“We are given the complete freedom by God that we tend to forget the responsibilities attached on it and oftentimes going beyond the limits of our boundaries…”
If many things in life cannot be explained, it’s also tantamount to say that there are many things that can be explained especially any number of circumstances under our control.
Like any other young men and women, I am one of those who have so many “Why?” questions. I always wonder “Why did it happen?” I grew up from a place we called a “barrio”. Life was so simple by then. At the moment I graduated my baccalaureate degree, I luckily landed on a job in the city. Having been working alone and far from my family, my life was exhausting yet rewarding. I underwent so many challenges that test my character. It is a fact that the young today are prone to temptations. Sometimes, it cannot be denied that the person whom you considered as your friend can also be the very person who can make you life miserable. I would say that life in the city is entirely different from the life in the barrio I have been longing for. Mostly, I felt that everything seems to be too complex to understand. I struggled not only to the lifestyle but also to myself as to go with them or not.
Not until I was invited by someone from Couples For Christ to attend the Christian Life Program (CLP) for all interested singles to become a member of the Singles For Christ (SFC). Of the twelve talks or lectures I had attended, Talk 9, is the most memorable one. We confessed our sins to the priest beforehand. I actually cannot fully describe that feeling. My pasts kept flashing on my mind and so with the pains I experienced made me cry so hard. After an hour of reflecting, I felt God’s presence through the Holy Spirit. I felt so light. When I was asked to give a testimony, I said “I am Nino, a name which means “child”. A child who was once lost but now found…”
For me, since that day was my birthday that was the greatest gift I ever had in my life. He has given me more than what I expect for. I received a priceless gift I would treasure forever. During the Dedication Rites, I was able to express my heartfelt gratitude to God Almighty through a letter…
May 3, 2008
Dearest God,
For quite long years, you have been so generous to me throughout my life. You have entrusted me with the gift of life. You have endowed me great talents and skills. You have blessed me with the abundance of love and care through my family and friends.
With the insurmountable problems I met on my way, I became so weak and enslaved by sins. Oftentimes, I doubted your mercy and power over the dilemmas I encountered. But still, you did not forsake me because you knew that deep inside me, I struggled to fight evil. And you learned that I have even a little courage to face my fear of renewal.
Thank you for your instrument of peace, to the Singles For Christ. You helped me look for the answer in my search for inner peace. Truly, you taught me to do better things today for me to be the best person in the future.
You said that everything on earth has its own time and season. Now is the time that I am awakened from a deep sleep of my faith to you. This is the season of diversion from evil to goodness. This is a perfect time to bury the mistakes of the past, to cultivate my broken relationship at present, and to persevere up to the harvest time of the gift of eternal life.
I know that to follow your path is not easy. Within my journey, it is essential for me to change for the better. As I embraced the call for transformation, I came to realize that change per se is not the key in my pursuit to happiness; it is a basic necessity to unlock myself from being slave of evil. To effect a change in me does not happen in just a blink of an eye but rather it requires patience and strong will every now and then to persevere until the end. I need to be faithful and to be righteous at all times. I have to see life in a positive way and to live with it to the fullest.
I believe that man by nature is good. Thus, I commit myself towards constant renewal, to live up the truest essence of a Christ-centered life, to serve as the salt to those who perceive life as bitter, to be the light to those who are trapped in darkness, and to be a person with great contributions to society worthy of emulations.
At last, I am now free! Set free me from nonsense worries and materialistic world. I have now the freedom to do good things daily. It is with my fervent hope, which you may always guide and live with me in my quest. I surrender everything in your name.
Since I have found a new home, a new family, the Singles For Christ, I have nothing to ask anymore. Since I was born with your will, I will also die in my service with YOU. Amen.
Your son,
Nino S. Ruiz
SFC, Batch 160
From that day on, my life's perception changed. I remember a saying that says “Evil will only triumph if good men will do nothing.”
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