An act of kindness...

Yesterday I woke up wanting to stay in bed. It's been a very difficult Lenten journey for me, so difficult that I didn't even make it to church. I have been stressing about everything in my life so much that I just wanted to pull the covers over my head. How many of us have had days like this one?

However, God always finds a way to pull me out of my mess. I received a text message before noon from my dear friend Diana. We had been trying to get together for a while now but things kept coming up. That morning she decided to come visit me and really lifted my spirits. I got out of bed took a shower and before I knew it she was at my door with food, gifts, and her darling dog Lily who brought me joy to see. There is something about dogs and how they make you feel like you were truly missed.

I want to express my sincere gratitude for such an act of kindness from my friend, who may have thought that what she did was nothing but it meant the world to me. Her presence and act of kindness truly lifted me up. God had a plan that morning and He was determined to make it happen. I thank God almighty for such wonderful friends in my life who take time to serve others and to share a special part of themselves with me. I want to say "Gracias amiga" for being open to God's will and for your beautiful act of kindness.

Spiritual Sunday

It has been a challenging couple of weeks, filled with ups and downs. It seems like one minute everything is okay and the next minute things become challenging again. It is easy to think that things will never be the same, or to lose hope, or even to feel that God is not available at the moment things get hard. However, I am grateful that I have not allowed any of those moments of doubt to completely consume me. I continue to pray through it and spend quality time with God and with loved ones to help me through.

Below are a list of photos from the past couple of weeks, they all have meaning in my life and have all to do with my relationship with God and with loved ones. As they say, "A picture is worth a thousand words" and can immediately trigger a memory, these all come from good times.

On my way to class every Tuesday, I stop at Andy's to get my morning tea and I get a short but sweet message attached to my tea bag each time. This message reminded me of the thought I had of spending my summer in Chicago this year (still praying and contemplating on it.)

I took this photo at Sunday Mass this morning. The English readings always have a neat reflection at the beginning. This is a reflection to the Gospel of John 2:13-25 "the Cleansing of the Temple."

This is from my Lenten Reflections booklet I read every morning. Ever since I read this one, I have been truly having several unplanned moments in my life that I can truly see as graced moments. Last Thursday I ended class at noon and usually would come home but stuck around and ended up having a great conversation with friends at school. We even discussed the possibility of starting a social work blog together (praying that we can make it happen). On Friday, my boyfriend (Diego) of almost 3 years and I went for dinner. We had no idea where we were going but ended up having a wonderful Greek dinner and spending some time perusing the shelves at Barnes and Nobles. Those are just two examples of several unplanned moments turned graced moments in my life lately.

I received this beautiful journal from my darling friend Hilda. The funny thing is that she had been telling me about the gift since my actual birthday in February, but was telling me she was not done with it yet. The journal contained some really meaningful treasures that reflect her beautiful and big heart and soul. The real gift for me is just to have her friendship, but she is one of those people who truly invests in her loved ones. I am very lucky and blessed to have her in my life. I will definitely be "keeping track of all the feasts of life during this chapter in my life."

On Friday, at my internship it was one of the counselor's last day of work there. His students were so sad to see him go and he was also very emotional to leave and begin his new journey. One of his students brought his guitar and at the end of the day we were in my office singing the song "the good life" by OneRepublic. This was the message that was written on his guitar and I just had to take a photo of it. To me it truly reflects how much meaning music has during our adolescence.

Just like old times...

Today I had the privilege to reunite with some of my co-workers from my previous job who have become true friends in my life. I've been so caught up in my graduate studies and just balancing everything else in my life that I hadn't taken the time to reunite with them just like old times. Honestly, my friend Christine reached out to me and reminded me of how important our lunch dates were and how important they continue to be. We have had some of the most deepest inspirational conversations with each other in just that short break we would take at work. I honestly feel that some of those conversations empowered me to follow my dream of continuing my education. So here we sat once again, coming together to share a delightful meal and some deep conversation about where we are in our lives and where we are going. I am truly grateful that we were able to come together at such short notice for some much needed fellowship.

I can't express how important friendship has been in my life. During good times and bad, it is my friends who have given me the strength and courage to take leaps of faith and when it felt like I had lost my way it is they who have reminded me of who I am and what is important to me.

Some quotes on friendship dear to my heart:

"No one has greater love than this, to lay down one's life for one's friends."

John 15:13

"A friend is a gift you give yourself."

Robert Louis Stevenson

"A friend is someone who knows the song in your heart and can sing it back to you when you have forgotten the words"

author unknown

"The road to a friend's house is never long."

Danish Proverb

"Don't walk behind me, I may not lead; Don't walk in front of me, I may not follow. Just walk beside me and be my friend."

Albert Camus

The Value of Human Life

I've been contemplating how much we value human life in this generation. The other day in my Human Behavior class, our professor brought up a book she is currently reading that documents the history of violence. She mentioned reading that we are currently living in the least violent society ever in history. It was kind of hard to believe when you think of the daily violence that takes place in the world. Then again when you really look back deep into history, there was a time when taking a human life meant nothing.

Today during my Christology course we watched a short film about the times of Jesus. One of the things they addressed was how human life was depicted during that time. One line that resonated with me in film was how "human life was cheap in the Roman Empire." The film focused on the things that Jesus did during his ministry on Earth. It talked about how he sat to eat with sinners and how he healed the sick. I just kept thinking about how Jesus came to teach us the value of human life. He did so in a way that did not go against Jewish law but simply challenged it so that the priority of the religion wouldn't be to honor a ritual but to honor God and one another above all.

This is something that I will continue to contemplate on during my spiritual journey...

When the authorities asked Jesus why He was doing what is "unlawful on the sabbath", Jesus responded:

"The sabbath was made for man, not man for the sabbath. That is why the Son of Man is lord even of the sabbath."

(Mark 2:27-28)

Our Desires of the heart

As Boys II Men's "On Bended Knee" just came on it truly took me back to when I was a young girl and I used to listen to these songs and fantasize about a boy singing these songs to me. It was always such a beautiful and romantic fantasy for me that I desired would someday come true. With this particular song I remember I used to have a crush on this boy my brother was friends with. I remember I had a banana seat strawberry shortcake bike and even though I was sometimes feeling weird about riding it, it was the only way I got to ride around his block to see if he was around. I remember he would ask me to let him use the banana bike and I thought it was so so funny that he didn’t care if anyone saw him on that strawberry shortcake banana seat bike. Sometimes I wish I can have those beautiful fantasies in my mind again because they seem almost sweeter and healthier than real life. Right now I am going to hold on to this beautiful memory.

Yesterday I had a truly refreshing and uplifting dinner and conversation with a group of spiritual women. There were so many awesome messages we all shared with each other. I remember one of the women shared some inspiration that she read somewhere about how we should always allow ourselves to desire things. Even if they may not always be the best thing for us, we should allow ourselves to desire things because usually what we desire says a lot about who we truly are in the pure sense of the word without outside influences or other people’s perspectives. Most of the desires of our hearts don’t actually come to life, so even those naughty desires won’t necessarily come to pass but the desire of it may just allow us to get it out of our system.

With the passing of Whitney Houston and listening to all her songs...it has really taken me back to many beautiful memories of growing up listening to her music, and other artists like Monica, Mariah Carey, Toni Braxton, Aaliyah, and having such desires in my heart of being a famous singer like them or even just being in that state of love they all sang about. The idea that my perception of life was so pure and brand new then and not tainted by the scars of life, says a lot about the desires I had in my heart. I desired things I had never experienced, and to me that is pretty intriguing. Its like our hearts are made to desire things we don’t even know anything about, there something so pure and deep about that.

Music has a way of taking us back. I thank Whitney Houston for bringing us the music we loved so much and sharing her beautiful gift with us even if it came at such a heavy cost. I am grateful for her sacrifice. Even listening to some of her early songs, it is evident what some of Whitney's desires of the heart were..so pure and true.

Spiritual Sunday

This weekend was quite eventful for me. I am grateful for the strength that God has given me to make certain tough decisions in my life. It has truly helped to ponder on love and just be still and listen to that voice of direction inside.

Today was full of divine inspiration. I am grateful to God for the gifts of spiritual healing that are taking place in my life. I am grateful for our new priest who truly takes the time to share with us meaningful homilies that we can relate to. I am grateful for the deep interfaith talk with my darling friend Hilda. I am grateful to my friend Angelica for inviting me to fellowship, though she may not have known it, it was just what I needed.

Here are some photos from my spiritual sunday. It was truly a day full of divine providence for me:

Praying and Pondering on Love..

If I speak in human and angelic tongues

but do not have love, I am a resounding gong or a clashing cymbal.

And if I have the gift of prophecy and comprehend all mysteries and all knowledge;

If I have all faith so as to move mountains but do not have love, I am nothing.

If I give away everything I own, and if I hand my body over so that I may boast

but do not have love, I gain nothing.

Love is patient, love is kind.

It is not jealous, it is not pompous, it is not inflated

it is not rude, it does not seek its own interests,

it is not quick-tempered, it does not brood over injury,

it does not rejoice over wrongdoing but rejoices with the truth.

It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

Love never fails.

If there are prophecies, they will be brought to nothing;

if tongues, they will cease;

if knowledge, it will be brought to nothing.

For we know partially and we prophecy partially,

but when the perfect comes the partial will pass away.

When I was a child I used to talk as a child, think as a child, reason as a child;

When I became a man, I put aside childish things.

At present we see indistinctly, as in a mirror, but then face to face.

At present I know partially, then I shall know fully, as I am fully known.

So faith, hope, love remain, these three

but the greatest of these is LOVE.

1 Corinthians 13