God's time and creations

I used to struggled with time - being on time - especially in my native land where there is "Filipino time" which connotes being late.
But God wants us to be conscious of time. Psalm 90:12 says "Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom." I am sure God also wants to number our hours, minutes and seconds.
Being punctual was one of my goals.
But in this new country I am in, I needed to be on time! Everyone is on time!
And most especially because I needed to get on the bus, which arrives every 30 minutes or even every hour. So imagine missing the bus and having to wait for the next one. Surely a time waster.
I also cannot arrive on the bus stop at the exact time. I have to arrive earlier than the bus.
It's a double punch on punctuality and patience that God is teaching me.
I have a choice if I should wait idly or be productive. Thankfully, a good book, an audiobook or a good song keeps me company.
(Thankfully, there are free Catholic/Christian talks available online. My favorites are at www.kerygmafamily.com and www.febc.ph)

Awhile ago, I was waiting for the bus. In the bus schedule I got off the internet, the bus should arrive at 10:30am, but it was 10:35am and the bus has not arrived. I prayed and the Lord confirmed the bus would arrive.
I listened to praise music on my mp3 player while waiting for the bus. 
10:40am came and I was getting worried. It was a Sunday and I thought, maybe there is no bus? Or perhaps the schedule changes on Sundays?
I suddenly remembered that I had an application on my phone that shows the bus and train schedules. Looking at it, I saw that indeed the schedule is different and the bus was bound to arrive at 10:52am. 
I was there at the bus stop, feeling the heat on a breezy autumn day. A dog even scared me coz it was barking at dogs passing by, accompanied by their owners. But I prayed and remained steadfast. 
At last the bus arrived and I was so relieved.
This day I learned faith, to use God's resources and patience in waiting for the perfect time. It's not always easy, but everyday grants us the grace to be victorious!

Thank you Lord for allowing me to learn lessons I need to learn.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

Another prayer granted by God is that I take a picture of a lake I pass by on the way to work.
This lake was near a bus stop but the view when the bus stops is not on a good angle to take a picture. So I'll either have a not so good picture or a blurry one.
Before the adjustment of the Daylight saving time (DST), I used to see the lake in the afternoon with swans swimming on it. But after the DST adjustment,  it is already dark when I pass by it. So I only get to enjoy it's beauty in the morning.
For a few days, whenever I pass the lake,  I longed to capture its beauty.

One day, it was traffic and it was on the spot where the lake was. I finally got to capture a photo of the lake!
It is so calm and peaceful.

 I was elated to learn that there is another lake near my office. When I arrived early this week, I passed by it first and saw ducks swimming!

I am enjoying sightseeing in my new country of residence. 
Though I truly miss the people I love in my home country, God gives me glimpses of His wonderful creations which made me realize even more that wherever I may be, God is with me.

Strength and Mothers

Another week has passed and we are blessed in many ways. Thank God for the gift of life, of friendship, and most especially, of love.

-------------------------------------

My first week at work has been good. I was supposed to start on a Thursday but I dropped by on Tuesday just to experience how to commute going to work. I dropped by the office to give the requirements, but since I was there, they decided to let me start working. :)
I was excited to be working again after quite some time.

The second day was a mixture of emotions as the weather became colder because of rain. Then I started to realize the volume of work I had to do. I was feeling overwhelmed, at the same time melancholic, because of the weather. I was teary-eyed going home, as I thought too much of what I had to do plus I was feeling cold. My jacket was not thick enough to warm me up.

As tears were welling up my eyes, I saw a mother with three children on the train. One of her kids was still a baby. The other two were about seven and four years old, and they were fighting. As I looked on them I realized that this mother had more problems than me because she had to take care of her baby, at the same time appease her other two children. But she was very gentle to her two fighting kids, so they finally stopped arguing.

When I went home, I talked to my boyfriend and he comforted me on the phone. He told me not to allow myself to be overwhelmed, and to always wear a jacket to protect me from the cold weather. He was calm in talking to me, and I thank God for that.

The next day, I felt better, I prayed and I realized that I did stress myself. That day, I strengthened myself by allowing positive thoughts by reading the word of God and other books that inspire me.

Stress and Strength both contain the letters "STRE". 
We need to replace the "SS" with "NGTH" so that 

                          STRESS -> STRENGTH

Let us not allow the "SS" (satan says) rob of us "NGTH" (Now, God told her/him).

-------------------------------------

Mothers are really strong. 
I had migraines and nausea so I decided to see the doctor, and at the doctor's office were two mothers with their children.
One mother had a sick baby. The other mother brought her little son and little daughter. The son was sitting and sleeping, looking tired and not feeling well.
They were talking about their sick children and I can feel the worry in their tone.
I was not feeling well and I worried only about myself. These mothers, for me, felt worse because it is hard for them to see their child sick and if they can only take away the sickness they would do it.
Oh, a mother's love is one of the greatest things in the world.

-------------------------------------

It made me miss my mother even more because now I have to cook my own meals. My mother was a great cook. 
I only learned to cook in my 20s, but I only did it occasionally.
I enjoy baking more than cooking, but recently I found the joy in cooking. I believe I got it from mom, who is always joyful in serving us hearty meals.

-------------------------------------

In times of loneliness, I pray the rosary.
As a Catholic, I still have a lot of questions on Mother Mary. But while praying the rosary, our Blessed Mother sends a message to "delight myself in the Lord".
What is delight? It is joy, pleasure, excitement. Not all things are pleasurable but exciting. Allowing ourselves to be excited by God's presence in our life is the way to acknowledge Him. But most importantly, we should obey His commands.

Mothers and their strength. What a miracle!

Thank you Lord for mothers. For us, women, who aspire to be mothers in the future, prepare us, strengthen us for that great role of motherhood. For all mothers in the world, give them great strength in taking care of their children and husbands. Thank you Lord for allowing your mother, Mary, to intercede for us. Amen.