I HAVE NOTHING AND YET EVERYTHING IN MY BACKPACK

I was sitting there enjoying my green tea frappe... yes, Starbucks... where else?! :-) While waiting for my daughter who went to National Book Store on an errand I overheard this conversation from the next table not far from mine. In a group of middle-aged women, one matronly-looking woman spoke.... "Ay naku, pera-pera lang yan. Tingnan mo lang kung gaano kabilis ang solusyon kapag nabigyan mo na."  -- In essence that meant ... "It's all about money. Money buys everything."

That got me to thinking. Back in the house as I sat at my desk the thoughts came tumbling out and I wrote...........

There’s nothing else I know. There’s no supernatural formula I could easily summon up to solve problems with. There’s no wise guru to teach me some special mantra to erase worrisome cares and woes. There’s no big fat bank account to ease my way through the rough and tumble grind of earthly struggle and strife. There’s no magic potion on my shelf which I could conveniently pluck out and slip into a mean person’s coffee to bring about a change of heart or mind.

But I know this.....

I travel through life’s journey with this special thing packed tightly inside my backpack. It’s a small thing lest you think it’s a grand magnificent piece of heavy treasure stacked in there alongside other stuff. But it is a treasure indeed and it glows albeit often small, sometimes strangely, at times falteringly, even faintly, neglected at some point, at odd moments I don’t feel it and yet its flame won’t snuff out nor disappear into thin air as you think it easily might. It glows steadily and amazingly considering it’s just the size of a mustard seed. It’s there regardless of how I feel.

I have my share of tough times too just like we all do and those things don’t and won’t stop because that is just what life is made of. I'm just a weak puny human being trying to make it in this crazy world. Yet I can say this much that it’s like I always land on a bean-bag each time. Faith is like a soft self-inflating bean- bag which catches you every time you fall. Oh maybe you’ll get some bumps and bruises here and there but who wouldn’t with a fall no matter its size. And yes you will feel depressed, lonely, disappointed, angry, afraid, sad and everything else miserable in the book of life. All of life is about feelings, too.

But it doesn’t kill you. In fact, it’s like warm comforting arms wrapping around you in a big glorious divine hug. It simply makes you feel so good that you always want to cry so much relieved. It’s like something or SOMEONE tells you ... ‘It’s okay, don’t be afraid; I’M here.’

It’s just wonderfully there. I, with blessed joy, thank God for this gift and treasure.