Nov 8, 2013. this was the day that Filipinos around the globe would never forget. it was the day when the strongest typhoon in world history hit the Philippines.
it happened when i was living the time of my life in a foreign land. i was living my dreams. when i saw the news on TV i felt homesick. i was worried not just for my family but for my people.
tears flowed on my cheeks as i watch my people crying for help. most of them seems like zombies wandering aimlessly. most of them looking for their lost love ones hoping they'd survive the tragedy too. some found their family members dead and settled to sleep beside them in all those ruins. they must have survived the strong winds and huge waves but they weren't sure how they will survive the aftermath. also, i'm not sure which one is more difficult... to find the dead body of your loved ones or to not know forever whether they did survive or not.
one of the many stories of survival that hit me was about a mom who was trying her best to hold on to her little girl. unfortunately, the waves were too strong and seeing how her mom was having difficulties holding on to her, the girl told her mom - "ma, just let go... save yourself". the mom cried in sorrow as she was blaming herself why she let go of her child. she said she couldn't understand why her daughter gave up and if it was the right thing to do to let her go. one woman survived but had to manually pump air into his husbands lungs for him to survive.
two days after the storm people were begging for food. they don't have food, water, and clothes and so they decided to ransacked what's left of the local malls to get what they need. i was shocked. i couldn't believe this was really happening. it was like a scene from an end of times movie. small children waiting for soldiers passing by begging for food. medical volunteers disagreeing with each other on whether to give their own food to the people staring at them or not. people in some areas have not yet eaten nine days after the storm. i don't even want to imagine what could happen if help won't be able to reach them after three weeks or more. would they resort to what was there to eat? i cringe everytime i think of this.
at the same time, i can't help but ask whether we are indeed in the end of times. i always believe the end of times is a slow process. i believe the end times has already started and after a few years or more people would be surprise that Jesus has come back asking me of what i have become in all these years. i hope when that time comes i will be ready.
but there is just this one thing i have been thinking about this past few weeks. i guess my God has put this burden in my heart for me to realize that there is something wrong. when this typhoon happened it made me think about it even more.
i keep on wondering, am i really okay now? i have proven people wrong about me and my family. my family is better now as well. all of us are living our dreams already. now, it's our turn to help people build better lives. and the pain we used to feel from our experience turned out to be a gift that makes us more compassionate and sensitive of people's needs.
there's just one thing missing... whenever i'm reading the Bible it was as if it's telling me that loving others like yourself is a good thing... though, both Christians or not Christians could do it if they want to... so what makes you different from the rest of the world is if you love your enemies...
all these years, i thought forgetting is the same thing as forgiveness... but i guess i was wrong... i see them in need, asking us for help... but all i do is turn away because their faces reminds me of all the pain they have caused to my family...
there's a saying that says "acceptance is the first step to healing..." and as my mom always reminds me... i know i have to let go of all the bitterness of our past and live freely... i wish i could be just like mom... i wish i could also learn to embrace my enemies... for now, i will keep on praying that day will soon come...
after all, i might not have enough time to change since we are in the end of times...
it happened when i was living the time of my life in a foreign land. i was living my dreams. when i saw the news on TV i felt homesick. i was worried not just for my family but for my people.
tears flowed on my cheeks as i watch my people crying for help. most of them seems like zombies wandering aimlessly. most of them looking for their lost love ones hoping they'd survive the tragedy too. some found their family members dead and settled to sleep beside them in all those ruins. they must have survived the strong winds and huge waves but they weren't sure how they will survive the aftermath. also, i'm not sure which one is more difficult... to find the dead body of your loved ones or to not know forever whether they did survive or not.
one of the many stories of survival that hit me was about a mom who was trying her best to hold on to her little girl. unfortunately, the waves were too strong and seeing how her mom was having difficulties holding on to her, the girl told her mom - "ma, just let go... save yourself". the mom cried in sorrow as she was blaming herself why she let go of her child. she said she couldn't understand why her daughter gave up and if it was the right thing to do to let her go. one woman survived but had to manually pump air into his husbands lungs for him to survive.
two days after the storm people were begging for food. they don't have food, water, and clothes and so they decided to ransacked what's left of the local malls to get what they need. i was shocked. i couldn't believe this was really happening. it was like a scene from an end of times movie. small children waiting for soldiers passing by begging for food. medical volunteers disagreeing with each other on whether to give their own food to the people staring at them or not. people in some areas have not yet eaten nine days after the storm. i don't even want to imagine what could happen if help won't be able to reach them after three weeks or more. would they resort to what was there to eat? i cringe everytime i think of this.
at the same time, i can't help but ask whether we are indeed in the end of times. i always believe the end of times is a slow process. i believe the end times has already started and after a few years or more people would be surprise that Jesus has come back asking me of what i have become in all these years. i hope when that time comes i will be ready.
but there is just this one thing i have been thinking about this past few weeks. i guess my God has put this burden in my heart for me to realize that there is something wrong. when this typhoon happened it made me think about it even more.
i keep on wondering, am i really okay now? i have proven people wrong about me and my family. my family is better now as well. all of us are living our dreams already. now, it's our turn to help people build better lives. and the pain we used to feel from our experience turned out to be a gift that makes us more compassionate and sensitive of people's needs.
there's just one thing missing... whenever i'm reading the Bible it was as if it's telling me that loving others like yourself is a good thing... though, both Christians or not Christians could do it if they want to... so what makes you different from the rest of the world is if you love your enemies...
all these years, i thought forgetting is the same thing as forgiveness... but i guess i was wrong... i see them in need, asking us for help... but all i do is turn away because their faces reminds me of all the pain they have caused to my family...
there's a saying that says "acceptance is the first step to healing..." and as my mom always reminds me... i know i have to let go of all the bitterness of our past and live freely... i wish i could be just like mom... i wish i could also learn to embrace my enemies... for now, i will keep on praying that day will soon come...
after all, i might not have enough time to change since we are in the end of times...