January 2016 Reflection

“God put our bodies together in such a way that even the parts that seem the least important are valuable.”
1 Corinthians 12:24

 

 

As long as I can, I’ve always tried to be active in my Light Group (LG.) An LG is a sharing group where there’s a facilitator and there are members. In an LG you share your problems, your concerns, your prayers, your issues, and the group prays with you and helps you on your journey in getting to know God. It blesses so many people all at once and has made a big impact to me ever since I joined one. So, I really loved going to my Light Group, because there I felt safe to share my worries. In my Light Group I felt like I had my friends with me to back me up especially when my faith wavered.

But one Saturday, something didn’t quite go as planned. It was raining really badly. My Light Group usually meets up at Festival Mall in Alabang and I come all the way from Parañaque. It takes two jeepney rides for us just to get to Alabang. I remember that at that time, I was still planning to go. I didn’t mind the rain. But unfortunately, my dad stayed in that day. He convinced me to just stay in the house since the rain might make me weak because I might catch a cold. I was a little mad and stubborn at first because I’ve been waiting to get to my LG all week. But eventually, although disappointed, I stayed inside.

During the evening, since I was still waiting for dinner to be cooked, I turned on our WiFi and logged into my Facebook account. I didn’t expect much until suddenly my friend Amy messaged me via chat. Amy you see, is a busy college girl. Earlier that day I saw one of her posts telling people not to bother her since she was dealing with her finals. So her messaging me was a surprise.

Her first words were “Fudge, I’m breaking up with my boyfriend.”

Seeing this, I took a deep breath then typed “Why? What happened?”

She told me the whole story and I found out that she’d been depressed for months again. She told me about her issues with her boyfriend and how she feels lost just thinking that she’ll lose him.

When she relayed to me the story, I could feel her sadness through the phone.  I could feel the desperation between the spaces of her words. I could feel every bit of her panic and her anxiety. I could feel everything.

“Fudge. I don’t know what to do.”

And this was when it hit me. I didn’t know what to do either.

I took another deep breath. But this time I prayed. I asked the Lord to grant me His words and His power. I needed His help.

And then He did give me His words. I managed to calm Amy down. I told her that couples aren’t supposed to be identical, but complementary. I told her about how he and she aren’t perfect, but that’s the point. You fail, you learn, and you grow.

I talked to her for the next hour and then even got her laughing. I could feel in her words that she was no longer sad. And then suddenly I realized something. I wouldn’t have done this if I attended my Light Group. When I get home from my LG, I usually end up crashing on my bed since the commute hours already tire me.

If I went to my LG that day, I would have missed Amy’s message. If I attended my Light Group that day, I wouldn’t have helped her. She would’ve done something else, something worse, something different. She would have faced her issues alone.

So I actually told her, “I think God really planned this conversation. If it hadn’t rained today I wouldn’t be talking to you right now.”

And we were just both amazed at how perfect the timing was. We prayed for each other that night. And I knew that God was behind it all. What we think as insignificant can be the biggest piece of the puzzle sometimes.

All we know is that God will surprise us, always.

Everything works according to His plan. And we don’t have to worry about anything.