A place to breathe….

My memories of Christmas are quite simple:
We go to church for the Midnight mass.
Go home and eat Noche Buena, most of the time my mom is already sleepy.
Excited for the next day coz it means going to ninong and ninang for pamasko then palakihan ng napamaskuhan with the cousins.
Go to movies the next day for the Film Festival and buy new toys for myself from the money that I gathered during Christmas.

I remember receiving gifts for Christmas when I was already a teenager usually from my siblings but I always feel happy during this season. Nothing extraordinary but my memories are all about being with the family.

As I grow up, it is still and will always be associated with family. It was a pity that for two christmas now, our family celebrated Christmas far away from each other and I don’t think it will be the last.

This year I celebrated Christmas with my sister and her family in California. We woke up very early on Christmas Day and the kids didn’t have 2nd thoughts of getting up when we said it is Christmas Day already coz they know what it means; opening of presents.

It wasn’t only the kids that were excited for Christmas Day, I too was very excited when I was choosing the gifts for them. I was secretly praying that they will like the gifts that I bought for them and I was so happy and relieved that they did. As they open each gift wrapped with fancy paper, I tried to capture each moment. It will not be long till the kids grow up and have their own meaning of Christmas and hopefully by that time it will also mean the same thing for them as it meant to my siblings and me: family.

Amidst all the troubles in the world, there are just still so many reasons to be thankful for. Unfortunately it’s human nature to focus on the negative things rather than the positive things that are happening so most of the time we don’t feel thankful for the things that we have because we still don’t have the things that we want. I too fall on this trap all the time, as I now take time to relax, have fun and enjoy my vacation with my sister and her family I want to remind myself how blessed I am so that when troubled times come, I will have something to remind myself how fortunate I am.

1/ I have faith
I went to church today with my sister, I was so happy to see an early morning mass full. I thought that many churches in US actually are being sold or rented to become museum or concert halls because not that many people go to church anymore. I was happy to prove to myself it’s not 100% true.

Rick Warren said it perfectly well to an atheist, if there’s no God then at the end of this life I have lost nothing but if there’s God, you’ve actually lost everything.

I don’t know how to live without faith.
In times of trouble, in times of bountiness I pray. I asked for help, I asked for interference, I asked all the time. I cry to Him, I laugh with Him. I’m very happy that I have faith otherwise my life would have make no sense.

2/ I have a great support
My parents and siblings are my support system. I call anytime of the day and I receive the same warmth everytime I call. My mom knows exactly if she will talk to me or pass the phone to my dad just by the tone of my voice. They pray for me even during those times that I forget to ask for help. They pray with me whenever I needed help. I can’t ask for more.

3/ I have great friends
Few people will be able to say I have great and true friends but I have a few of them. These are the people I don’t even have to say what I wanted to say, they actually know. These are the people I don’t even have to ask but they already give. I will forever be grateful.

4/ I have a challenging job
I’ve met a lot of amazing people at work. They bothered so I can learn from them and with them. They risked to trust me with good projects. I don’t live in a perfect environment at work but what the company has done for me, my career and my personal life has forever changed my life.

Life is so good. He has let me experience things that I have never even dreamed of. He has given me more than I’ve asked for. Thank you Lord, help me to take care of the people and things that you’ve given me.

As we get busy this season, let us not forget the real reason why we are celebrating this season.

Happy Birthday Jesus!

Everything has been so busy lately and I have been so preoccupied with so many things for the last few months that I hardly tried anything new lately until yesterday and today…

Yesterday
I gate crashed to somebody’s bday celebration: had dinner with 8 people I hardly know and watched a concert after. It was fun to be meeting new people again.

Today
I wanted to watch this Aladdin phantomine, it was so hard to invite anybody in Geneva on a Friday so I opted to go alone. This morning, I was talking to a new colleague that I barely know and I really don’t like. I told her I’m watching a play tonight and if you like you can join me. I was surprised myself on what I said. Surprisingly I had so much fun.

I remember before if I found out that there’s somebody new in IATA that also came from other countries, I usually befriend them immediately. Lately I was so caught in my own world that I barely notice people around me. It was nice to actually mingle out again with strangers then hopefully to become new friends…

I had fun.