Umbrellas and Rainy Days

In China, their rainy and typhoon season is squeezed between the end of spring and the beginning of summer. During this time, their western and middle provinces experience the brunt of flashfloods and a lot of crop and property destructions, notwithstanding the lives that tragically ends. Luckily for most southern and eastern parts, the floods are not a usual occurrence despite the equally strong rains coming.

Our workplace and my habitual residence are in this southern side.

In the past years, I have unpleasant experiences of being caught unprepared by a sudden downpour that this year I made the “perfect” plan to make sure I will be rain-proofed. First, I kept one umbrella in our workplace. Second, I set aside another umbrella in my residence. Third and as a final precaution, I saved another umbrella inside our regular company car that we use going back and forth to work. Yup, I felt safe and secured. Until, one day, for unknown reason, another car was lent to us instead. While inside the car the rain started to pour real hard. That is when I realized that my three umbrellas were all in other locations other than with me.

I was clearly mistaken to assume that I can totally avoid rain by having more umbrellas than necessary.

This reminded me the parable of the rich fool in Luke 12:16-20, “…There was a rich man whose land produced a bountiful harvest. He asked himself, 'What shall I do, for I do not have space to store my harvest?' And he said, 'This is what I shall do: I shall tear down my barns and build larger ones. There I shall store all my grain and other goods and I shall say to myself, "Now as for you, you have so many good things stored up for many years, rest, eat, drink, be merry!" But God said to him, 'You fool, this night your life will be demanded of you; and the things you have prepared, to whom will they belong?”

In striking similarity in our lives, we also have these “security-umbrellas” that comes in the forms of money, career, fame or power that we vainly try to accumulate in our pursuit of happiness and security. A lot of us are devoting more and more time gaining these “perishable goods” than to enrich our selves with what is of heavenly importance – to love and to serve others. What is more sad is that we already have all the historical and real-life accounts of those rich, powerful and famous people who have reached their pinnacle of success only to confess in their old age or at death-bed that their pursuits were nothing but a chase after the wind and that they have lived a life of regret. But it seems the message still has not sunk in yet into our consciousness and into our conscience.

So how we should live has been forthrightly pinpointed in Luke 12: 34-35, “Sell your belongings and give alms. Provide money bags for yourselves that do not wear out, an inexhaustible treasure in heaven that no thief can reach nor moth destroy. For where your treasure is, there also will your heart be.”

During the whole trip, amidst the pouring rain, I was worrying since I was as sure as daylight that I am going to be soaking wet later. It was raining for the duration of our 45-minute trip so how can I possibly even thought that it would stopped before I step out of the car in a few more minutes. But to my surprise, the rain started to drizzle down as we approached our factory area. Finally, when we stepped out of the car, all I felt was a few mists blowing into my face.

In life, we have a lot of rain, a lot of downpours that could easily cast a dark shadow of worry and anxiety in us. Some of these “rains” are failed marriages, an un-reconciled past, financial troubles and dire poverty, broken family, an addiction, untimely lost of a loved ones, critical or debilitating physical challenges and unfulfilled dreams and aspirations. Sadly, when others feel that their problems are far from being resolve, they start to worry. They started to despair. They regress. Then, they give up. They lose hope. And finally, they hide inside their inner shelves, closing the doors with an abloy padlock and throwing away the keys into the river for no one to recover.

But the right attitude was clearly proclaimed, amongst other biblical verses, in Proverbs 3:5-6 saying, “ Trust in the LORD with all your heart, on your own intelligence rely not; In all your ways be mindful of him, and he will make straight your paths.”

Truly, umbrellas are always synonymous with rains yet neither one should distract us away from our life-mission.
We can do with one umbrella to keep us dry.
And we need not worry as to when the rain will end.

All we need is to trust Him because God knows exactly what we need in any given moment.
Now that’s a rain or shine promise He faithfully keeps.

Keep In Contact

We have a gas stove with its ignition spark induced by two pieces of type C batteries. Normally, these batteries must be replaced quarterly to keep the spark an easy-click operation. But one time, the spark was not really there despite replacing old batteries with new ones. I checked the gas supply system and it was also in good working condition so I focused again on the batteries. After a few minutes, I found the problem. It was not the batteries themselves but it was one of the battery terminals inside the stove. It was highly corroded that no electricity from the fully-charged batteries can pass to the circuitry and eventually to the spark mechanism. All I needed to do was to scratch and clean the contact plates to remove the surface corrosions. It worked fine afterwards.

This is also what happens when we sin. Yes, sinning corrodes our conscience and heart that we lose contact of God’s constant graces and blessings. Whenever we sin, we cover ourselves with the stained dirt, in effect, shielding ourselves from His all encompassing love. And the longer we stay in our sinful state, the more God seems distant and unconcern about us. We start to drift away from Him and His calling.

But there is hope.

God’s mercy and forgiveness, felt solemnly and efficaciously administered through the sacrament of Penance, cleanses and rinse away every single blot of sin that hinders our direct communion with Him. We will get back to our normal and personal contact with Him and we clearly hear again His voice and instructions.

Losing contact with the Lord lately?
Then go ahead and check out God’s red-light district – the confessional box.

He eagerly awaits for each one of us who needs cleaning.

In Good Times, In Bad Times

Last month, on my trip back to Philippines, I had an unusually pleasant experience on the way to the airport.

With our third child to be born the following day, I had to bring home more stuffs that resulted to two big luggage, 1 heavy back pack, a big and a small box separately. On the ferry terminal port and after the x-ray machine, one custom official, seeing the difficult time I have in bringing my stuffs, motioned to me to keep using the push cart up to the loading bay. Another loading bay staff, seeing that my big box has some small damage, offered a packing tape to patch it up. Still panting and gasping for air upon reaching the check-in counter in Hongkong, there was a long queue of student-participants for a sports-fest, but one local staff went over to me to assist me ahead of the long queue. He asked me if how many baggage I have and I showed him. He courteously prepared my papers and without even weighing my stuffs, proceeded to check them all by himself (I know I have at least 8kgs in excess and for which I have prepared the money to pay for). I looked at my passport and it was still the normal one but I felt like a diplomatic person at that time.

I thanked the staff and gave a silent thanks to God.

In contrast while I was in our country, the unpleasant incidents came piling up in one afternoon. I was in a rush-mode to finish a lot of things on the last week of my vacation. In the hospital, the parking area was full and I have to go around three times to find a slot. The hospital staffs were nowhere to be found and I have to wait more as they misplaced the document I came there for. Back in the parking lot, I know I was 2 minutes below the first free 30 minutes stay but the caretaker insisted that I was not. End of discussion – I paid and rushed to one government office to file the documents for our medical claims. I arrived 4:55pm but the guard stopped me dead-tracked on my way inside and said I must come back the next day already, even as I peeked inside and saw their staffs still inside. A deep breath, a deep sigh and off I went home somehow frustrated over the barrage of misfortunes.

However, upon seeing my family and my newborn son Aim soundly sleeping, I realized my blessings, changed my mood in an instant and gave a silent thanks to the Lord.

Rick Warren beautifully puts it - that life is like a railroad tracks and both good and bad things happens side by side. We only have to focus and appreciate the good side and view the bad things as an opportunity to grow in faith to be able to keep an attitude of gratitude towards God.

Indeed, in good times or in bad times, we must be thankful at all times and in all situations.
Thank you, Lord.