Thank You God!

It’s been a while since I wrote down the things I’m grateful for; this should’ve been a daily habit that’s why I’m still berating myself but hey, there’s no use crying over spilt milk. Life goes on and so does this journal. I have a lot to be thankful for, God has blessed me with so much, it's surprising why I mope around sometimes.

I am grateful for:

• The gifts of life and love, loving family and friends.

• The gifts of faith, hope and most important of all, love.

• The gifts of the Holy Spirit and the inspiration that comes with it.

• The gifts of wisdom, enlightenment and discernment.

• The gifts that come from a good confession, as well as the trials that may follow. It may be a contradiction of sorts but after reading today’s Gospel and reflection, I realize that temptations and trials are part of life.

To quote today’s Gospel reflection, “The publishers of the New American Bible put as title above the first part of the Letter of James, ‘The Value of Trials and Temptation.’ Yes, you have read correctly: the value of temptation, it says. Temptations are valuable and important. They are tests that will show whether we love God, whether we are able to show our love by loving obedience. They come, especially when you least expect them to come.”

Wow! Such an amazing and eye-opening revelation! I thought that after a good confession, life would be peaceful. Oh how wrong I was. True, my confession was sincere and heartfelt but I guess dealing with your past and accepting it isn’t as easy as I thought. I guess the key is to lift everything to Jesus and allow Him to work wonders from within. The silver lining is His constant presence. That’s the best part about wanting to grow closer to God… He responds in the same way. The most inspiring part about this experience is that not only does God respond He also sends His instruments to help us along the way! And for that, I am forever grateful.

• The gifts of second chances, reconciliation, new opportunities, blessings old and new.

• The light at the end of dark tunnels, the flickering embers of love that never dies out, the flickering light of guidance and the bright light that always replaces the darkness that threatens to engulf us sometimes.

• Most important of all, I am grateful for God’s unwavering presence in my life and for our Blessed Mother’s constant love and support. Believe it or not, her presence was tangible last Friday after mass. My aunt and charismatic sisters and I were engulfed in such fragrance that all I could say was, “whose perfume is that?” and my sister replied, “That’s the blessed virgin! She is always with us.” Honestly, that nearly brought tears to my eyes. I can’t believe that Mama Mary would still accept me, sinner that I am. I guess it was her way of saying that now that I am finally ready to accept and carry my cross she will be with me all the way. I guess it’s just my pride and anger that stand in the way of true joy and peace of mind. All I know is, that night, I felt God’s embrace; and in the midst of the tears and doubts and the fact that I give in to some residual anger sometimes; it is of great comfort to know that God loves me in spite of my weaknesses and sinful nature. And so I am happy and at peace. Hopefully, as I gain spiritual maturity, this journal will grow too.

There's so much to be thankful for so I'm hoping that each day I will get the chance to tend to this journal and watch how God's love is helping me grow in every aspect of life. Thank you Jesus, for every single blessing!