Monday, January 31, 2011

God's Plan Is Unstoppable

Manito-Manita. This is how it started. Last year, my friends and I decided to hold one. To add a little spice and an element of surprise, we decided to use an alias using names from the Bible. 

Rachel. That's me. I mean that's what I picked for an alias. 

Since then, I decided to dig into who Rachel is. 

Like an actress, reading a script let me get into my character as Rachel, I would tell you this-"God's plans are unstoppable."  

Her love story is exceptional. She met him while she was busy tending the flock of her dad. In sheer delight of seeing a member of his clan, Jacob kissed her. More than the telenovelas nor of any love saga, theirs was a story that would leave everyone jaws open in awe.

Jacob loved Rachel. He had worked seven years just to marry her. Yet love seems to defy time. Seven years seems to be just a few days because he loved her so much. In that seven years, Rachel must probably have waited with high hopes. Then finally the day when Jacob claimed for his wife, Leah, her sister was given. 

Thoughts could have gone wild in the mind of Rachel. Seven wasted years. Frustrated hope. Dead dreams. Sorrow and pain filled her night. Tears accompanied her, as she watched her father brought Leah to Jacob's tent to consummate the marriage. As tears continue to flow, it drains with it- all the hopes she have in her heart. Seven years of assurance and security that Jacob is the answer to her prayer, a cloud of doubt covered her. Did Jacob ever loved her? And sob after sob she turned her heart to God and asked "Do you ever love me? Why would you let me hope for nothing? Would I ever see your promise come to fulfillment?"

And while she was questioning God and just as the sun rises from the horizon, Jacob found out that he had married Leah and not Rachel. He rushed and went to Laban (Leah and Rachel's father) to demand an explanation. The plan was for Jacob to work for seven years for Rachel and why on earth could a man frustrate such plan. Laban came up with a proposal to ease a lover's fury. Jacob can have Rachel as a wife if he will wait for a week to pass to marry her and to work for Laban for another seven years. Jacob agreed. 

Jacob married Rachel and he loved her more than Leah. 

If Rachel could have a peek on what God has designed for the salvation of the world, she would have read that Jesus-the Messiah will be born in her's and Jacob's lineage.  

"For the LORD Almighty has purposed, and who can thwart Him? ..." Isaiah 14:27a

God holds the blueprint of each of our lives. He has a plan and everything will work according to His purpose. The story of Jacob and Rachel is not limited to their love story, alone. One way or the other, we are Rachels awaiting for Jacobs.

You could be a parent waiting for money to provide for your family needs. A single waiting for a spouse. A spouse waiting for a conversion of a love one. A student waiting for an examination result. A kid waiting for a desired toy. A patient waiting for full health recovery. One waiting for a job. We are Rachels and we await for our Jacobs. 

"GOD'S PLANS ARE UNSTOPPABLE!"

And as I, Luchie, flips the pages further I happened to read these powerful promise in Jeremiah 29:11-14 signed by God Himself:

" I know well the plans I have in mind for you...plans for your welfare, not for woe! Plans to give you a future full of hope. When you call ME, when you go to pray to ME, I will listen to you. When you look for ME, you will find ME. Yes when you seek ME with all your heart, you will find ME with you and I will change your lot."

God's plans are unstoppable, no matter how many " Labans" will come in between you and the answers to your prayers, know that your future is filled with hope and no matter how ugly or frustrating or hopeless your situations maybe, God's plan is to change your lot. 


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P.S : The story of Rachel and Jacob could be read in detail (minus this author's imagination and own reflection) in Genesis chapter 29 and following. You would appreciate it more if you read it from there and who knows you might come up with a reflection on your own.

Just the Way You are

Henri Nouwen believes that if we just be, we will realize and discover what we are called for. And that we are good enough to do what we are called to do. Here's his complete reflection about the matter...
 Often we want to be somewhere other than where we are, or even to be someone other than who we are. We tend to compare ourselves constantly with others and wonder why we are not as rich, as intelligent, as simple, as generous, or as saintly as they are. Such comparisons make us feel guilty, ashamed, or jealous. It is very important to realize that our vocation is hidden in where we are and who we are. We are unique human beings, each with a call to realize in life what nobody else can, and to realize it in the concrete context of the here and now.
We will never find our vocations by trying to figure out whether we are better or worse than others. We are good enough to do what we are called to do. Be yourself!

Bruno Mars sings to the same "tune"...
When I see your face
There's not a thing that I would change
Cause you're amazing
Just the way you are
And when you smile,
The whole world stops and stares for awhile
Cause you're amazing
Just the way you are

 So when you see yourself in the mirror, know that Someone loves you just the way you are.  Someone incomparable to Bruno Mars has stamp His mark of beauty in you.

Money

Money is a liquid asset. If you're loose with it, you'll wake up one day and realize that it goes down the drain. For most of my life, I've worked and received salaries, paid the right taxes and bought things that I could afford. In short, I survived.

But as I reached my thirties, with four more years before I turn forty, I can't help but look back and think about what I've done with money. I don't have savings to boast of and I'm not proud of it. Don't shut me out just yet, I am a firm believer that God provides all our needs (which includes money) but I also believe that He is a God of order and peace. As He has taught me how to harvest, He also taught me to sow.

If I own a passbook, all of it down to the last cent has been an effort of someone who knows how to save and invest. My mom has been the epitome of money management. She did not even reach first year high school but she learned how to let money work for her better than the best CPA could (at least in my opinion). One lesson that she taught me is this: The amount does not matter at all, just be consistent in your savings. And I saw it in her, whether she earned thousands or a few tens, most of it went to the bank. One of my fondest memories, was the time when I carried coins to the bank for deposit. And once those coins were in the bank , they're no longer her money and she starts saving again. Sure, I didn't understand it then but it's all so clear to me now. Simply put, I don't need much to start saving.

If we can be trusted with little, then God can trust us with much. It's all about taking responsibility. I believe that what I received from my mom is a seed provided by God. Money can work for me and not the other way around.

This has been a recent lesson. And I take it upon my shoulders to share this to those I care about and to those who will come my way.

If you are young and reading this– there is no other time to start living your dreams but NOW. Look at your life as one big building, talk to an architect (a financial architect at that), share your dreams and let him design your finances one room at a time. And year after year, take a look at how it unfolds into reality.

If you think you are old and hopeless...well, think again perhaps a financial doctor can help you. It's never too late to start something that's best for you.

With God's provisions come responsibility and accountability. If I am to leave this world, I want to at least leave my loves ones (and my church) with money... and not bills to pay.