come around

i’m writing this on a tuesday (when most of the articles/contributions for the newsletter are submitted to us online). it’s almost lunchtime and i still have no article written. usually, i’m done by monday night. this week, though, nothing seems to come to mind.

so i started proofreading and editing the contributions submitted by our brothers and sisters in the community. one wrote about her difficulties as she struggles to belong to the rivers community. someone wrote about praying for her “special someone” while another praised God for sending him the love of his life. hmmm. that gave me an idea what to write about.. :)

when i turned 30 two weeks ago (i still can’t get used to the fact that i’m *this* old, wahahaha!), a lot of people warmly greeted me their birthday wishes. along with the greeting, though, some asked that question most single ladies my age dread to hear: “o ano, may boypren ka na ba? wala pa?! naku, dapat bilisan mo na! kelan ka pa makakapag-asawa niyan? kelan mo pa mabibigyan ng apo ang mommy at daddy mo nyan?” hmmmm. right :)

i still recall how i started writing for this newsletter. it all started with a broken heart that needed a place to express its pain. after writing a couple of articles, i noticed that a lot of other people started sharing their own stories - which were quite similar to mine. i guess they found that they could relate to what i wrote, hehe.

more than a year passed, and i still write (most of my “lonely hearts club” co-members still do, hehe). but not about broken hearts and pain. oh yes, sometimes, i still get lonely and sad. but now it’s different. dishing out my weekly contribution to the newsletter is no longer about venting. rather, it’s becoming aware of how God has been changing me.. healing me all this time, through the rivers community.

i know what sis lulu amo meant when she talked about wanting to leave the community several times. i’ve gone through those moments, myself.. and yet, here i am.. 11 years in the community and still happily serving :)

i can relate with “sleeping beauty” when she prayed for her special someone. hahaha. the Lord knows i’ve done that, too (though i haven’t written anything *remotely* like the letter she wrote. awwww..)

someday, i hope i’d be able to write something like what bro lei wrote. maybe one day i’ll be able to proclaim God’s goodness when He sends me the love of my life :p hmm. well, that has yet to happen.. but who knows, right?! :p

as i read the articles submitted by our brothers and sisters, i can’t help but feel happy. happy that God is faithful. happy that i belong to this rivers community. happy to know that i have brethren who have gone through the trials i’ve experienced.. and have survived.. just like me!

“..am i gonna be lonely for the rest of my life? i’m gonna be lonely for the rest of my life.. unless YOU come around..” (rhett miller)

i was lonely then. but not anymore. “weeping may remain for a night, but rejoicing comes in the morning” (ps 30:5) loneliness doesn’t last forever. sadness won’t be with you all the time. especially not in a community where you have so many brothers and sisters helping you on your Christian walk :)

the Lord continues to be faithful to me. so many people continue to help me in my journey towards God. and in gratitude, i now try to come around for others. nothing grand.. just small gestures: sharing my experiences through this newsletter, inviting a friend over to the LSS, helping out in the ministry, giving tithes/love offerings, etc.

how about you? will you come around? :)