On faith.

I don't think this will be cohesive.

I'm writing this because I came across a blog post bashing a certain Christian celebrity for posting John 14:6 and Acts 4:12 on Instagram during Pope Francis' visit.

My beliefs have changed, but my family is Catholic so I watched the live telecasts of the Papal Masses with them. I think his messages were beautiful and inspiring. 

I just don't understand why people are so defensive about those verses. After all, we more or less have the same Bible, so those verses are true for all of us.

Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that. 

More than three years ago, I had this urge to attend Sunday service at TouchPoint @ Ayala. A friend brought me there when we were still in college, probably twice or thrice, and although I found the messages to be beautiful, I was just not moved then. This time, it felt like some kind of calling, so I went back, albeit a bit anxious and a bit wary. I still wasn't moved that Sunday, but for some reason, I kept going back, Sunday after Sunday, until one day I woke up and realized I was a different person.

I was reborn. I found beauty in a flock of birds, in the raindrops hitting my fingertips, in a patch of sunlit floorboard. I would wake up at 9AM even if I came from a night shift. I started reading my Bible every day and started to enjoy reading it. I stopped being late for work. He has never felt so real to me. I've never felt so compelled to seek Him. I've never been so in love with Him. 

I'm not saying I'm blameless. As much as I want to be Christlike, I fall short. I know I always will. But my faith guides me to walk in His light, and isn't that what faith should do? Shouldn't it make us love Him more? Shouldn't it make us love others more? 

Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that.

You can drag someone into your church, kicking and screaming. You can guilt trip him into going with you. You can bash everything he says that is contrary to your own beliefs. But really, I don't see how dragging, guilt-tripping, and bashing could be the best way to proclaim the Gospel. After all, don't we believe in a loving God? 

Why do we always underestimate the power of prayer? Why can't we pray for God to change someone's heart, to make him more like Him? After all, don't we believe in an omnipotent God?

To the people who prayed for my change of heart, thank you. I will be forever grateful.

Beauty and Madness

Today, I woke up thinking about love and all the beauty that comes with it.

I once fell in love with someone who seemed to be made for me--someone who really got me. He didn't even try; it was so effortless. People around us would say that we slipped into our own little bubble whenever we were together. It was as if we were synced, like we were in the same wavelength. That didn't mean we didn't have differences. In fact, we enjoyed bantering and arguing with each other. 

But even then, with all the beauty and the madness, I just knew we weren't going to end up together.

In an alternate reality, he would've been perfect for me. We would've been perfect for each other. People write songs and poems and novels about something so rare. People search the world for it, and we had it. We still do. We still hang out once in a while and every time, there's still that "automatic" connection. We just get each other. We would've been perfect for each other, but the choices that we make lead us to where we're going, and our choices led us to this version of reality.

Not too long ago, I've learned that love is not enough. It's not enough for him to love you. He also has to choose you, and he has to choose you every day for the rest of your lives. Holding out for someone who is emotionally unavailable is almost always tragic. It is almost always destructive.

Having someone who effortlessly understands you may be beautiful, but I'd rather love someone who chooses to understand me and will make that choice every day, even when it's hard.

Joy comes in the morning.

"Weeping may stay for the night,

but rejoicing comes in the morning."

                    - Psalm 30:5

My 2014 was blessed with quite a number of sunrises, one of which I consider to be the most magnificent sunrise I have ever seen. Sadly, I didn't get to take a photograph, so I promised myself that I would paint it someday. 

But this year, I'm looking forward to a different kind of sunrise. I'm looking forward to dreams coming true and promises being fulfilled. I'm preparing to be blown away by His majesty. 

The dawn is breaking. This year, God will reveal His glory in ways we never imagined, and we will stand in awe of Him. It will be the most magnificent sunrise anyone has ever seen.