Sigrid N.

Cubil TTh 11:00-12:30 J305

BSA-III-A Maam Marlina Torio-Dayrit
Someday, Like Jesus
It was through reading when I first knew Jesus Christ. As a child, I was blessed to have
been bestowed with blessings in the form of books: I loved everything and anything about them.
One particular Bible storybook stood out from the books I owned; I remember being amazed by
the beautiful pictures inside it and the happy stories that it told me. Most of the contents of the
book talked about Jesus, and I was filled with wonder and reverence for the life that Jesus led.
But, for all the goodness that Jesus exemplified, the three qualities of Jesus that I wanted to
develop within myself were, being clean and pure in spirit, being generous and last but not the
least, keeping a strong faith and trust in God.
When I was in grade school, I remember a sign posted above our blackboard which
said, Cleanliness is next to Godliness. I didnt know what that meant back then, the only thing I
thought was that it had something to do with responsibility to maintain the classrooms
cleanliness at all times. Growing up, I began to understand that it meant something more, more
than the physical cleanliness I was accustomed to. It also referred to cleanliness of the mind,
body and soul. Jesus taught me that all things in the world are naturally clean. God made all
things; therefore, all things are good. But, because of sin, human beings became impure, and
not long after, tainted the creations of God with their uncleanliness. This impureness in the
world challenges my resolve to always seek holiness and chasteness. The quality of cleanliness
is something that even clean freaks would have difficulty to achieve. I may sin but I know that
the forgiveness of God will cleanse me. And someday, like Jesus, I wish I would be clean and
pure in spirit.
Everything I had always came from somebody else. This was a truth that I accepted as I
realized how my life has been given by God, how material things were given to me by my
parents, how comfort and companionship were given to me by my friends and how security and
acceptance were given to me by society. These are just some of the few things that I have
received, and for them, I am most grateful. I want to learn to be generous, not just because I
want to reciprocate the generosity that I have experienced. I want to be generous because
through generosity, I become a part of another persons life. But, this is a hard thing to develop
within myself because sometimes greed overpowers me. At times I am afraid to give everything
that I am and I have, because eventually, I believe I will have nothing else to give. Because of
that fear, I am restricted and limited. And someday, like Jesus, I wish I would be generous.
Luke 12:24,27 Look at the crows: they dont plant seeds or gather a harvest; they dont
have storage rooms or barns; God feeds them! You are worth so much more than birds! Look
how the wild flowers grow: they dont work or make clothes for themselves. But I tell you that not
even King Solomon with all his wealth had clothes as beautiful as one of these flowers.
I was always awed by the sincere faith and beliefs that people held onto despite
everything else. I encountered people believing in God, in heaven, in miracles, in love and even
in the most mundane of things like Santa Claus and tooth fairies. It was a miracle in itself, and I
was fascinated by the idea to do the same. The first time I learned about God, faith and trust in
Him seemed to come naturally to me. Yes, I believed and trusted but I struggled with keeping it
strong. Its because I worry a lot. Whenever I worry, its as if I forget that God would be there for
me, I immediately think of worst-case scenarios, perpetually obsessing over all the terrifying and
frightening ideas I would have to endure. One experience I had was when I had to finish a
project in high school which involved making a comic strip. I worked on it throughout the night,
until I hadnt realized it was already dawn. I havent slept, and I was bone tired and the clock
read 4 am. I was seized by an uncontrollable urge to cry because despite the hard work I did, it
still wasnt enough. I worried, and it was the most intense worrying that I have ever done. I
worried that I couldnt go to school and miss quizzes (coincidentally, I also had to prepare for a
Physics and Geometry quiz the next day), that Id get sick due to fatigue, that I couldnt pass my
project on time, that Id fail in that particular subject, that Id fail in the two quizzes I havent
studied for, that I wouldnt be able to graduate and stuff that arent even relevant to my current
predicament anymore (I remember worrying about my mom getting angry that I was still up
late). Just as I was about to cry, the radio played a song with the lyrics Come to me all of you
who are tired of carrying heavy load. For the yoke I will give is easy, and burden is light. Come
to me, and I will give your rest. At that moment, I felt as if I was blessed. Despite the
exhaustion, I felt that I wasnt alone. I felt that I shouldnt worry, because it only wastes what
little time I had left, and furthermore, worrying will not make me achieve anything. I realized that
the important thing was to trust God. Whatever the outcome, God has a perfect explanation for
it. Fortunately, I did finish the project on time and I even had spare time to prepare for the two
quizzes (our teacher was absent in our first class). I am worth more than birds and wild flowers,
and God even takes care of them! How much more someone like me? Worry is the opposite of
trust. It is difficult for me to not worry; it is something that I have always done, making it a hard
habit to break. But, through the grace of God, I know that I could develop the habit of believing
and trusting Him always. Instead of worrying, I should pray more and strengthen my relationship
with God. And someday, like Jesus, I wish I would have a very strong belief and trust in God.