way, someone has touched Jesus’ garment.

Jairus’ blessing of healing for her dying daughter was disrupted. The assured blessing become a disrupted blessing. Someone has touched the hem of Jesus’ clothes and Jesus noticed that power has gone out of him. As if it was not enough, Jesus tried to find out who touched him!

We saw how Jesus healed the woman and it was a blessing to her. But to Jairus, it was a disrupted blessing, an interruption of Jesus to go to their house and heal her dying daughter.

Is it not enough that the bleeding woman has already received healing? What’s the use of identifying who was it that touched Jesus?

For the woman, it is to complete her healing. The woman felt that she was healed, her bleeding stopped. Jesus wanted to complete her healing.

For Jairus, the disrupted blessing tells him to:

a. Wait for the perfect time.

What was the situation here? Jesus was crowded with so many people, pressing on him. I believe many of these people were trying to take hold of this opportunity to touch Jesus! Many of them were trying so hard for them to have even just a glimpse on Jesus, much so to touch him. Did Jesus suddenly forget that he is coming with Jairus to heal her dying daughter? Of course not! But why in the world, was Jesus still trying to find out who is that someone that has touched him? Is it not enough that the bleeding woman received her healing?

Can you imagine the reaction here of Jairus? If we are to remember, he is running out of time because his daughter is at the point of death. And here was Jesus, still trying to find out who has touched him? Does it really matter to Jairus? Is it important for him? What does it matter, if Jesus found out who has touched him? What will happen if he was able to find who it is that was healed?

Did we see Jairus, so anxious and might be saying to Jesus, “Lord, can’t you see? There are so many people out here pressing on you, how in the world will we be able to identify who that person was?” But, did we hear it from Jairus? It was not told in the Bible, what was the reaction of Jairus while Jesus was looking for the person who has touched the hem of his garments. Only the disciples’ reaction was noted here. I suppose Jairus might have felt the same way, or more. Anyway, he is just the father of a dying child. However, Jairus never said a word, he waited for Jesus. He waited for the perfect time.

What does it mean to us? When we know that our need is in God’s hand, the only thing we have to do is wait. We have to wait for the perfect time.

b. Keep the faith.

The reality of the disrupted blessing finally came in front of Jairus. While Jesus was still speaking to the woman, some men came from the house of Jairus, and told him, “Your daughter is dead,” they said. “Why bother the teacher any more?” But Jesus said to Jairus, “Don’t be afraid, just believe.”

After Jairus have waited for Jesus to finish his dealing with the woman, here comes men from Jairus’ house and told him that his daughter is dead and it is no use to bother the Lord anymore.

Could you imagine what Jairus might have felt after hearing the news that his daughter had died? Could you feel what he felt? If I were to imagine his reaction, he could have said to the Lord Jesus, “Oh Jesus, did you hear the news? My daughter is now dead! If only you and I have walked directly home and ran instead of bothering who has touched you such as you did, oh my daughter could still be touched by you and be healed! But what now? She is now dead!” Oh, could you see and feel the anguish on Jairus’ heart, right at this moment? His daughter is now dead! There’s no use to bother Jesus. Oh, if only…
But, again those were not written in the Bible. It was just my imagination of what our true reactions as human often do. The true story was, Jesus have told Jairus, “Don’t be afraid. Just believe.” It’s as if Jesus was saying to Jairus, “Don’t worry. Just believe and everything will be alright. I will prove to you who I am… everything will be all right. Just believe”. KEEP THE FAITH!

LIFE APPLICATION:

Like Jairus, are you in the same situation right now, wherein your blessing seemed to be disrupted? Know that God knows the perfect time to give you the blessing. It could be “disrupted” as of now, because God wants you to be ready to take hold of that blessing. He wants you to learn how to take care of that GREAT BLESSING He would be giving you in His time. It could be God is preparing you to be just the “right vessel” of that one GREAT BLESSING. If now you are just like a glass that can take hold of just a glassful of water, how can He give you a “pitcherful” of water? The overage of that pitcherful of water will just be wasted. Wait for the perfect time till you are able to take hold of what God wants to give you, just keep on keeping on. Keep the faith!

Just like Jairus, I may not understand it right now, but all I am asked is to wait and keep the faith.

God is God and I am not
I can only see a part of the picture He’s painting
God is God and I am man
So I’ll never understand it all
For only God is God
- Steven Curtis Chapman

God is still at work...

Dave was raised on the mission field in Africa, and after he completed his seminary training he took a position in a local church, still searching for the right one who could go back to Africa with him. He kept looking over the crowd every Sunday morning to see if a new face had appeared. Finally he asked my advice, “What do you think I should do?” What do you think God wants you to do with your life?” I inquired. “I think God wants me in Africa ,” he responded.

“I said, “Then you had better get moving that direction.”

Sudan Interior Mission, the group that Dave was serving, needed him on a rather remote outstation a distance from Addis Ababa. “Great chance of finding a wife there!” people told Dave. Nonetheless, he went.

Meanwhile an Australian nurse felt called by God into medical missions. She was single but hope to meet someone who shared her vision of missionary medicine. Nobody even came close to being answer. Finally she joined the same mission Dave had joined. They told her about a medical in a pretty remote area outside Addis Adaba. Her family and friends told her, “If you go there, you’ll end up being an old maid for sure.”

Putting the will of God above “finding the right man,” she packed and went to Africa.

You guessed it. They met, fell in love and married.

Believe it or not, they both had lived in the same apartment complex in the same city, on the same street, but had to go 7,000 miles away to meet each other, fall in love, marry and have a family. (I got this story from jhunnelle's blogsite.)

This is the 2nd story I read about "serendipity" or destiny as you may want to call it. The 1st story I read was about Shelby. They may all sound fictional to you, but I believe that they are true. Even if they were not, there is one story that is real. You may visit jhunnelle's blogsite and read about how her fiance met her.

Now, you might be asking, "Who's Jhunnelle?". Well, I don't know her either. We haven't met. But, one night as I was trying to look for a write-up about "Touch of Glory", I found her blogsite. Of course, instantly as I read her posts nakarelate agad ako. We are of the same age. We are both Born-Again Christian. We both have the same struggles in waiting for the "right man" in our lives. I was inspired about her story. I believe that God has led me to her blogsite to tell me that He is still at work.

God is at work in our lives all the time. Every need, every desire, every little things or minute details of our lives are in His mind all the time. Our every call is heard. Every tear that falls, he sees. Every thoughts in our minds, he knew. He is the author of life. He is also the author of our love story.

And one day, I am hopeful and prayerful that I will be able to post my own love story God has wrote about in this blogsite.

You may have a struggles or difficulties in your life. It might be something about your job, school, relationships, finances or anything that you think matters to you. I just want to encourage you on one thing, "God is at work in our lives! He loves you so much. There is nothing good for us that He will withhold. Just think, that if God has given His ONE and ONLY SON for you, what is that one thing will He not do for you?

To The One

I prayed to the Lord, for Him to give me a man after His own heart. A man who will love me and I will love for the rest of my life. Days passed by, the days grew into months, and the months went into years. Still, I waited for you to come my way.

It was never an easy thing to do, especially when all of my friends have already married and have their own families. Sometimes, the waiting gets the best of me and all that I can do is cry my heart out to the Lord.

I have no idea when you will come. When and how will our roads cross? When will I see you face to face? When? How? Where? These are the questions I do not know how to answer. It's up to God who takes control of my life.

How I would wish that it'll be sooner. I am very expectant everyday, hoping that it'll be that special day you will find me...

If a day passed by and you still have not come, I'd say "I am one day closer in meeting you..."

I pray to God that He will provide you eveything you needed to get here to me. May He give you the courage to tell me your feelings. I know that I am not an easy girl. But I pray that as God leads you to me, may He also give you discernment to know and see clearly that you are the one He has prepared for me. That just as He has promised me, that when love comes into my life, I will see it just as a banner is raised on a mountaintop or I will hear it just as a trumphet played a sound. It will be clear and it will come to pass.. it will happen in my lifetime...

I will believe... I believe... I believe...

My love will be with you... till that day...
~Zha-Zha~