“Waithood”- GOD CHOICE VS GOOD CHOICE

Narlyn G. Mendoza

Waiting is not everybody’s cup of tea. It can be a burden or a blessing. It can be painful or enjoyable. It can be wasted or worth it. Someone might treat waiting as a privilege but for other, it might be tiresome because they can’t find an assurance at all. Just to feel accepted by another person and avoid the stigma of being single, many enter into unhealthy relationships and compromise values they once held dear. Being in the teaching profession madalas ako tanungin kung “kelan ako mag-aasawa?” hindi ba puwede itanong muna nila kung “kelan ako magkaka-jowa?”. I’ve been repeatedly asked by this question since I turned 25 and while writing this I’m already 28 (still NBSB), before I felt the pressure because of a standard set by society especially for us females that we have an “expiration date”. Most of my friends are married and some, their kids are already in school. But as I grow and become more mature I’ve learn to embraced the season of waiting without fear, living in peace with the assurance of His promises, and choosing His sovereign will over mine. And I want to impart my life lessons as I endure this journey of waithood.

FLY (First Love Yourself). Don’t depend your happiness to other people, it will start from you by loving yourself fully, your flaws, weaknesses and recognizing your worth as the daughter/son of God. Believe in yourself, for if you don’t believe in yourself, it will be hard for others to believe in you. You can make your life anything you wish. Work on your communication skills, learn how to navigate through conflict and have a better sense of what you want in life. Be self-sufficient, emotionally, mentally and spiritually without having another person to give these things to you. This “wholeness” then allows you to give yourself “fully” to someone else in His right time. No one can fill the void/ emptiness in your heart only God can do that. I want you to know that marriage is not the end goal of life which is the mindset of most people, there’s more to life as a single, appreciate every moment and take from those moments everything that you possibly can for you may never be able to experience it again. Pursue your dream career, travel, and do something with your life that is worth writing thousands of stories about. Hold your head up because you have every right to. Seize every opportunities that will come along the way.

Bloom As You Wait. Do not conform to the pattern of this world. Even if it means walking away from the familiar. We are all subjected to different time frames. Your time will surely come. Come to think of it if we knew the exact time of various blessings or promises, then there is no need to exercise our faith. We would remain fixated on that date until it comes and not live in the moment of each day. As we wait, God likes to prepare us to be spiritually, emotionally and physically ready. When we allow this process we come out mature, complete and not lacking in anything. For now, live life to the fullest and maximize your blooming season as you wait.

Committing to God’s Will. “Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart” (Psalm 37:4). Delighting in the Lord means we find pleasure in knowing Him and trusting that He will delight us in return. He will put His desires into our hearts. Kailangan handa tayo na isurrender lahat kay Lord by submitting to His sovereign will. Yung hinihingi natin sa kaniya maliit na bagay lang yon kumpara sa napakagandang plano niya para sa atin. God can see the entire landscape while we concentrate on a single valley. He operates according to His perfect and foreordained eternal schedule, not ours. The primary reason for any decision is should be the conviction that a particular match is God’s choice for us- not just a good choice, but God’s choice.

Everything Happens for a Reason. Naniniwala ako na walang aksidente sa mundo, God not only intervened in, but arranged these “coincidences”. Life is a tapestry of events in line with a sublime and exquisite plan. Sometimes people come into our lives and we know right away that they were meant to be there, to serve some sort of purpose, teach us a lesson, or to help us figure out who we are or who we want to become. Even in those times when such events or circumstances appeared as tragedies in our lives become a blessing in disguise. Yung inaakala mo pala UPSET sa buhay mo ay SETUP ni Lord for you to discover without overcoming those obstacles you will never realized your potential, strength, willpower, or heart.

Anything that is not stated doesn’t exist. We must guard our hearts. Don’t fall too easily, hindi lahat ng emosyon natin tama. At minsan our hearts are deceitful (Jeremiah 17:9). Never get too attached to anyone unless they fell the same towards us, because one sided expectations can mentally destroy us. LIFE IS TOO SHORT to live with “what if” and regret be brave and courageous to ask and express your feelings. And I’ll tell you by doing that you will discover the strength that resides within you.

Dear, as we go along with this journey of waithood may God bless us every step of the way. When the time is right, His next move will be a checkmate. But we need to be ready. Our job is not to figure out when, but to make up our minds that we will not give up until we cross the finish line and we are living in the radical, outrageous blessings of God!

“But these things I plan won’t happen right away. Slowly, steadily, surely, the time approaches when the vision will be fulfilled. If it seems slow, do not despair, for these things will surely come to pass. Just be patient! They will not be overdue a single day! (Habakkuk 2:3 TLB)

--oOo-

The author is Teacher

III at Masantol High School