I LOVE YOU

i was told recently that there was a man who was fighting for his life, while he had his last gasps, he uttered to do's to his officemate who was around with him when he had an attack, saying: please say "i love you" to... mom, please say "i love you" to... my nieces and nephews, and so on and forth. he started his sentences with nothing else but - please say "i love you" to..

i was struck by the story. i cannot imagine how hard it is to face death when you are at the prime of your life; all the more it is difficult to embrace death when you wanted to say a lot of things to the loved ones you will be leaving behind. i am pretty confident that the one who passed away could have died happier if he had that chance to tell the "i love you's" to his loved ones personally. he might have wanted to ask even for an hour to bid them a loving goodbye.

"i love you", a cliche-sounding phrase, we usually hear around but not often uttered by us.
i for one am not so used to say this to my immediate family.
my fear now is - i might die without saying this to them, i hope my actions suffice what i feel for them.
but i believe that saying "i love you" is not enough nor mere acts of love without affirmation through words are also not enough.
love is powerful when it is expressed through words coupled with actions.
we live to love; it is through love that we live.
i hope we will not wait for death to have the courage to express our "i love you's"
i pray that we will be more loving to everyone around, especially to those who are difficult to love.
may our love for ourselves and for others inspire us to live fully.
i love you, yes, i love you!

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Dear SSEAYP

Dear SSEAYP,

i should not be wondering anymore why is it that i cannot stop smiling whenever people ask me of you, or whenever i share to others about you. you have brought so much bliss to my life. you have been instrumental in molding me to become a lot better citizen of this world. you have given me venues to be friends with youths of Japan and ASEAN countries.

as i recall my journey in realizing my SSEAYP dream, i feel that i deserve a tap on the shoulder. i cannot imagine how rigorous the process was. everything related to you has its own beauty to reveal. the journey was never a walk in the park for there were times that i felt pain, i got frustrated and i even had thoughts on giving up. i have to thank the people who have pushed me to where i really want to be; i am aware that not everyone is as fortunate as i am to have the strongest support system there could be.

we always have to be tougher than our dreams and though you are tough to reach, i equipped myself to be a little tougher that you! you might have felt how hard i tried, true enough, you gave in and conspire with the whole universe to enable me to embrace you.

SSEAYP, you were a dream come true! when i came across

you, you were so distant then. i am very happy to note that i had you and i will forever have you! the friends and families you introduced to me were amazing! even if we speak in different languages, we can surprisingly understand and relate to each other. we have developed a special bond that will bind us for a lifetime. i am deeply overwhelmed by the love and warmth we share, it has crushed any differences we have. it also proved that bonds need not be formed in years for just in days, i have felt that our lives have been intertwined :)

SSEAYP, even if i try to put millions of words together, i cannot capture what i truly feel for you.

some people think i am crazy to talk about you over and over again, but i usually tell them that they will never understand and they will never have any clue why i act this way until they experience YOU! :)

some others tell me to move on, but that is just so silly. how can i move on from an experience that will forever be part of me? should i decide to move on, it is a step forward to greater feats, and it is definitely with you- my dear SSEAYP, in my heart:)

i am a PY, and forever i will be a PY! :))

PPY malou

P-56

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How far can your faith push you?

I cannot remember when I learned to pray, all I can remember is – it was my parents who taught me how.
I can remember though that once I doubted God and why I did such.

When I was still a child, my parents would bring us all together in their room for a family prayer. We also said the rosary every night. On the days when papa cannot come home or when he will arrive late, mama leads it. My family seems to be perfect, but like any other family there is – we are not.

A couple of times I and my siblings engaged into a fistfight or I even experienced being bitten by my younger brother and kicked by my older brother – yes, we beat and bit. We also say really bad things to each other. There was even a point when I wished I am just the only child. Of course, when my parents knew about the crazy things we do while they were out for work, they will reprimand us or hit us out of dismay.

We are a simple family. We may not be rich then but my parents took time to bring us out for lunch to Jollibee or McDonalds every Sunday. I thought it was an effort on their part to bring their five children out every week. Years passed, we went to school, had more needs to meet and had a lot of preoccupations to attend to. We may not have forgotten the usual family activities we used to do – the family prayer and the Sunday lunch, but we hardly had time for it.

Things changed. We still have misunderstandings but never translated to violent actions. Well, I must admit that the exchange of words against each other are more piercing and have more lasting impact. Now, I wish those exchanges were turned into fistfights. We still pray and attend mass, but this time – on our own.

My childhood influenced me much. Our upbringing shaped my actions and perspective in life. Of all the things that our parents have provided and imparted to us, I believe that it is their faith in God that has the most impact to me. In times when life gets tougher, it is my faith that pushes me to live life to its fullest with much optimism for brighter days, not having to worry because I know that no problem is greater than my God.

Just recently, problems came rushing, truly overwhelming. It brought much tears to my parents. My father who rarely cries did cry like a little boy. My mother breaks down into tears if you just utter few words that would touch the problems at hand. For someone who has a meager income and is still finding her niche, it is difficult to give words of assurance and comfort by telling them that I will pay the debts and take care of the property foreclosures.

In times like this, it is only my firm faith that I can concretely share to give them solace with what we are facing. I shared to my father that the best days are yet to come. I reminded him of what they taught us - to just pray, may it be during ups or downs. And I have emphasized to him that when they pray, they should not at all doubt that God will listen to their pleas. We surely cannot underestimate what God can do.

I have been through a lot and I have surpassed those, not because of my human prowess but all because of God’s graciousness. Everyday, the Father gives us miracles; we just have to allow our eyes to see it and our hearts to embrace it. Some miracles are too great yet some can be mundane.

One time, a non-believer asked me if there is really God and with strong conviction I told him that there is. I have felt God’s presence in my life - which is too difficult for me to describe; I will be too naïve to doubt about His existence. I have never doubted and He has always delivered.

How I wish I can put the right words together to fully express what I feel. I am blessed to have a family that helped me find this kind of faith and I am very happy to have circles that help me nurture it. My faith inspires me to seek the beauty of every encounter, to appreciate the littlest of things and to give premium to my relationships with others.

Difficulties make the present and future vague and difficult to bear, but we always have to be reminded that God will help us pull things through. If it is not as soon as today, it can be later, but never late to the time we really need it. We have to believe and we have to let go of our grip of other things; we have to empty our hands to keep hold of what He will pour on us.

Yes, there is so much to look forward to for the bounty blessings will soon come!:)

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