Miracles

Mom always wanted to gather her siblings (and their families) for some bonding, fellowship, and a time to share God's word, and her 60th birthday was the perfect opportunity for it. Mom treated them (yes, we squeezed 22 bodies in our school bus) today for swimming. She agreed, of course with the condition that no alcohol is allowed. They laughed at the idea and I did see them hide it behind the speakers, haha. We got there and everyone did their thing - kids jumped in the pool, mommies prepared lunch, and others just savored the time to relax.

Mom and her siblings and still with 2 missing (yes, 9 sila :))))
Clockwise from left: Uncle Junior (5th), Uncle Re (6th), Uncle Bong - kulit as ever (8th), Uncle Christian (9th), Auntie Beca (7th), Mom (3rd), and Ate Vangie (2nd) (Actually I'm not sure about the order pala hahahaha!)

I think her siblings think of mom as the good and "religious" girl and that they kind of expected that she would somehow gather them around for some sharing. When she took out her bible, some of them even joked saying, "O, swimming na!" Hahaha. They just really like to kid around, but I also knew deep inside that mom was praying and waiting for the perfect opportunity to share to all of us. 

She shared to us about the first miracle (John 2). At a wedding (where Jesus, his disciples, and (Mama) Mary were invited), they ran out of wine and Mary told the servants to "Do whatever He (Jesus) tells you." Jesus told them to fill six jars with water, and draw some to serve to the master of the banquet, so they did. After drinking it, he said, "Everyone brings out the choice wine first and then the cheaper wine after the guests have had too much to drink; but you have saved the best till now."

There, Jesus showed His power and glory for the first time by turning water into wine. How was that possible? First, because Jesus was invited, and second, because they followed whatever Jesus told them to do. Just like what happened in the wedding, when we invite Jesus in our lives and follow His steps, we will experience miracles as well. And don't expect these miracles to be "pwede na" or "pasang awa" because just like in the story also, He will always give us the best. Remember - they expected that towards the end of the wedding, they will bring out the cheaper wines, but after drinking them, they said it was the best.

Mom also shared her testimony about our school building: We applied for a loan to acquire the adjacent lot (From Mr A) and put up the building. Our loan was approved and the bank agreed to release our money within 90 days. And so, mom purchased the lot and materials needed (From Mr T) to carry on with the construction immediately. Fortunately, Mr A and Mr T sold us the lot and materials and both agreed that we could have 90 days to pay. Everything seemed to go smoothly when (nearing the 90 days) the bank called us up to cancel our loan saying that it wasn't available anymore. Note that at this time, construction was already on-going and we already owe Mr A and Mr T millions of pesos and yes, we do not have money to pay them without the loan.

Mom talked to each of them to tell them about our situation, and here comes our miracle - they both permitted us to pay when we're able. I don't think anyone (lalo na businessmen!) in  their right mind would allow a person they don't know to owe them millions and what more to be paid indefinitely and without interest. Only God's hand could have touched them to extend that kind of grace to mom and our family. By God's grace, we were able to put up the building and expand our territory with the grade school course.

What broke our hearts all the more was when we realized how much God really worked during that time. Some of us may see that being a test or trial that we just have to endure. That's because we just see one (our) side of the story, and not God's. Later on, we realized that if that loan were approved after all, we would probably still be drowning in debt now and still paying the bank for gazillion interest. But God, of course, didn't allow that. We are now done paying Mr A and Mr T everything we owe them. The cancellation of our loan was actually part of God's plan to save us from spending so much.

Mom also shared Philippians 4:19 which says, "And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus." When Jesus turned water into wine and when God gave us our school building, He did not perform based on world standards, but according to the riches of his glory. He could have given us the loan anyway and faithfully provide for monthly payments - but He planned something better, He planned for us the best :)

I'm really happy that mom found the time to share to her family and I want to thank God for the opportunity to be a blessing to them. We didn't grow up with them so I'm really excited for times like this as well. As I have expected, mom asked me to lead the closing prayer, hihi :D I know that this won't be the last time we will be meeting for this purpose because I'm sure that mom will always try to look for opportunities to plant seeds, especially now that she has already started to cultivate the soil. I believe, as my mom believes, that all members of our family will experience the richness of God's glory and see miracles happen right before their eyes :)

"Happy Birthday Teacher Beth!" on her birthday cake. Kung maka-teacher Beth lang eh noh :)))))