my cousin, along with her parents and siblings, planned the event months beforehand. being the ever-meticulous person that she is, my cousin truly spent time agonizing over every detail of her debut - from the souvenirs and program to the decorations and her attire. she even made a list of all the songs she wanted to be played during the dance.. each song specially chosen to fit the guy she would be dancing with. nothing was left to chance.
so i went to my cousin's debut filled with anticipation. i wondered what she would wear, which decorations she chose, what kind of menu she selected, etc. the venue was great, and so were the decors - the place looked very festive and cheerful. the room was comfortably cool, and everything was set up according to plan.
then, just as we were about to settle down.. just as the program was about to begin.. the power went out! at first, everyone thought it was staged. but long minutes went by and still nothing happened. no lights. no air conditioning. nothing but darkness. in fact, for hours, we had no electricity. we had no lights save for the tea candles set up in each table.
i thought to myself, “this party will be a total disaster. kawawa naman ang pinsan ko..” i could not imagine how the occasion could turn out fine. the evening progressed and still no electricity. the program continued; but not as originally planned, of course. there were no flashy powerpoint presentations, no music from the karaoke unit. it was still hot inside the venue and we could hardly see each other. but surprisingly, everyone was attentive to the program. the people were listening to the testimonials of my cousin’s friends. and in spite of the heat and the lack of light.. everyone was in a good mood! people were laughing, exchanging jokes, and having fun. instead of simply watching the program, people were actually participating.. being part of the occasion. my cousin's theater friends, far from being bored, contributed to the jolly mood of the program by coming up with spontaneous song, dance and acting numbers. the party lasted for hours, but we were all entertained and quite happy Ü (a far cry from the people in the adjoining room - they were also having a debut at the same venue; but the mood there was really somber, and they didn't continue with their program anymore) i’m sure my cousin’s debut will be much-talked about by every one of the attendees – and not in a bad way! Ü
the 'fiasco' at my cousin's birthday celebration taught me an important lesson. we cannot expect everything in life to turn out the way we want. we can do our best.. prepare for everything.. and still, at times, for reasons we cannot explain, things get out of hand. and if we base our joy on our expected circumstances, we will be severely disappointed.
of course, it is but natural for us to gripe and complain when we do not get what we worked so hard to achieve. like the people in the other room, we can vent out our frustration to no end.. see only the unfulfilled plans and remain oblivious to what can still be done about the situation. in the end, though, all the griping and ranting will not improve our situation.. will not help others feel better.. will not turn us into better, more grateful persons.
once we look beyond our disappointment, though.. and once we turn to the Lord with expectant faith.. we may see that things are not as bleak as we originally thought they were. in fact, we may find that He needed to make changes in our original plans.. 'mess things up' a little.. introduce a bit of 'darkness'.. so that things will eventually turn out better. so that we may turn out to be better persons. in the end, i guess we all need "brownouts" in our lives so that God's great work may shine all the more brightly Ü
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