Praise God

If the world hates you, realize that it hated me first.

John 15:18

I’ve never really received backlash for my faith. I remember being young (and dumb(er)) and waiting for people to bring up their beliefs. Mostly because I wanted to shut them down. I was a gifted debater and reader of all things. I thought I knew my stuff. I thought I was all that.

And when I started believing in a God I never really thought I would ever believe in, I was blessed to be able to continue this journey with few roadblocks – or at least roadblocks that were set up by people who hated my relationship with God. I was blessed to never encounter the person I used to be. Until a few days ago.

Maybe I’ve avoided those kinds of people because I’m very cautious of what I post. I’m ready to rush to someone’s aid when there’s an attack on God on Facebook or other online forums. But I am rarely, if ever, the one to initially post something that could be attacked. But about a week and a half ago I did. And there was a landslide of likes. And so I went happily about my day. But then I received a text. It told me, among other things, that I was a bad person and that I just post pictures of God to hide that fact from others. And I’m not going to lie, it made me sad, and mad, and I really just wanted to yell at this person. And throughout that conversation (I did not text yell or curse, don’t worry) I found myself calming down. Because throughout it all I prayed that God would give me strength to do His will, whatever it was in that conversation. And though that person isn’t talking to me now, I know that in those hate filled words that were hurled at me, God was speaking. They hated me first. 

Home.

With the amount of times that I’ve had to travel within an eighteen month time frame, most people would assume that I no longer suffer from homesickness. The past three trips (2009, 2012, 2013a) have been by myself; the shortest trip lasting 8 weeks and the longest lasting 6 months. Most people base their judgement on my social media posts and are probably thinking, “Dang, she is living the life.”

Well, reality check: I still suffer from homesickness. I still feel somewhat lost even though I’ve revisited Place A, B and C more than a handful of times. I still feel out of place in a room full of old friends and the nausea that accompanies displacement is very much real.

All those things still exist. Even now. Even when my family is here with me. We all haven’t been together in a very, very long time. Dad’s had to work out of town for the past 2 years and my brother’s had to live away at Waterloo ever since he started his Undergrad. And me, well…..I’ve been traveling to PH.

A few days into our family trip here, I was still feeling so bothered. My temper kept getting the best of me. I grew impatient and volatile. I couldn’t understand it. Shouldn’t my family have cushioned the hypothetical “emotional blow” that always hit me during my trips? Shouldn’t the weird jumble of emotions have stopped because I was with my loved ones? The anger and frustration drained me so much that one night, I decided to just leave the group. The innermost depths of me was craving for something. I didn’t know what that something was, but what I did know was that going to God wouldn’t leave me any more desolate than I already was. So I looked for a church.

I ended up at Sto. Rosario. I got through confession. I kneeled at the Adoration Chapel. I sat through Mass and received Holy Eucharist. And you know what? For the first time I felt good. Not just ice-cream-on-a-hot-sunny-day good, but ‘passing my final exam with flying colours and making the honour roll’ kinda good. I was a fish out of water that suddenly found my way back to the water. I could breathe again.

As I contemplated at the Adoration Chapel I was reminded of a promise I made to Him during the SFC precon praisefest. It just so happened to my birthday too. I told God that I was willing to finally give Him the one part of me that I hadn’t let go of yet- a very specific piece of my heart that was put on reserve. I didn’t have the strength to fight that fourteen year battle any more. It took me that long to surrender. That day He said to me, “Exodus 14:14, my beloved. Do not forget. I will fight for you, you need only to be still.

In the presence of the Eucharist and in front of the altar, I felt God whisper me to me, “Therese, my dearest Therese. You silly stubborn girl. Remember what you offered at the foot of my cross weeks ago? Remember that you promised me you’d finally give that last piece to me? Home is where the heart is and yours just so happens to be with me. It’s safe. It’s in my hands now. I’m happy that you finally found your back. My child, right now at this very moment …you are home. I’ve been waiting.”

All the puzzle pieces fit.
It all made sense.
I felt this sudden rush of peace, of final certainty.

Everything in this world is temporary. Even my family. But God, God is infinite. God is timeless, boundless and endless. I am made to stand in His presence, to bask in the love that is always present in His house.

 

Father, I’m coming home.
Amen. 

Woo Presents!

Receiving a gift is pretty awesome everyone always looks forward to special events like your birthday or christmas.  We get excited we create our own wish lists or give out hints to our friends and family what we might want to receive.  What happens when we receive a gift but it’s not what we wanted? I’m sure you’re like me and if its clothes, it might sit in my closet.  Our friends and family take the extra time to choose a gift for us because they think its something we might like and use.  Our Lord works the same way, He chooses what gift we need.  He wants to match us with the best gift at the best times.  And this gift we receive is for us to use and not to put away.

In our youth camp we ask our Lord what gift(s) we want to receive from Him, because we learn so much from Him that weekend we know the Lord will listen to us and deliver.  There are many gifts for us to choose but how do I know what to pick.  I find we should choose the ones we need in order to get closer to Him.  Also after choosing, we have to learn how to open that gift.  For example, if you pray for the gift of tongues, see what it means to have the gift of tongues; is it for special prayers to the Lord, is it to be able to speak in front of a crowd, or is it to evangelize to your neighbours or all three?  We should take the time to understand what each gift is and how it applies to our life.  The Holy Spirit decides what gifts to give and knows what is best for us.  Stay excited, because gifts from the Holy Spirit are never ending.

@itsmetimmm

The Tree Of Faith, Hope, and Love.

This reflection is inspired by CFC-Youth Canada’s Eastern Mission Volunteers Coordination Meeting last Friday, July 12, 2013.

Let our faith be like the roots of a tree. Always looking for nourishment, always going deeper, always anchoring ourselves to the bedrock of the faith. So when a storm of anxieties, fears, doubts, and uncontrollable situations arise; we may be moved and shaken a bit, but never destroyed. (Colossians 2:6-7)

Let our hope be like that of a trunk of a tree. Always aiming higher and trying to reach the sun – the Son. The more we have hope, the higher the tree becomes, the easier it is for people to see what we hope for which is the Son. We become landmarks, a sight to see, a light to the world. (Matthew 5:14)

Let our love be like the branches. Giving shade to those who are in need of rest, giving life who eat the fruits of our labor, extending outward and always seeking out to cover more ground. (John 15:2)

If we become a tree of faith, hope, and love – we not only prosper and become fully alive, we also become a breath of life to those around us.

Lord, allow me to grow in faith, hope, and love – rooted, reaching, and abounding – with, in, and through – You. Amen.

This blog is also cross-posted on my own personal blog: http://www.kevinmuico.com/2013/07/14/the-tree-of-faith-hope-and-love/

Perfect Moments

It’s rare that my family spends time together as a whole due to the business of our lives as well as the distance between one another. On Friday I was blessed to go to Kelowna with my family for my little cousins 16th birthday. I was able to see all my God parents and spend a lot of time being present with my family. I’ve been here for almost a week now and praise God for blessing me with this opportunity to spend as much time with my family. Although there are so many things on my mind from back home in Vancouver like conference prep, the Lord has given me the chance to be at peace with my trip in Kelowna. Praise God for my family and the little time we were able to spend together as one.

I’ll Follow Jesus

 

KV theme: Follow Jesus
KV theme: Follow Jesus

I went into the past weekend feeling weird. Last weekend was Cana Weekend for CFC, and the North American Kid’s Village for KFC. And I knew that this would be the last KV I would ever lead. I kept expecting an onslaught of hectic phone calls and frantic last minute preparations in the last few days – even on the Friday. But none of that came. God really blessed the KV with an amazing service team that really just wanted to do their best to reach out Christ to the kids. And I kept wondering why God didn’t ask more of me during the KV.

And then Saturday came. And along with it, came a perfect little boy – James. During morning kid’s praise you couldn’t help but notice him. Standing in the very front, away from everyone, just clapping and dancing along. But after, he didn’t want to be with the other kids. He didn’t want to interact with any of them. James has Down Syndrome. He wasn’t able to talk, or really communicate what he was feeling or what he wanted. Aside from a few bits of sign language, he mostly just wandered around, sometimes angry, sometimes calm, sometimes full of joy. And I knew that this is what God had prepared me for. He wanted me to focus my time and energy on this little, perfect boy.

I kept remembering what my ate Candy once said about people with disabilities: these people are sinless. And that entire weekend, even though I definitely spent more than 75% of that weekend outside in the hallways, I truly felt honored to be able to serve this perfect example of God’s love. More than any other KFC event has done, James taught me patience and understanding, he taught me love and kindness. More than any session or workshop could have done, James taught me to follow Jesus.

Show me the meaning, of feeeeeeeling…. LOVED :)

With the many preparations counting down to the Eastern True North Conference, there was no doubt that there would be challenges along the way. However, most of us don’t think that the challenges would be about time or consistency in the products of our labour. What most people forget is that the challenge may also lie within us.

This year, there is no doubt that the Lord has been personal. Whether it is through messages in our small and simple daily routines or messages that He blesses us to hear through the words of others, or even moments that we “accidentally” catch a glimpse of or witness to in others, the Lord has been screaming LOVE. 

Throughout the preparations for Liturgy, and even as I practice for the creative sessions for TNC, the Lord has truly challenged me to see love in literally everything… the GOOD and the BAD. Love is not always just about having patience in waiting for a loved one, or patience with time, but more importantly, patience with one another. Through the conference preparations, I have been reminded that love is also being able to be patient in our own frustrations by holding our tongue to speak with loving words. Love is lovingly correcting. Love is sticking through when the going gets tough, and pushing through to attain victory in successes for the Lord together. Love is acknowledging that there truly is no I in team. Love is being able to affirm one another despite of whether one is “doing better” than the other because in love, we are made perfect in His eyes. if we are made in and with love, then there is no other way to grow than to grow in and with love, but more importantly, the love of our Father.

With all the different ways to love, there will always be a loving way to approach each other and every situation. And with this year, the year of faith, being so personal, I believe that the Lord is showing us how to love in all the simple and challenging ways. “Now faith, hope and love abide these three, but the greatest of these is love.”  (1 Corinthians 13: 13) He wants us to learn the many different ways we, ourselves, can love, but it isn’t just that. Through the conference prep, I believe He is also challenging us to find the different ways we can love one another. Why? It goes back to something I heard a priest say in his Homily earlier this week:

“We can love our neighbour without loving God, but we cannot love God without loving our neighbour.”

I pray that this is something we can all truly take to heart. Let us not hesitate to EXPOSE OURSELVES to EXPOSE THE LORD. Let us be unafraid to RAK not only as we count down to Conference, but in each and every day, before and after, so that we can always be an EXPOSITION of the Lord and His love. #JesusExpo