#AQuote 'God throughout our Life'

In reading the bible today, I saw this in the reflection part. I hope it serves as a remembrance on how God should be present in every single moment of our life.

"For happy moments, praise God;
In difficult moments, seek God;
In quiet moments, worship God;
During painful moments, trust God;
And at every moment, thank God."

A Letter from God to the Broken-Hearted

Dear Child, 

You desperately want love. You think that if you could be loved, that horrible pain in your heart would go away. But you've got to remember that love is an action, not a gushy feeling. The love you really dream about is the love of movies--the kind that you only live with for two hours. But when you truly love someone, you give them the power to hurt you really badly. And more than likely they will use that power. But that doesn't mean you won't ever love again. It doesn't mean you were mistaken in your love or that love is a bad thing. It just means you now know the agony of love.

Love is the stuff that takes you to the cross. It's the stuff that cuts open your side, rips open your back, and nails you to a tree. Love isn't always the wonderful dream you imagine it is, but it is the fulfillment of my will. It is the greatest command: to love the Lord you God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength and to love your neighbor as yourself. This is why you crave it so much. And the movies are why when you have it, you doubt it-- because it's not all about feeling good.

When you desperately want love, when you want real love that will ease your heart, then the only place you can go to is me. The only arms that are big enough to wrap around you and heal you are mine. My love is the only love that won't ever hurt you. It is the only love that will never leave you, never forsake you. I never have anywhere else I have to go and I never have anything else I have to do. I am always with you and want nothing more than to share my love with you and take away the ache from your heart. Will you accept my love?

Love,

God

~ Taken from the book, 'The Dirt of Breaking Up' by Hayley DiMarco and Justin Lookadoo

To The God Who Keeps My Feet On The Ground

         

               It's the last few weeks of school, and its been really hectic.
              Yesterday, I had so much stuff to do in school and I was rushing everything, it almost drove me insane. But I'm not really a loud person, so only my inner self was feeling that near insanity. In the afternoon, I almost just wanted to lie on the floor and cry with all the pressure. It's just that some of my groupmates weren't exactly helpful with the activities we were supposed to pass as a group. I just really hate being a leader most of the time. And sometimes, I have the misfortune to be in the company of people who don't really care about deadlines. -.-
              But despite all these, I don't let the thought of God out of my head. I kept on asking Him to help me stay sane, and to work my through all these. I was so stressed, and I asked Him to strengthen me. 
               And most importantly, I didn't forget to thank Him for His goodness and blessings in my life despite my hectic day. And it did really help a lot. I just swallowed everything(even though I wanted to cry already) and did what I had to do. 
               When I left school, I agreed to meet with my good friend, James. He sent a group message that he was going to the mall, and right then and there I decided to go too, so I could just somehow unwind from everything. My trip to the mall helped me calm myself, and having snacks with James at McDo just really helped me.
                I was okay when I got home, where I made Maja Blanca with my mom.

"For better or for worse, God never leaves us. Remember the story of 'Footprints in the Sand'. He carries us in the most difficult times of our life. His love is the only love that remains constant, the love that will never leave us. "

Pray to Him. Thank Him. Don't ever forget to do those two things everyday.

To Love and Forgive your enemies. And Pray for them.

Mt 5:43-48 LOVE OF ENEMIES

“Jesus asks us to love our enemies, do good to them, avoid revenge, and not to think of retaliation. We open our hearts to understanding and forgiveness. We create all possibilities to foster friendship. Jesus also asks us to pray for our persecutors, to wish them good, to see goodness in them, and to think of their well-being.”

This is what the Gospel has taught me today.

                This lesson is one of the toughest things to learn. And to do! Forgiving enemies is difficult, but forgiving those who hurt you is even harder. Both of them make you angry and hurt, and those two feelings are really hard to remove. Bitterness starts with hurt, then will be transformed into anger, and somehow a desire for revenge will eventually emerge. With these people come fights, tears and a lot of hurt.

                Enemies meant in the gospel do not only refer to those people whom you fight with, but also to those people you really dislike and hate, and to those who have simply caused you pain. What they have done to you will pierce your heart, and you won’t forget it. When this happens, it almost seems impossible to think of forgiveness when you are deeply hurt.

                I’ve definitely been there. I’ve had my major experiences of being so hurt, I could drown in those feelings and I just wanted to escape everything. It took months and years for me to heal, and perhaps developed a tiny tiny bit of trauma, because I never want it to happen again.

                Since then, I try to so hard not to make enemies. But don’t get the wrong idea; I am not living to please people. I’ve always been quiet, trying to avoid being judgmental and I try to use positive criticism as much as possible. But I have to admit, I have really improved my life since my experience of having a really big fight with my friends. It taught me a lot.

                Another major experience I had of being so hurt was because of love. I was with this guy for a time, but we never had a relationship. It was just having something really special with him. And just so you know, I don’t have a boyfriend yet, since I don’t plan to have one until after college. But who can tell when love enters your life? One way or another, I have to experience it too, and perhaps be tested. Moving on, we were both really close, and I had fallen in love with him. But unfortunately, about the time I realized this, we were already drifting. Specifically, he was growing distant towards me. Since he was my first love, it was truly tough on me. I spent so many nights of wondering, confusion, sadness and tears over the entire situation. I mean, what’s a girl to do in dealing with these things when she’s so new to them? Well, eventually I knew that there was another girl in the picture. And it hurt, like my heart broke into a thousand pieces.

                In the long run, I just wanted honesty from him to tell me what happened. I could eventually accept that we could not be together, but I just wanted a formal ending to this, so I didn’t have to keep on guessing and assuming all the time. But he didn’t tell me anything, even until now. So I had no choice but to break away from it all. And modern times would see it as deleting him from my Facebook friends list, so I will not have any further contact with him.

                But again, today’s Gospel asks me to face him, who hurt me, and forgive him. Now, my feelings for that part of past has already faded. I have quite moved on. And miraculously, after reading today’s Gospel, I could already say to myself that I can completely forgive him! It made me feel so humble that I wanted to tell him right away what I was feeling. But of course, we had no communication for months, so oh well. Still, I was caught up in that feeling of forgiveness. All at once I wanted to tell him that I was sorry, somehow, for not trying to understand, and for all the things I have done wrong in my part. I also wanted to tell him that I forgive him, and that I am sincerely happy for him. I wanted to tell him that I hoped we could be friends again. I want to tell all that I realized.

                Once again, I have freed myself. By forgiving, my heart is somehow whole again. And I know in my heart, that God has also forgiven me.

                The Gospel teaches us to forgive. Because just as the Father has forgiven us all, no matter how sinful they have been, so we should also forgive each other.

                Reality check. Forgiving is really difficult. The pain does not allow you to forgive as long as it’s there. The more you hurt, the your anger and desire for revenge will grow. But take hope! In these times, cling to God and ask Him to be with you and to heal you. He will not refuse a humble heart who asks him. I do know that it will take a lot of time to heal, but as much as possible do not fuel your anger and revenge. Allow the pain to flow, as it is natural. Cry it out, because it is a way of cleansing the pain. Do not lose contact with God. He will be with you through it all.

                Remember that once you forgive, a part of you will be set free.

                This lesson is really valuable, and must be learned all over again because it is really one hard thing to do!

                 I myself am still trying to get over another guy I like. We established a friendship over a period of time. But when he asked me out on Valentines Day and he kept on cancelling several times, I sort of got enough of it and did not reply to his text. Ever since that, he never made contact with me again. And my friends have been telling he seems to be courting another girl all along. Okay. Ouch.

                But I am still praying despite all these. Because He will always be there for me.

                I’m quite over it now, but with some like and hurt feelings still there.

                Next tough lesson: Pray for those who persecute you. Pray for their good and well-being.

                And I’m doing that myself.