to break faith with You is to be no one.

begin reading this with a prayer that Dad’s biopsy results, due this evening, will show promise J

*********

I met a former client yesterday afternoon at the office. He was smiling and seemed genuinely delighted to see me, and I offered my assistance in facilitating his request which had to be relayed to the other branch. I invited him over for a chat, since I’ve known him and his wife for quite some time now, sharing personal stories while helping them manage their accounts. They’re in their late fifties and call each other “Ga” (short for pangga or "darling"), being the sweet Ilonggos that they are.

He fell ill a few years back and was found to have a large tumor growing in his brain. I remember his wife taking out a loan to shoulder the cost, and leaving her job as a school director to minimize stress-inducing situations. They visited me when he recovered, telling me the amusing story of him being operated on fully awake, and finding a sense of inner peace after being given a second chance at life. The last time I talked to them, they were even volunteering to help me find work in Australia should my plans to settle down and raise a family there push through J

He asked how I was, and I told him a bit of everything, mostly about my dad’s condition. From his experience with battling cancer, he assured me that we’ll live through this with God’s grace. I told him I’ve banished doubt in divine providence, knowing that everything does happen for a reason, and that faith has kept me going in recent months, because, honestly,

the reasons do come sprouting from nowhere, with my mind nodding, “ah, kaya pala.” J

His eyes suddenly welled up and told me God sees the good things that we do, and that I should never stop caring for my family. He wrote my dad’s name in his little notebook and promised to offer intentions in his community prayer.

Grace is the instrument that realizes hope.