Imprisoned No More

clip_image002Imagine living your dream life. You have everything you have ever dreamed of. Life, for you, is a giant ball of blessings. Until that fateful moment, when everything gets wiped out in an instant. Confusion, hurt, and anger envelop your entire being. Worst, you feel that God has no place to stay in your heart.

I found myself pondering on the word “detach” three months ago when I was sitting inside Filinvest Tent during the 2015 Lenten Recollection organized by Feast Alabang. I was nursing a pained heart then, unaware yet of the Divine message that was about to shed its light through my suffering. It was the first time when I seriously took notice of its meaning.

You see, I had been through a lot. Back then, I thought my life was the best life one could ever live. I thought I was highly favored by God. However, trials came one after another. Career opportunities were blocked, people were removed, and the values I had long cherished were in danger. In short, I made my life a mess. You could see the picture; I lost trust in God.

Whenever I look back to see the teary-eyed and depressed lady that was me, I cannot help but smile. Silly it may seem, but that was how I felt then, someone so young in her love for God. That love was not strong enough, so frail that it vanished right after one blow. Now, I know better. Those trials taught me to detach. I didn’t know that my personality was slowly being defined by my achievements, and before I got consumed by my self-pride, God had rescued me. After all, God still had given me His favor, hadn’t He?

Everything was part of God’s grand plan of restoring me back to the beloved child He had created me to be. Those years of imprisonment gave birth to sudden bursts of discomfort. Those earthly possessions I never thought I had been so attached to led me to self-pleasure and arrogance. Agony had to pass before I finally learned to give the pen of my life to God.

Now, my aim is to be one of the truly wealthy, enriched by the wealth that comes from the understanding that it is God alone that I need.

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