Every Sunday, me and hubs see to it that we go to mass with the whole family but yesterday was different. My daughter and I had to buy some stuff in the mall so we decided to wake up early and hear mass in the mall before proceeding to do our errands while the two men in my life went with the usual routine. Going to mass is mostly for thanking the Lord for the blessings of the whole week and for continued blessings!
A mass becomes more interesting if the presiding priest gives an exciting and motivating homily. Last Sunday was an interesting one, the priest talked about persistent prayer. It stresses why people give up so easily when their prayers are not answered. He talks about the advantages of holding on to your prayer as against to just letting it go. The words put a smile on my face. Why? Well, I have been praying for the same thing for more than ten years and although sometimes I want to give up, I don’t! My faith tells me that soon we will have our own house. I can never let go of that dream.
Of course, we just don’t rely on prayers but we work hard to achieve that goal of ours. As long as you work hard and do your best, God’s graciousness is far and wide and in His time, He’ll grant your prayers.
Oh, I could visualize the house I want. Nothing grand. I want a simple, efficient and a house that I can maintain even without a househelp. Of course, I’d love to have an LCD TV on a flat panel mount. Why not? I will just keep on dreaming… it’s free and nothing can take that away from me.
Last weekend we were chatting with new found friends who lived in the US and have now decided to settle here in the Philippines. The discussion went around with how the economic crisis affected the lives of so many Americans and how they are dealing with it. We cannot help but compare how we, Filipinos would have done it … we’ll just laugh our way through life.
Even as I watch US TV series, I seem to notice how Americans deal with problems. How common do they go to a “shrink” every time they have a hard time coping with some setbacks? Or have medications for depression? In the Phils., no matter how hard life may be, you can still see people relaxing specially during the weekends. Maybe because being a Third World country, we’re used to it or perhaps because we have strong faith and support system.
Faith is a big aspect in our lives, whatever religion you belong to – the belief that there is a higher power you can call on to, is enough to keep you going. Plus, the strong bonds of our family and friends, that whatever we are dealing, we know that we have friends and family to lean on. Even in other countries, Filipinos manifest this quality. You can see how Filipino communities abroad gather up and stay in touch with each other. It’s amazing how this trait can help you go along way, most especially when you’re abroad.
I can speak for me and my hubby who have gone through the ups and downs of life and we have managed to stay together and be strong. Laughter is a big factor in our marriage — Hubs has a very good sense of humor and that’s one thing I love about him.
Laughter has a lot of benefits. It’s a therapeutic, relieves us of stress and even healthy for our skin. At least you won’t have to waste your money on adult acne treatments, just have a dose of laughter everyday.
