Wednesday, July 23, 2014

In Your Silence

While You’re silent
I wait
I wait for Your voice
I wait for Your instruction
I wait for Your ways
I wait

While You’re silent
I became impatient
I strived
I complained
I struggled

I continued to ask
Why
When
How

But In silence, You remained
You loved
You provided
You cared

While I continue
to persevere
to hope
to ask again

How long?
Am I doing this right?
Does this please You?
Are You still there?

And in silence
You calmed
You secured
You brought out the things hidden in the innermost being of my heart

And there, amidst Your silence
I saw Your eyes staring right into me

I am tested
I am renewed
I am secured

I trust

Beyond mere words
Signs
Affirmations

Beyond what I see
Feel
and understand

What is important
Now unraveled
And found
In Your silence

February 25, 2011 - REN 

Sa Tren (In the Train)

Miss na nakaupo sa aking harapan
Di mo na ba maikubli ang iyong nararamdaman?
Patak ng luha mo'y tilay di na mapigilan
Kusa nang dumaloy nang di mo namamalayan
sino ba syang di ka pinahalagahan?

Batang nakaupo sa aking tabi
Di na makalad
At ang diwa'y di mapakali
Masayang nanunuod sa
Binahagi sa kanyang game ng psp

Sa isang saglit nawala ang Kapansanang matagal nang pasan
Dahil may isang nilalang
na dumamay at nagpakita na may pakialam

parisukat na madaming
nakakulong
Salamat sa pagkakataong
Maranasang makita
Ang mga ganitong emosyon

Ngunit Kelangan nang bumaba sa aking estasyon
Nasangga si kuya
at ang psp ay nahulog

October 17, 2010 - REN 

Monday, July 21, 2014

One is Not Enough



I Remember that Night

when I entered a new place in Malate. I was in college then when I found that noisy spot. It was dark yet there were lights hovering in the place, people were jumping and singing, and there was a loud music playing. Out of curiosity, I went in and discovered something new. 

No, its was not a bar...  it was a church, it was Victory. 

I remember Her 

I was standing alone in one corner, hoping that people will  not notice me, but apparently, someone did. That night, I met Ate Ruth also known as honey Ruth by everyone since she calls everyone honey. She looked like she was in her mid 20s, when we met... she had this energy and bubbliness oozing through her. She introduced herself, we exchanged numbers, and she did not leave me that night, I was supposed to go home but she insisted that I stay and eat with her before going home. 

My hand was held by her throughout that night, and oh should she choose to take me to a 5 Star Hotel or a fine dining restaurant, I could have ended up spending and eating there. Thankfully, we ended up eating at Mcdonalds. She offered to treat me and insisted that she pay for me even if its just the first time we met. I stayed for a couple of hours and went home, the church was in  Malate... I go home in Laguna. 

On my way home, I was reflecting on how my night went and how my eyes was opened to another world. I have known God since I was 7 and was raised in a christian family, but she had something that I wanted. I wanted that... A discipled heart and a heart to disciple. 


You see, Ate Ruth is just a simple girl from the province yet she had lots of girls that she discipled and mentored. She did it not by preaching or by being on stage, she did not need that, she did it by sharing her life. 

She treated the other girls she just met. 
She supported my school activities and my campaigns. 
She prayed for me and would call me if needed. 
She gave... she gave her time and her resources as well, it did not matter if it was small or big, she just gave. 

At present, I am now leading my own group (Victory Group: an avenue where we can learn and apply God's Word in our lives). It started with just one girl, we could have been called a Victory Couple but no, she encouraged me that it was a Victory Group and that I should persevere. I remember her words telling me "Ryzl, sooner or later, you will do greater things than what I am doing now". I look at my "victory group" and sighed, "Okay...". But yeah, it took months before our group multiplied, God is faithful! God showed that He can use me. That there is no big or small work in His Kingdom, everything is important, everything matters, my small effort matters. 

God used Ate Ruth to encourage me that I can make disciples, that my life can make a difference in another person's life. It does not need to be a lot, it can be just one. After Ate Ruth, I met a lot of women who influenced different aspects of my life. Indeed, one person who is making a difference is not enough, we need to be the difference in someone else's life too. 

Ate Ruth and the Gals

Me, Leah, and Ate Ruth's classic "Wednesday" smile