the nightmare is almost over... prayer # 10, 2009

There is always a light at the end of a tunnel. My Saturday nightmare of fourteen days ago is almost over. Thanks to everyone praying. It is official, my mom survived her near miss of having a dissecting aorta aneurysm. She stayed for 10 days at Makati Med's Medical ICU room 15 and later on moved to a female ward for full recovery. As of this writing, she is still there, actually. But three of out of her four doctors have given their "yes" to discharge. So I am pretty sure that in the next few days her ordeal is done. Yey! What a great God I serve, He made all things possible. In most cases of what Mama had, the patient would be long gone by now. But look at her, very much alive, alert and can't wait to get her serving of Halo-Halo with ice cream on top!

It was a harrowing experience. There were a lot of sleep deprivation, mental torture and buckets of tears shed. But I held on and survived with my mom. A lot of people have commented on the strength I seem to posses and being able to go through all this still on my two feet. The answer to that is easy. I chose to give up everything to my God as I sit back and watch Him do His work. 1 Peter 5:7 says Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. And I did just that.

But then again, I am a mere human and still stumble at times. There were moments that I let my mind worry. Especially now that she is out of danger. Because now is the time that I need to face another big problem: Where do I get the hundreds of thousands of peso I need to completely pay off Makati Med for their wonderful work of taking care of Mama? We do have a health care insurance from work. But at the rate of Makat Med's exorbitant fees, we maxed out the limit on our health card by third day alone.

So what do I do with this? Pray of course! :) If anything, the biggest take-away out of this entire experience is to completely surrender, exceedingly trust and fervently pray. You know what a prayer does? It calms the way-wired mind, soothes the beating heart and comforts the tormented spirit.

God in His magnificence is showing me how He could just provide for my needs. He's using the people around me. I am so humbled to share that I have friends and colleagues who care enough to share their own blessings. Thank you, you know who you are, for spearheading the collection at the office... from RFS IT, LTDM and even Customer Care. All of you who took the initiative and shared my burden, I am forever grateful and will never forget this act of kindness.

Yesterday, I partially paid some of the amount due to us. I am still six-digits short! But I trust that I'll get pass this...

So now, please pray some more! Help me pray for the Lord's financial provision. I've exhausted all the possible ways to raise funds. That includes letting go of some of my treasured stuff (huhuhu... goodbye iPhone) and re-drafting our future based on this circumstance. We'll have to move to a lower-rental-cost apartment soon to get things back to normal. But that is okay. This is a mere test. And I am not failing it. :)

We are exploring the PCSO possibilities. Oh Lord, will you just touch the heart of whoever will be handling our case and through PCSO provide the rest of the funds I need? Please pray that our application to PCSO for financial assistance will be granted and in a timely manner too. We are also seeking help from the local government of Makati. Other than these... you have other ideas? :)

Father God, I just thank and praise you for your goodness and mercy. You allowed this to befall us and I accept that this is Your will and I am putting my full trust in You. Lord, you know that we are in dire need of financial help. Thank you Lord for all the blessings I've received so far through my friends and colleagues. Will you please bless each one of them? Repay what I couldn't repay. Remember them as you bestow your blessing and may they see You in all these.

I also lift-up to you my father and brother in US. You know exactly in what financial state they are in. I know they are heavily burdened that they could not support us in this struggle. Please calm their hearts as well, Lord. If they will not be able to shoulder some of the expense because of their own financial struggle, please equip me more with the strength I need as I face this alone.

I just can't thank you enough Lord for blessing me with the work I have. Thank you for putting me in an organization with people who emphatize and extend help. I could not be in a better place than where I am today. I realize Lord that You do have a reason for everything.

Thank you Lord for the lessons I got from this ordeal. May this leave an imprint in my heart that I may forever remember how good You are and how well-taken cared of I am.

I love you, my father in heaven and I cast all my cares on you. Amen.