Blessings in disguise
As storm “Falcon” rains furiously and relentlessly on many parts of the country, and thousands of people desperately look for ways to get home without having to wade through flooded streets, I am here alone in my room, safe and comfortable, sorting out documents—test papers, lecture handouts and the like—from previous school years. When I come across some sculpted, molded and stamped circular objects that were awarded to me on my high school graduation day, I suddenly got nostalgic.
The pages of the book of my life are not filled with stories about dramatic and heartbreaking experiences like the ones most teenagers usually go through. I did not miss a regular meal involuntarily. Though I don’t come from a rich family either, we always have had just enough to get by from day to day. God has been a good provider and I firmly believe it is His grace that keeps me going in this life’s journey, prodding me to continue pursuing my dreams.
What I want to share are not the critical events of my life that ended with sorrow, but those that have led to everlasting joy.
I can hardly believe how my life has turned out. Everything that’s happening to me now just seems so amazing. There has been an endless stream of so many changes since my parents got separated.
I was 11 then and my mom had no work. She was just supported by a brother abroad who met an untimely death even before we could adjust to the separation. My dad didn’t support me and so I had to stop going to school for two years and find a way to earn. I was so angry with my dad that I didn’t talk to him for some years. I entered the show-biz industry and landed a few roles for starters. I became a commercial model in no time, and this has been my source of income for eight years now.
I decided to go out of show biz when I realized I wanted to continue my studies and finish school. I saw how my brother went astray after he dropped out of school following my parents’ separation, and I didn’t want what was happening to him to befall me. I mean, I learned the need to make a choice and to choose the right path amid the hardships and trials. I learned life is just a matter of perspective. It has become very clear to me that obstacles can be turned into stepping stones toward success and victory.
I didn’t know how it happened but scholarships were suddenly right within my reach for the taking. I was not at all studious way back in elementary but when I entered high school, I was able to maintain high grades. I am not a very intellectual type of person, but I believe my academic success just had to do with perseverance, which my heart learned to cling to, thanks to the trials that crossed my path.
I am reminded of a relevant passage in the Bible: “Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.” (James 1:2-5)
I am much more surprised that now that I’m in college, God still lets me excel in certain subjects, and I even would top the exams in my Math and English subjects.
Sometimes I can’t help but think everything’s a dream, but then God can really be this sweet! The fact that I am studying in my dream school makes everything surreal. And I know without doubt that all these abilities I have been gifted with come from an Almighty and Great God whose wisdom is beyond human comprehension.
I am very thankful to God that I don’t have to walk miles to and from school, which students in the provinces normally do.
A classmate recently asked: “Is your dad going to fetch you?” When I said no, she seemed surprised and wondered how I get to school. I told her that I commute. She couldn’t believe I actually am one of the thousands of regular MRT and jeepney passengers in Metro Manila. I found her disbelief amusing, and I wanted to tell her about how I love being with different kinds of people, at times keenly watching their faces, oftentimes exchanging smiles with many of them—every day. But I chose to keep those thoughts and feelings to myself.
Life is not about comforts and privileges. It may sound like a cliché, but I have proven that happiness doesn’t spring from the fleeting things of the world. So what if I don’t own a car? What if I enjoy walking and “slowing down” life’s fast pace?
Everything has a reason. Everything has a purpose. I may not have found the answers to all the countless questions that have crossed my mind, but I hold on to faith, which I believe is the only permanent thing in life that won’t rust or can’t be stolen.
There are lots of reasons why not all people can be at the top—why there are janitors, secretaries and bosses, why life can sometimes be so painful, why there is a storm right now disrupting businesses and homes. I believe there are a lot of things we think are a bane but are actually blessings in disguise.
Marie Chanel T. Abelo, 19, is a second year BA Speech Communication student at the University of the Philippines Diliman.
