Author: Robeson Arlegue

“It would be a complete waste if I don’t use my blessings wisely”

Not even 10 minutes ago, I blurted out this statement…. but probably not in a way that you would expect. Haha.

To give a little more background, I’m a gamer. I enjoy playing games. Video games, card games, board games, you name it!

Much like any recreational hobby, it doesn’t serve much purpose other than self enjoyment, and amusement.

I had just realized that it’s amazing how the Lord can still use these things to communicate with us, and to help us realize His love for us!

So earlier, I was playing on my iPad. The game I was playing was Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft. It’s a digital collectible card game. (as a card game and video game enthusiast, this is a terrible weakness for me. Haha)

While in a match, I had the option of playing cards that would give me an advantage early on, but would be best used later on where they would be more effective.

*I had 2 of these cards in my hand*

Rather than using the cards, I simply said “It would be a complete waste if I don’t use my blessings wisely”

Mind = blown

Immediately, I conceded the match, turned off my iPad, and decided to write this reflection.

Truly, God is trying His best to reach out to all of us in any way possible. He leaves hints here and there, and sometimes we fail to see it in the busyness of our lives. But when we finally realize it, there’s just those moments where you just want to drop everything you have, and just be in awe of His love, and to share it with others.

We are so blessed, and the Lord still continues to bless us!

I encourage you all to really embrace these blessings, because they are a gift from our loving God! Use them wisely, and don’t let them go to waste!

 

 

 

 

Literally.

CFC-Youth Winnipeg had a Cluster Collective where a lot of the changes were introduced. The biggest thing being the establishment of a new chapter. Praise God for the growth of our community here in Winnipeg!

It was really great to see not only the growth of our community, but the leaders who have really stepped up to take on their new roles.

It’s just amazing to see God work through each person to make incredible things happen. We have a new set of Couple Coordinators who are really giving their time and support for the youth. Even my sister who started here in CFC-Youth Winnipeg, is now a Couple Coordinator!

There is so much to look forward to this year! The future is filled with so much hope! I am truly blessed to be a witness of His love!

These are definitely exciting times!

 

Now before I begin, I want to make it clear that I don’t believe in the actual fortunes of fortune cookies. Haha.

There was one time after having dinner, Me and my family had received some fortune cookies. Just harmless fun in seeing how wild these little pieces of paper can be.

When I had read my “fortune” it said “You are admired for your great organizational skills”

I laughed.

I showed my sister the fortune, and she laughed as well, saying “Yeah that’s definitely not you”

To give a little background on me, you could say that I’m not the greatest when it comes to being organized. I keep most things a mess, and I’m usually okay with that. I lose things often, and I often overlook the small details. On my hard drive I actually have an “unsorted” folder INSIDE of my unsorted folder.

Actually, in 6th Grade my nickname was “The Volcano.” You would never know when my desk would erupt. All my papers and school supplies would fall to the ground, because I would just pile it on my desk like a mountain.

Looking at the “fortune” again, I started to wonder.

…Why?

Why do I laugh at the fact that I’m not really an organized person?
Why do I accept that being organized is a trait that I can’t have?
Why do I let my weaknesses continue to consume me?

A lot of us fall into the same thing. We begin to rationalize our mistakes, weaknesses, and even sins.

“I’m only human.” “I’m not perfect”

While it’s true that sometimes we make mistakes, there are a lot of times where we choose not to learn from them. To make excuses for them. Instead of lifting it up to God and really surrendering it to Him, we just rationalize them.

A lot of us have been comfortable where we are, and even who we think we are. But sometimes, we need to realize that God is calling us to do more, to be more, and to especially love more.

Of course, we always want to give our best to the Lord. But we need to remember that He wants ALL of us. Weaknesses included.

 

What an amazing Journey it has been so far.

It has definitely been a time to really reflect upon all the memories, blessings, and trials that I have experienced through the years.

CFC-Youth Canada, 20 Years. CFC-Youth Winnipeg, 18 years. My own journey in this community, 13 years.

It’s unbelievable! Crazy even! To see how God continues to shower His love upon all of us each and every day of our lives.

I was blessed with the opportunity to give a talk for our Regional Leaders Retreat “A Time to Build” and truly it was such a humbling experience.

I had an idea of the direction that I wanted to take the talk. From the screenings, to practicing, and going over my notes over and over again. It’s not like I haven’t done a talk before.  But man…… THIS VIDEO.

Praise God for CFC-Youth Regina for showing me this video, and of course CFC-Youth Northern Virginia for creating it!

Lights were closed. Everyone focused on the screen. Speakers blasting. The atmosphere was very intense.

Watching the video, right before the beginning of the talk… I began to read the cards in my mind. I was really immersed into the video, thinking about the many times when I struggled and the mindset that had really affected me before.

Suddenly, I began to tear.

When the video started to reverse… it hit me extremely hard. One, because it has been difficult for me to accept the Love that He continues to give me. Two, because I began to realize the beauty of it all, in how even through the weaknesses that I have, He is always there.

All composition was lost. I was balling my eyes out, trying to get myself back on track. 40 people or so looking at me probably wondering “What happened?” At the time, I was probably wondering the same thing.

There was just so much beauty that weekend. Seeing all the new leaders and how their journey is beginning to unfold. Looking back at my own journey, I can’t help but feel extremely excited for my brothers and sisters, and for them to really experience the Lord through each other, and this community.

I’m happy to say that I am CFC-Youth. (even though I’m in SFC now, heh)

Lately I’ve been blessed with the opportunity to attend daily mass. I’ve been longing for a more intimate prayer time, which is something that has been a bit of a struggle for me. These days I have a lot of free time because I’m finished my schooling, and currently looking for a job.

For the past few weeks, I would structure my day usually on how busy I am with meetings or events. Without school or work, my days have been pretty open, with plenty of free time to spend. The evenings are usually a bit busier with planning meetings, or CFC-Youth events.

If I had a meeting or event in the evening, I would go to daily mass during the day, here at St. Mary’s Cathedral in downtown Winnipeg. It’s approximately a 30 minute bus ride, and costs me $5.10 to go to mass, and back home. From time to time there are also some familiar faces from the community who attend mass, which is really great to see as well.

If there are no meetings, or events happening in the evening, I go to daily mass at my home parish St. Peter’s at 7pm. I usually have access to a vehicle or a ride in the evening, so I don’t need to pay for bus fare. Being my home parish, I really enjoy seeing the parishioners there because there are familiar faces that I see every Sunday.

I realize how much of a blessing it is to be able to have enough time to attend daily mass. Slowly my funds are being diminished by bus fare prices and the lack of any income at all, but Praise God, I’ve been able to keep up, and my parent’s continue to support me. I am so grateful for even getting some help with extra bus tickets, and free rides from my brothers in the community.

My parent’s started wondering why I was going to church so much. I didn’t have any specific intentions for attending daily mass, except for maybe just wanting to meet Christ, to be closer to Him, to pray more, and to grow in my spiritual journey. I simply wanted to be with Him more.

There was one time that really stuck out for me. It was the evening, and I had no plans, so I wanted to go to mass at St. Peters. I had asked my dad if he was planning on going anywhere that evening. He was planning on going to my sister’s house to help out with her deck, so I asked if he could just drop me off to mass. My dad’s plans weren’t completely set in stone, so he actually attended the mass with me!

I’m not sure what it was exactly, but just having the presence of my dad there with me at daily mass…. it was amazing. Truly a blessing from God. I just felt complete joy in spending time with my dad with the Lord. It was the first time we’ve attended mass together outside of the Sunday masses.

Families are such a beautiful thing, and it is so evident through our community of Couples for Christ and it’s family ministries. How amazing it is to see the vision of “Families in the Holy Spirit, Renewing the face of the Earth” unfold in our lives. I truly Praise God for my parents. Without their support, and most especially their guidance thoughout my life, I don’t know where I would be right now.

Things just feel so much better together!

Lord, Thank You for offering Yourself to us every single day. Let us truly see Your blessings in one another, and especially our families. We know that You have a great plan for our families, and that we are so blessed to have them in our lives. We pray that we can recognize these moments, and the blessings that You continue to give us, and to constantly show Your love each and everyday. Amen.

The weekend was nearing it’s end, and it was almost time to leave our mission trip visiting Saskatoon’s (and Saskatchewan’s) first ever Discovery Camp. We knew that we had to get back on the road soon, so that we would be able to attend mass as soon as we got back to Winnipeg. So of course, to wrap up our trip, we needed to have a group picture with Saskatoon and Regina. I started to count down yelling: “Three, Two, One….” *SNAP* and as soon as the picture had taken, a brother from Saskatoon yelled out “Hey! You can talk!” and everyone burst out in laughter. I giggled myself, because I thought it was pretty funny.

While trying to process what I had learned from the mission trip, that one line stuck out like a sore thumb. It was a very simple message, but I guess you could say it truly spoke to me. Haha.

For those of you who know me, I’m not a very talkative person. I’m extremely quiet, and very shy. It has always stuck to me wherever I went. Whether it was during school, or at my work, or just wherever I am, I’m usually a very quiet person. I would only talk if I really needed to. A lot of the times, it would surprise people when I do start talking.

I can remember even at school when I had to do a presentation in front of my class, afterwards, my classmates would be surprised that I can talk like that considering my quiet nature. The same would happen during talks I give, when I tell people that I’m a really shy and quiet person. Especially when talking in front of a lot of people who don’t know me, they probably wouldn’t be able to guess that I’m a quiet person by how I present myself when I speak.

So thinking about that one message “Hey! You can talk!” I thought to myself…. “Hey… I CAN Talk!” And what a huge blessing that is. I started to realize that it’s such a blessing to be able to speak. Especially as youth today, we want to be in constant communication with those around us. Everyone in some way wants to be heard.

I began to see the many opportunities that I miss because I chose not to talk. I realized that my ability to talk to others is a gift that I haven’t used enough. There are people out there that don’t even have the ability to speak. God continues to give us these messages, and these experiences not so we can keep it to ourselves. We are called to share His blessings with one another.

“… And how can they hear if the message is not proclaimed?” -Romans 10:14

This is my favourite bible verse and it really speaks volumes. Short, Sweet, and Simple.

I know that it will be tough for me to exercise my gift of talking, but I also know that the Lord has blessed me with so much, that I can’t keep it to myself. I really hope that we can all continue to share about the blessings that we have received with one another, and to not forget about the simple blessings that He has given to us.

Thank you to Saskatoon and Regina! You guys are doing amazing things, and your hospitality was greatly appreciated! You have all inspired us to keep the fire burning in our hearts. I am so happy and blessed to have been able to take part in your Discovery Camp!

And with that, may God be praised!

 

It’s truly amazing how God works in his perfect timing. Not only that but His love and mercy is so overwhelming that a lot of the times I feel unworthy of His blessings.

Recently, I’ve been brought to a situation that sounds all too familiar, so let’s start with what happened before.

It was year 2008 and I was a Household head for the North Chapter here in the Big Sky Region, Winnipeg. I was growing very quickly in my service, and I kept wanting to do more. As a household head, I had a strong passion serving for my chapter. I can even remember spending well over $100 in preparation for a Regional Youth Conference. (yikes!)

I was well invested into the chapter, so it came pretty hard on me when I found out that not only was my chapter heads moving on from their service, but I myself was moved into a different program. In a moment of selfishness, I made it more about the service of my God rather than the God of my service. For a good while I was a bit bitter of the circumstances but I knew that regardless of the situation, I still wanted to serve.

After about 2 years of growing spiritually and in my maturity, I was given an opportunity of a lifetime. The exact thing that I was hoping for, a second chance. I was asked to serve as the North Chapter head. At that point in my life I had already accepted where I was asked to serve, and I knew that regardless of what role I held, all I wanted to do is to let others feel the same blessings that I have. I had even tried to compose myself by not giving an immediate yes to the service, when in my heart I already knew this was something I really wanted.

So what happened with the second chance that was given to me?

Well, long story short… I kinda messed up.

I had good intentions, and a strong passion to serve. I thought everything was perfect, that everything completely fell into place, and in the right timing. It might have been the case, but with that I let my guard down. They say that the closer you get to God, the more the devil will attack you. I didn’t prepare myself, and worse, I tried to handle it on my own.

The evil one had exploited my weakness and vulnerability. What resulted was seeing myself in one of the lowest points in my life, and lots of broken relationships. I had lost focus for one instance, and I had let the evil one grab hold and infect my life. I began to hate myself and the actions I took.

On the road to recovery from the situation, I was then moved into a different service, Youth Communications(YCOM). It has been a fruitful (almost)3 year term that has continued to help me grow spiritually and in my maturity. With the help of the community, and my lovely counterpart Jennifer Garcia, I can honestly say that I have moved on from my past situation and I have offered it all up to the Lord.

Which brings it back to the present time.

I have been given another second chance. This time I’ve been asked to be the Area Head here in Winnipeg. I can even remember a time once where I felt it was something I’d like to do. To serve the community that has given me so much. But much like when I wanted to serve the North chapter in 2008, it was not in God’s timing.

With this opportunity came the obvious fear. “What if I mess up again?” “What if I make the same mistakes.” I kept thinking to myself, “Lord, why do You keep giving me blessings upon blessings when I continue to fail you?” “Why are You giving me another second chance?”

Reflecting upon this season of lent, I know that I am a sinful person. I know that I don’t deserve His mercy, His grace, or His love, but He gives it anyway. I know that no matter how many mistakes I make, or how many times I fail Him, He will continue to carry that cross and die for me. He has a plan for me greater than I can ever imagine.

I know that I’ve made mistakes, and I will probably make some in the future, but each of those mistakes have helped me to learn, to grow, and to get myself to where I need to be. The Lord has walked with me every step of the way, and He will continue walking with me in this journey. Regardless of the path behind me, and how overwhelming the path in front of me is, I’m excited to lose myself more and more in Him!

After much discernment, I have said YES to this upcoming service. I don’t know what’s in store for me, or what the future may hold, but I am ready and willing to keep walking down this path with the Lord!

Lord, I praise you and thank you for the second chances that you have given us.I pray that through the experiences we’ve encountered, good or bad, we will learn to see You through it all. Please use me Lord as your instrument to keep serving my brothers and sisters in You. Help me to deny myself, and with Your example, embrace the cross that I bear and to follow You. Amen.