Times of Desolation and Consolation: What Are You Made Of?

          As we celebrate the season of Lent, we are reminded to go back to the various chapters of our life and examine if where are we exactly in our relationship with God as manifested also in our relationships with others like our neighbours, brothers and sisters in Christ, families and most notably our primordial relationship with Him Above. 

          If we recall back the days spent by Jesus before He died on the cross, we can exactly recall how he suffered at the garden of Gethsemane. He was, at that stage, feeling so depressed and down however some of those significant persons surrounding Him especially Peter, Paul and John fell asleep while accompanying Him.

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          If we look it on a human way, it could have been so painful and frustrating on the part of Jesus seeing and realising that those people close to Him left Him at that very trying moments. In our reflection, can we identify certain resemblance that those three disciples have in our own life? At this time, can we afford to lay down our life and sacrifice our time for the sake of others like our families, friends, and others? 

           Constancy in our faith requires from us a genuine desire to dedicate our life for Him Above. And I believe that there goes a deeper meaning in life- when we are able and willing to offer everything for the greater glory of God. This road, if chosen, is not a smooth one and just like the painful journey of Jesus before His death on the cross, we are also given trials and sacrifices that oftentimes test our inner faith and love of God. 

The Meaning of LIFE

          How do you put meaning to your life? What is it then that makes LIFE so interesting and excited to you? What have been your ups and downs in life? These are but some of the common questions that will come up to our minds when we come to think of our own LIFE. 

          But as we experience day by day, we come to know that every bit of each experience tells us how complicated life could be at times. How fortunate then those who are living each day surrounded with friends and loved ones for they could concretely be faced with joyous interactions with them. 

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          Thus may we always treasure all our friendships with others and let us allow each moment to be an instrument for us to nurture and strengthen the bond of relationship that we have established with those persons in our life. Let us constantly remember that LIFE is a gift that ought to be shared with others. 

The Joy of Coming Together as One Family

          Every opportunity for us to gather together in our CFC (Couples For Christ) Household is always seen as an opportunity of bonding together and sharing our giftedness as persons created in the image and likeness of our Divine Creator. 

          In every gathering that we cherish, we readily exchange pleasantries, prayers, and share our food as our means of strengthening our bond of brotherhood and sisterhood. We based our relationship on our being members of a community which is centered on our faith in God. On every gathering that we have, our initial activity is constantly to offer our prayers both as our means of expressing our gratitude to God and to relay to Him our petitions as well as the petitions of others who recommended themselves to our prayers.

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           Likewise, hymns of praises to our Most Loving Father are cheerfully sung to share our positive sentiments of the moment. Bonded by this common belief, we feel strengthened by this unity. Thus, it is always the prayer of each one that our group may continue to journey in the midst of life's complexities and challenges. And at the end, we believe that in all our gatherings and activities, God is always the focus of everything. 

Seek and You Shall Be Find

Jeremiah 29:13:  Thank You God, that you are there for us, We hear your words: " You will seek me and find me, when you search me with all your HEART"

          In life, there are certain moments that we get lost in our search for His kingdom. Our inadequacies and limitations caught us along the way thus resulting us to be misguided and misdirected. Yet at the end of the day, God's assurance of His eternal love continue to give us hope and light to go on and move ahead. After all, He is our reason why we strive daily to be good followers of Him.

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          No matter what will happen along the way, just like in the words of Jeremiah, God will always find us and welcome us to His warm embrace. During this season of hope as we joined others in celebrating the birthday of our Lord Jesus Christ, may we always find refuge in God's unending love for us all. 

          Whatever hardships and crosses we will find on this world. these will become light with His assistance. Live life to its fullest and love God with all your heart.

Precious Moments.....Memories to Cherish

          When people gather together as brothers and sisters in Christ, it is there in that gathering that one can feel and radiate the same positive vibes to others. Life is so wonderful that one could not miss to enjoy every bit of it. Regardless of the busy schedules that we have everyday, it is still a part of our life to exchange our life story with others.

          That's exactly what we cherish last November 09, 2014, Sunday when we held our household gathering  at the residence of our household leader, Bro. Rodel and his loving wife, Sis Danna. What made the gathering more meaningful was the presence of our charismatic unit head, Bro. Ed and his loving wife, Sis Pinky. Amidst the chit- chat we made before we formally started our sharing, the full of spirit children were also busy with their games and antics most common to their ages. 

photo credit: Denis Collette...!!! via photopin cc

          We had our singing practice right before we took off our celebration. What struck me among the three songs that Bro. Rodel had prepared for the celebration was that they all tell and remind us of the overflowing love GOD has for all His people including us gathered at that very moment.

          Finally, we started our celebration of faith and life and as each one shared his thanksgiving prayer for all the recent blessings that were received from God, I said to myself that God indeed is such a generous God. He never fails in sending His goodness to all of us in so many ways. Throughout all the chapters of life specifically for us who were bonded together at that very moment, we personally and concretely feel God's amazing kindness by the multitude of gifts that He has showered on us. 

          Thus, we all felt the strength of our being together and as we all went back to each of our families, we carried with us the new found flame of life and the bond of fraternal love that we shared with each other. After all, those precious moments that we shared indeed become memories to cherish.  

Listening to God's Word

Psalm 130:1-4, 7-8

"A song of ascents. Out of the depths I call to you, Lord. Lord hear my cry! May your ears be attentive to my cry for mercy. "If you Lord, mark our sins, Lord who can stand? But with you is forgiveness and so you are revered."

          If you listen intently to this psalm you will discover then that God's overflowing kindness and love for mankind is so great. However man also has to do his share. Being love so tremendously by God does not give him or her the go signal to proceed and make deeds which can break God's heart. 

          Though mankind is given the freedom and will yet he also needs to facilitate all his faculties to the fullest so as to unceasingly perform acts which are according to God's pathway-that is geared towards kindness and mercy. Instinctively, this is always doable be that as it may on a certain point, there is the ongoing challenge on how to be consistent on this right path. Certain facts of life may be against one's liking and desire however with much faith and trust in the Lord, there is also that assurance that everything will be put on its proper place. 

          Thus continue to submit everything to Him above and let Him rule your life. All the desires of your heart must be in accordance to His will and guidance.

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Submit Everything To Him Above

          Opportunities to gather together as one household is always a renowned moment for it brings people more closer to one another. When we had our household gathering last month, there was excitement in the air as we gathered collectively as one family- people bounded together in one common faith in the Lord. 

          And when we started the gathering by offering songs of praise, we lifted up our hearts and faith to God for we all believed that He is the sole purpose of everything. Being the owner of our life, He is the main reason why we always have positive things in life. He showered immense blessings to us most notably through the gifts of our family, our loved ones, our life, our talents etc. . 

imagecredit: Jozh Tuballa, Australia

          So going back to our gathering, we also lifted to Him our personal intentions and even those intentions of other people unknown to us. We prayed in a special way for those who are presently sick and unloved, for those people who have no one to pray for them. Afterwards, we had our sharing on the given readings. Particularly, we shared our struggles and those positive energies that allowed us to move on from them.  

          To end, I am always looking forward to every opportunity that allows me to interact and share life with other people. There are fresh and new discoveries that I could find in myself as I will exchange moments together with others.