Faith in numbers

I think it's unfair to God if our faith falters with just one or two trials, after He's showered us with blessings that we've taken for granted -- to a point where they're impossible to count

Xavier School Nuvali chapel

I am unable to go into details for personal reasons, but the past week has been one of hardest we've encountered as a married couple of more than one year. I was feeling unwell, and my husband had a major overhaul at work. We are quite young for a married couple, and I know life's just getting started.

Calming effect of His presence

“He comes in last minute with the best solution you could have never thought possible.”

We are certainly not devout Catholics, unfortunately. Our mass attendance is not the best either. We do pray quietly, so please don't get us wrong. Last Saturday afternoon, we went to Xavier School Nuvali to attend the once-a-weekend mass for Nuvali residents and students.

The chapel was indeed clean, modern and serene. But it was not the interiors that made me calm down. It was God's message through the Homily of the old, sweet priest who celebrated the mass that afternoon. I felt like he was speaking to me and my husband. All he ever talked about was the highs and lows of our faith.

He said that when things are going great, we normally praise God and remain positive. We infect others with joy and happiness. When things are the total opposite, we feel abandoned and forget about how life can be happy again.

Friday morning was depressing enough. But as I sat on our bed waiting for my husband to come home, I realized how much He still loves us. If He has truly abandoned us, I wouldn't have the means to write this, eat well, or even get better. We would be stripped naked of our belongings and wander into the streets of Laguna, hehe. But no. He never allowed that to happen in my 28 years of existence. Whenever we are at the brink of a great trouble, He would swoop in like how Superman flies in to save the residents of Metropolis. He prevails. He comes in last minute with the best solution you could have never thought possible. I cried hard, thanking God for everything we still have, at the same time feeling ashamed of how I took for granted the simple joys He gave us.

Husband and I were walking towards the parking lot after the mass. I told him, "You know what, for the past months all of my prayers were composed of thanksgiving -- thanks for the house, thanks for the car, thanks for the job, thanks for the peace, thanks for the safety of our families. Today, my prayers are full of asking for aid. And whenever we ask, we always receive."

If you are also experiencing challenges today, know that no matter how cliche it may seem, He never gives us problems we cannot solve. Hold your head high and your faith strong, even when you are at your lowest, because He can save you any minute from now.

I am not just hoping He will do the same this time. I KNOW and I BELIEVE He will. Just as He always does.

This is not wishful thinking, this is faith.