My (Lenten) Sacrifice

There were lots of (happy) things that happened to me in the past few days, which i am really very grateful of, that I'd like to blog. But I was not able to write about them due to lack of time and lost of ideas on how would I express them in writing (i'm so lost for words).

I am so happy right now. It seems like everything's going smooth and perfect with my life. I have been so blessed by God. I thank Him for loving and for taking good care of me, my family and my friends.

In the last weeks's gospel (John 8:1-11), i witnessed how forgiving our God is. In the gospel, a woman was caught in the act of committing adultery, in which at that time is punishable by stoning the sinner to death. They asked Jesus what He would do to the woman to test Him (for they might have some charge to bring against Him). Jesus answered them "Let him who is without a sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her." When they heard this, they went away, one by one. Jesus was left alone with the woman. I knew about this particular verse for a long time. But it was only this time that I got the whole picture of the story. It had really struck me what had happened next. Jesus asked the woman, "where are they? has no one condemed you?" The woman said, "No one, Lord.". And Jesus said, "Neither do I condemn you; go and do not sin again." This really hit me. I'd wanted to be as forgiving as Jesus is.

I remember saying this line to my friends, "wag ninyo akong galitin kasi nagtatanim ako ng galit or sama ng loob". This is partly true. I forgive but i don't easily forget. My thinking then is as long as i am not the guilty party, i will be okay whether or not we can ever patch things up. i really do not care. i feel it's not under my responsibility.

This is the reason why I felt very ashamed of myself when I heard the above gospel. I am a self-confessed follower of Christ but i do not follow His teachings about true forgiveness. I silently asked and prayed to Him to show me and to give me strength to do what He wants me to do.

Last Nov 2009, i was deeply hurt by a friend, enough to cut off ties with him. We are both very successful ignoring each other. Our paths never crossed since then except when we both attended a birthday celebration of former co-employee/friend in end of Jan 2010 (as expected of myself, i ignored him like he's not existing)

I have no plans of taking the first step for reconciliation. I got a pride too. I was not the one at fault. Besides, he didn't even bother to apologize. But on March 24, 2010 Wed, i broke my silence with him. I made a peace offering with him which he instantly accepted. :-) And so after more than 4 months of being intentionally silent, 'BATI' na din kami. I really feel very happy. :-)

@ Golden Fork Restaurant, Satwa March 25, 2010

Dahil sa bati na kami, i'd asked an important favor from him

napatunayan ko dito na friends na talaga ulit kami,

i did not feel any akwardness at all, nde ko rin naramdaman ang hiya.

feels like nothing's changed sabi nga niya.

Thanks friend for the big favor, i really appreciate it! :-)

I am so grateful with God. I feel His LOVE. I want to show him I love Him so much too. I want to please Him.

I made a promise that I will make sacrifices this coming Holy Week. These are 'little' sacrifices but i'm wholeheartedly offering all these only for Him.

1) starting tomorrow, i will fast. i will not eat rice- my favorite food. (this is the first time i'd do fasting for one straight week)

2) i'd also promised to visit Church after office

3) since my birthday will fall on Holy Wednesday 31 Mar 2010, i postpone my 'small' celebrations in the office to a later date on 05 April 2010. (Advanced Happy Birthday To Me! :-))

4) i will temporarily stop blogging and blog hopping in observance of the Holy Week.

But I will definetely be back blogging after the Holy Week. :-) I will miss you all! (just imagining na may nagbabasa..hehe)

May we always feel His presence in our everyday lives. :-)