written in the stars

“..when i look at my life, how the pieces fall into place.. it just wouldn’t rhyme without You. when i see how my paths seem to end up before Your face.. the state of my heart.. the place where we are was written in the stars..”

some call it fate. others say it’s mere coincidence. nothing but chance. or maybe even luck. but i think otherwise. i’m not a great believer of coincidences. but i do believe in destiny.

i’m a member of the music ministry - an alto, actually. and because we usually do not sing the melody of the song, our tune sounds.. uhm, well.. “out of tune” to most people (at least, di nila masyado halata kapag sintunado kami, hehehe :p). sometimes it’s difficult for me to learn the alto part of a song. often, it doesn’t sound natural. i get distracted because i’m used to hearing only the melody. sometimes the lyrics we sing are different. at other times, we sing in counterpoint. it really could be quite a challenge to learn our part well.

i remember a time when bro rannie was teaching us the harmony of one particular song.. and we altos were having a difficult time learning the piece. we were all wincing as we sang.. unsure of our notes.. uncertain of our timing. we were all looking at each other, thinking “ang pangit-pangit naman nitong kantang ‘to” :p listening to the tenors and basses didn’t change our opinions, either. their parts didn’t sound any better than ours.

so it was such a pleasant surprise for us when *all of us* sang the song together: sopranos, altos, tenors and basses. the song was wonderful! :) individually, our parts sounded stilted.. incomplete. but sung altogether, the music sounded just right :)

i guess the same goes with our lives. we often undergo tough, trying times. we find it difficult to understand why we have to experience pain and hardship. we tell ourselves, “ang pangit-pangit naman nitong sitwasyon ko”.. and we fail to see the lessons we can learn. we look around and all we see are bits and pieces of unfulfilled plans and broken dreams. and we ask God “bakit Mo pinapayagang mangyari ito sa akin?”.. and we say, “if only i did this.. or if only i didn’t do that.. things would have turned out much better”

but like i said, i do not believe in mere coincidences. what i do believe in is a God who knows every twist and turn in our “chaotic” lives. we see failures and dead ends. He sees opportunities and endless possibilities. in His hands, our broken bits and pieces are turned into colorful mosaics. and our seemingly sintunado tunes are all part of this wonderful masterpiece that He Himself composed :)

“but you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people set apart, that you may declare the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His wonderful light” 1 peter 2:9

our names are not just written in the stars. they are written in His hands :)

so live life with no regrets! He is in control :)