It is always said: “Let go of the past and move on.” I will never forget my past. My past is a testimony of God’s faithfulness, generosity and love.
I grew up in an imperfect family. My Mom had to work overseas to provide a promising future for us, as she had the opportunity to do it. My Dad had to stay with us kids to take care of us. As the years went by, our family started to lose sight of that promising future which we hoped for. My dad became enslaved by drugs. My Mom had to endure the pains of being away from her family, most especially from her husband who she should be supporting and walking hand in hand with in those difficult times, in hopes of still providing that promising future for our family. This was our situation and our struggle for 21 years and that was my life before Singles for Christ.
I must have lived in fear, uncertainty, mistrust, and hopelessness with that kind of life our family had. In some degree, yes. But really, looking back and remembering it all, there is only one thing that remained true: the faithfulness of our Lord. He has always been the generous, caring and loving Father that He is. He has become my Provider.
Finance was always a struggle especially having a family member addicted to drugs. There will be times we won’t have decent food to eat at the table. There will be times we would have to talk to the Principal and hand in a promissory letter so that we can take our periodical exams just because the money that is supposedly for our tuition fee was used for something else. My Mom sacrificed a lot and worked hard to provide for us but still we found ourselves struggling.
We struggled, yes. But God continuously and faithfully provided for us. He blessed us with loving, understanding and generous “Inay” (my grandmother) and my uncles and aunts who have helped us in those challenging times. We never starved. We had good education.
Growing up to be a good person and a God-fearing Christian must be impossible in my family setting. Again, it was a struggle. But I realized, it was not impossible. I would have been a school dropout or another drug addict as an influence from the family I grew up with but the Lord in his faithfulness and love never let that happen.
The Lord has blessed us by helping our parents provide us a very good Catholic Education. From kindergarten to finishing university studies, I have attended Catholic Schools: Our Lady of Caysasay Academy and University of Santo Tomas. I grew up in prayers, obedience, faith, and most especially service. The Lord provided for me an avenue to enhance the talents that He has given me and at the same time share them to others. It was at school that I have honed my passion for Music by serving in the choir. It was at school that I have learned to continue to respect and obey my parents even when it is difficult. It was at school that I have learned to fervently pray for our family. It was at school where I grew in reliance to our Mother: The Immaculate Conception, Our Lady of Caysasay, Our Mother of Perpetual Help, and the Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary.
The Lord has also blessed us with persons who are strong in their faith and are genuine in their love and care. Out of the many people who were i
nstruments of God’s love was my Inay. Being a widow left with the care of her 6 young kids, she endured and remained faithful to the Lord. Having a son who is addicted to drugs and having grand kids greatly affected by the unfortunate family situation, she remained a strong foundation where we took refuge. Her relentless prayers, scripture reading, attendance of mass, and service had led us closer to Christ. I would not have known Christ if not for my Inay.
These are just a few of the many instances when the Lord has shown his faithfulness, generosity and love to me. He has been faithful in so many ways or I should say faithful in every way. He has healed my dad. He has brought our family together. He has brought me to where I am now. He has brought me joy like I never felt joy before when Jesus offered and initiated that personal relationship with me.
Now the question is: “What else should I be fearful about? Have I not truly seen yet what the Lord has done for me? When will I fully trust in the Lord?” This will be my journey. This will be my discernment as I walk with him in pursuit and discovery of my vocation and the fullness of mission.
Lord let this be my song:
Ever faithful
Lord of Lords
Your promise never fails
And Your word never fadesIn your splendor, You chose to give Your all
Paid for my sins, died to save my soul
Your undying love for me Lord, now fills my life
You’re all I’m living for and all that I long for
I’ll sing to you this song and worship You
Give you all my praise till the end of my days
These hands I’ll raise, as I surrender all for You Oh Lord will forever be my God
When thunders roar and oceans rise
I won’t be moved
And won’t be shaken
For I know and I am certain
That You my God will be there
I’ll sing to you this song and worship you
Give you all my praise till the end of my days
These hands I’ll raise, as I surrender all for You Oh Lord will forever be my God
I will let go of the past but will never forget of the Lord’s faithfulness and great love. I will move on, more so, move forward trusting in his faithfulness and firmly holding on to the truth that the Lord will be with me wherever I go.
To the mission, here we go! Amen.
In Christ,
Aldin Francis
