God's Perfect Time... a simple sharing

When I was a child, I always thought that our family set up was just one of the typical and normal Filipino families. Coming from a poor one (..i mean financially poor..), my dad was always out working - too much - that most of the time he would stay at work till everything’s done. He would come home four times a month… twice a month… once a month... every other month... and so on. So Dad was always MIA (missing in action) on special family occasions and even during school events. Funny, but it came to a point that he didn’t even remember our birthdays, grade level and even our ages. So it was always Mama struggling between being both mother and father to us. I grew up having Mama and Kuya as my family. We were so close. Mama knows us so well - our moods, our likes and dislikes, our desires, our weaknesses, and flaws, even our personal secrets. She's also our best friend. We always thought that was how our family should be. I thought everything was just fine and we were a happy family. We were at that time, but we could've been much happier if we were all together as one. Mama has always been a great mother to us. She tried to fill the empty space in our hearts but something was still missing in our lives. There was always a need for us to know our father.

When I joined one renewal community in our church, I started to ask God to heal the brokenness of my family. I remembered how I always invited them to attend a marriage encounter seminar to renew their vows and work as a couple. And they did. They attended and tried... but it failed. When I joined YFC, I asked them again to attend the CLP. Again they did. They tried and again it failed. We (my Kuya and I) continuously asked God to bless our family, heal our broken relationship and heal the wounds of the past. It came to a point that I questioned God why He would reject such a prayer from a faithful daughter. I just want them to feel the same love and experience of God as I did. After a while, I gave up and stopped, and went on as a YFC member but still holding on to my prayer.

But God is a great God and He is full of surprises. After a long period of waiting, Mama joined Handmaids of the Lord (..how?.. well that’s another story..), then my brother joined SFC (.. again , that's another story..). I was filled with so much joy and I thought that was it. I could not ask for more, so I already said my “thank you’s” to God. But then I found out that when the human mind and understanding thinks that it’s all over, God brings another joy to prove His greatness. Dad recently joined Servants of the Lord in FFL (.. again how? That’s another miracle in our family..). I have never imagined him joining the renewal community and making the decision all by himself. After a long period of waiting, God finally touched Dad’s heart. I know that God has a better plan for my family, and for my parents far beyond my own desires. He planned to heal them individually and hopefully, my parents would soon be renewed as a couple.

A week before the Missionary Night (February 29, 2008-Ed) I was a bit anxious. I kept thinking who between my parents would go with me. I thought it would be very nice to see both of them with my Kuya, attending as a family. But then Mama could not manage long walks and my Kuya just started on a new job, so I decided not to go and just let it pass like an ordinary day. I was surprised to receive a text message from my Dad on the 26th of February, asking me about our plans for the Missionary Night. I told him about our situation, and to my surprise, he volunteered to go with me. Of course I immediately said, “Yes!”. It was the first time for me to be accompanied by my Dad to an event, and I felt so happy and blessed. So we went and I gave him my letter. It was the first time I mentioned to him about how I felt as a growing child and it was also the first time I heard him speak about his own feelings as a father to us. I saw him cry, saying “sorry” for the days he wasn't there for us as a father. Then we both prayed for our family. But that’s not the end of it. Two days after that (Sunday morning) I heard Mama and Dad talking to each other, and I decided to talk to my Kuya as well. I told him what Dad told me during the Missionary Night, the same day I also wrote Mama a letter. We then all ate lunch together like a normal happy family.

Today, we still face problems and trials but in a different way. We face it as a family ... Mama, Dad, Kuya and me. We may still have individual differences, but we continue to pray to God to heal our brokenness and unite us as one family in Christ.

By the way, Dad is courting Mama again. Please help me pray for them that soon they'll join CFC-FFL as a couple.

May God be Praised!

By: tin (Christine Veneraya, SFL)