USAPAN LANG NAMAN . . .

One day in Novemver 2005, my friend received a text message which I liked, so I copied it:

‘Who should be blamed when a leaf fell from a tree?
Is it the wind that blew it away?
Or the tree that let it go?
Or is it the leaf itself which never held tight?’

We reflected on it for a while . . . . maybe there’s no one to blame . . . . or it depends . . . . if the tree is the Lord, and the wind is the circumstances and situations happening around, and the leaf is the person, definitely the Lord can not be blamed, situations can not be either . . . .

Well, we just joked about it and left the message alone.

The next morning when I read in the Holy Bible the readings for the day, I was struck by a passage:

‘……Because of our sins we are like leaves that wither and are blown away by the wind.’ ISAIAH 64:6

The moment I read this, I remembered the text message yesterday. I was beginning to think there was a connection. What was it? Or is there any?

As I continued to read the other Scriptures, I mistook a Scripture to be one of the readings for that day . . . . is it a mistake . . . . or I was led to it. Guess what! :

‘When one of you says, “I follow Paul,” and another, “I follow Apollos” – aren’t you acting like worldly people? After all, who is Apollos? And who is Paul? We are simply God’s servants, by whom you were led to believe. Each one of us does the work which the Lord gave him to do. I planted the seed, Apollos watered the plant, but it was God who made the plant grow. The one who plants and the one who waters really do not matter. It is God who matters, because He makes the plant grow.

There is no difference between the one who plants and the one who waters; God will reward each one according to the work each has done. For we are partners working together for God, and you are God’s field. You are also God’s building. Using the gift that God gave me, I did the work of an expert builder and laid the foundation, and someone else is building on it. But each of you must be careful how you build. For God has already placed Jesus Christ as the one and only foundation, and no other foundation can be laid.’ 1 CORINTHIANS 3:4-11


Wow, now I believe in my heart that there is definitely a connection. So I asked, “What, Lord? What’s with the leaf and the plant? What is Your message? What do You want to tell me?” It was a puzzle for me . . . .

After I ate my breakfast, I thought of watching tv. It was a long time now since I did this. When I entered the community last year, I very seldom watched. Never got the time or I just want to sleep or read.

As I turned on the tv, there was this cartoon gundamforce. I love watching cartoons even when I was still a kid . . . . so I watched it. Well, hope you bear with me and read on.

There was this city where humans and robots (mobile citizens) who live together in harmony until the evil mobile citizens (MC) came and launch a brain control device that all the good MC became evil and the whole city was threatened. Gundamforce to the rescue! It was a team of robots, with a head robot called captain and together with them is a boy.

They zoomed in to the city, but the enemies tried to stop them at the gates. The other members of the team volunteered to sacrifice themselves to fight these enemies and told their captain to proceed with his mission. He has to reach a device called the captain system which can give Him more power to fight the evil scheme.

As the captain and the boy neared their destiny, two evil MCs came and tried to stop them. As the boy was in danger another member of the team came. He was hurt, but he still rescued the boy and told the captain to proceed and he fought the enemies. As the kid asked him if he can still go on, he said with full confidence, “I am part of the team and I will do all I can as long as I can.”

The captain reached the captain system and started to operate it but his energy is not enough. Then came the other members of the team and released all their energies without thinking of themselves. Not a single amount of energy was left in their system. The device powered up to its maximum and the captain had the access to the systems of all the robots in the city, knocked down the brain control device in each of them . . . . they won the battle. They brought back the good mobile citizens to being good again. THE END.

THE END. What’s with the story? Is there a connection in all these from the leaf to this. Weird . . . . I really found it weird. Robot cartoon was one of my favorites, but I never cried over them . . . . Weird because I found myself with 2 or 3 or 4 teardrops in my eyes. All I could ask God : “What have You done to me? Why am I crying over a seemingly senseless robot cartoon? I felt so weird? This change You made in my heart, sometimes I do not understand it. Why do I see differently at times even in such simple, uncomplicated things?”

You know what I saw as I watched this cartoon? I saw a TEAM of good creations . . . . robots and humans alike . . . . with differences from each other but possess one heart. They have the determination to fight evil no matter what. They have the hope, the zeal, the enthusiasm, the courage, the unity. They are willing to sacrifice everything, even if it hurts them, just to save the citizens and for their mission to succeed.

The weird thing for me here is I saw the community in place of the TEAM. Different people, with different points of view, different characters, different gifts and talents. I have seen dedicated people in this community just like the members of the gundamforce. Dedicated, committed people who are willing to sacrifice anything for the success of whatever tasks God had entrusted to them. There are different ministries, different areas of service, different members . . . . equipped, molded, empowered, gifted . . . . by the Holy Spirit. For what??? To be The LORD’S TEAM in this world . . . . to be His instruments to fight evil to save humanity . . . . the citizens. The Lord needs a TEAM whose members are full of hope . . . . so enthusiastic in doing their part . . . . so zealous in bringing Him to the hearts of His people . . . . willing to go out of their ways and sacrifice for each other and for God for the success of the mission . . . . willing to support and help each other with love in the hearts . . . . understanding the differences of each other . . . . using the gifts the Lord has given . . . . being a model of courage, obedience and humility to one another . . . . willing to do all they can do . . . . because they are part of the TEAM . . . . The LORD’S TEAM.

In the text message and Scripture passage, the tree is the Lord. He is the source of everything. He is the root that is deeply planted on the ground. He stands firm and can never be toppled down. He is our strength. He holds on to us. He will not let go. He will always be there for us to rely upon. He will always be our Source. The wind is our sins, our doubts, fears, temptations . . . . all that causes us to let go of the Lord. If we allow the wind to affect us, if we give in . . . . we will wither away and lose our grip on the branch.

In our service, we have to stay focused on the tree and not on the wind. The Lord is our Master. He alone is the One we serve. It matters not what others will say. It matters not how big or small or what kind of service we give . . . . what matters is we do our part and give it all we’ve got . . . . what matters is we serve with commitment and dedication as a TEAM, as different parts of the TEAM in one body . . . . but what matters most is God. Whatever success we achieve, it is not because of me, or you, or him, or her or anybody else . . . . It is because of God. We serve for the glory of the Kingdom of God. We serve for the salvation of our sisters and brothers. We serve for the victory of good against evil. We serve because we love God and we are willing to sacrifice, to get hurt, get tired, get out of our comfort zones for that. All for God. What matters is God . . . . But we have to serve as a TEAM with understanding, humility, love . . . . and willingness to support and serve each other.

Weird????? I don’t know . . . . The next cartoon I watched after gundamforce doesn’t have an impression on me. I watched it just like the others way back before. But hey……I am not promoting this cartoon . . . . its not really good especially for kids because of the fightings.

Well . . . . usapan lang naman . . . . I just shared a weird, kiddie, mind twisting, serious, mababaw experience of mine on a Sunday morning . . . . It doesn’t happen every Sunday you know.

-luisadelacruz

DARK TUNNELS

October 8, 2005, I was sitting by my bedside. A tape of praise and worship songs was playing on the background. I was letting myself to be lost in it as my whole being worshipped the Lord.

The rain fell outside. It poured so hard. From time to time, thunders roared. It felt like there was chaos outside my room, but through it all, I felt so safe inside it. I was protected from the anger of the rain and thunder. I felt peace . . . . and loved by God.

Then it struck me, often times we compare our troubles . . . . struggles . . . . sufferings . . . . pain to a storm. We cry. We get lost. We get hurt. We focus on our struggle. Our weaknesses overcome us. We have no strength to fight back. We get so tired. It seems we are in a dark tunnel. We don’t know what to do. We want to go on but something is holding us back. We cannot see where we are going. We are in total darkness.

The only hope we have is the voice within our hearts telling us to pray and just keep on going. The only thing we can do is to look up and believe that at the end of the tunnel is a light that will lead us to the right path. All we can do is cry out to the Lord and plead with our hearts to help us survive.

As we journey and pray, as we put our trust in the Lord . . . . as we put our lives upon His hands, He protects us with His love. All the thunders and the downpours of the rain cannot hurt us. They cannot keep us down for the Lord is holding our hands, leading us, constantly whispering in our ears how much He loves us. He gives us His strength. He warns us of the pitfalls along the way. He never leaves us even for just a second.

Through that darkness, we feel safe and peaceful because we know the Lord is with us. As we reach the end of that dark tunnel, the heavenly light we see. And as we leave the dark and step into the light, behold we see, that it was not just the Lord who is with us, but also the angels and the saints. We are so protected by the Lord. That’s how He gives importance to each of us . . . . and in the heavens, all who are in there are cheering and rejoicing for us because we made it through our journey.

Each time we pass through dark tunnels in our lives, this happens . . . . we have to remember, we have to pray . . . . listen, trust and obey the Lord. Our dark tunnels are necessary to mold us, to equip us, to make us stronger . . . . to make our faith stronger. It is necessary to deepen our relationship with the Lord, to remind us that we need Him in our lives. We can never survive without His grace and love. Each tunnel has purpose. Each purpose is significant. As the Lord reveals each of them, we will understand the importance of those dark tunnels . . . . and that it is a great privilege to get through them together with the Lord. These are things to be joyful about during those moments. Life is beautiful if we only look beyong our dark tunnels!

-luisadelacruz

‘My friends, consider yourselves fortunate when all kinds of trials come your way, for you know that when your faith succeeds in facing trials, the result is the ability to endure.’ JAMES 1:2-3

‘Be glad about this, even though it may now be necessary for you to be sad for a while because of the many kinds of trials you suffer. Their purpose is to prove that your faith is genuine. Even gold, which can be destroyed, is tested by fire; and so your faith, which is much more precious than gold, must also be tested, so that it may endure. Then you will receive praise and glory and honor on the Day when Jesus Christ is revealed.’ 1 PETER 1:6-7

WALA LANG . . . .

There was a time in 2005, it had been very tiring, mind draining weeks for me. My mind was so preoccupied by the singles medical mission. I had been constantly praying for guidance on the steps that should be taken for it. Honestly speaking, I had never attended one in my entire life. One of my best friends had been inviting me to join before but I was always too busy with my work, so I ended up just donating.

Months after joining the community, I joined the service team because the Lord wanted me to. I never really liked the idea because I know it will make me give up my comfort zone, but obeying, serving and loving the Lord are the desires of my heart. I don't want to offend Him. I don't want to hurt Him. I have to trust Him on this. He has a purpose in everything He asked of me.

Along the way, I was right, I had to give up things I want to do for me to follow His will. At first my resistance was there, but later I began to cheerfully do my tasks. Although it was tiring, God made me see something. Before, I get so tired with my work, with my career. My body and brain yearn for rest most of the time. Now I feel the same tiredness but there is more fulfillment and satisfaction and there is joy in my heart because what I do is for the Lord. And He never fails to give me rest, assurances, joy, gratitude, and blessings even if He doesn't have to because He had already given so much. For me, it's about time that I should be the one giving Him.

Anyway, now I ended up one of the point persons of the medical mission. Irony isn't it? Well not really. For in here, the works of the hands of our Dear Lord will be seen. I am inexperienced and not equipped for this task. In everything I do I ask Him and He teaches me. He equips me. Anything that comes out as a result of my efforts to help the others in this mission is because of the Lord. I depend on Him. The week before that, I was having apprehensions and fear in my heart, but He assured me through many ways. The one that hit me most was the homily of the priest saturday night. The Gospel was MATTHEW 11:25-30. It was about having rest in the Lord and His yoke that He will give is easy. The priest said that in Jesus time a yoke is put on two cows to plow the field. They are yokemates. He further said that today in our present lives, whatever Jesus asks us to do, it is His yoke and He is just inviting us to be His yokemate. He puts the heavy burden upon His shoulders and we are just there to help Him. He extends His hand toward us as an invitation it is up to us to take that hand and help Him or turn our back away.

It is a privilege to serve the Lord . . . . to be chosen by Him to do a certain task, whether big or small, whether as part of a team or as an individual. Before we were born, the Lord has set the purpose of our existence in His Master Plan, but the decision still lies upon us if we will do our part or not.

More than five times, I heard people say to me in different occasions to slow down a bit. I might get burned out, and like other people, have a backslide. Every time this happens, I look deep in my heart to check myself for I dont want this to happen to me . . . . I also venture into the thought that it might be the Lord is telling me to slow down. But every time, what I found there is love for the Lord. I have to give what I can for the Lord each day. If I slow down, if I tell myself I can do this or that for Him the next day and yet I still have the capacity to do it, there will be regret in me if the next day He holds my hand and bring me to the Father to live in His home eternally. I could have done something more that I can for Him and His people, I could have obeyed Him at that moment, if I chose to, before I leave this world.

Spiritual dryness or burning out can happen to anyone. It can be seen as a bad sign, but it can also be seen as a good sign. I prefer to see it as the latter. It is a sign, that one is giving his best for whatever he is working on, and if it is for the Lord it is definitely worth it. But the question here is what do we do about it if we experience it. Will we allow it to throw away the special relationship we have with the Lord? Or will we focus on the Lord and deepen more our relationship with Him and come out a victor over it? We can always have a break. We can always have a rest. We can have a vacation, spend time with the family, friends, a retreat . . . . do something different, go out of town, read a book, have a silent and restful moment with the Lord . . . . whichever way that fits us that will renew our burning desire in our heart.

But there is one thing that will stand out on this. How deep is our relationship with the Lord? The deeper we become in love with the Lord the more we will hold on to Him. Irregardless of whatever difficulties we experience, irregardless of how many burn outs we encounter, we will continue to serve Him because we are anchored on Him. If we deeply love the Lord, if we know Him in a personal way, if we look at the Father as our real Dear FATHER who cherishes us and treasures us, who longs for our embraces and enjoys loving us so much, if we look at Jesus as our real Dear Brother, who gave up His life for us, who offers His love and friendship to us, if we see our Dear Holy Spirit as our Counselor, One who makes us recognize who the Lord really is . . . . if we open up ourselves to all these, and experience them, and believe in them . . . . we will never abandon the Lord no matter what. If our Dear Lord is the center of our life, we will never turn our back from Him because our world will crumble. Our life will have no direction. We will have nowhere to go . . . . because God is our everything. If we have deep love for Him in our hearts, it is better to die than take away God from us.

WHHEEWW! That turned out to be too serious. WALA LANG (just nothing). I just had this urge in me to write this . . . . WALA LANG . . .

-luisadelacruz