A Wedding

Months ago, I accompanied my mom at the wedding of her friend’s daughter. I didn’t realize that I would be alone the whole affair until it started. I started to regret being there. I should have dropped her off and waited for her at Boni Highstreet then picked her up after. (Wedding was at Every Nation’s Building) But it was too late to do just that. I was there seated alone with people I don’t know, all made up for the occasion. Tsk tsk tsk

It was the first time I attended their service. It’s the same church that Piolo, Ruffa and other celebrities go to. It was not any different from the Catholic’s service. It started out with the candle sponsors lighting the candle. Then followed by the entourage. When it was the turn of the bride’s walk, the groom asked everyone to stand up to welcome his bride. The groom was in tears. Really cute. The bride was beautiful! Crying too but still beautiful. Then the pastor’s ‘homily’. He was very good. I forgot his name though. Hehehe I would just like to share the meat of what he said.

He said, there are three keys to a marriage. Putting Christ in the center of your relationship, having an open communication with your spouse, and maintaining genuine love for one another.

It was great how he expounded on these points. He actually made me nod in agreement a number of times.

Then the vow. I love their vows. It was different from our vows. I was just not sure if they made it or it was their usual vow. It ended with “you acknowledge that you are no longer your own, but completely mine.” Very selfish. I love it! Hehehe

Then the coins, veil and chord. For some reasons, the coins were not found. Then the pastor proceeded to call on the veil sponsors. I like it that they explain what’s going on. The veil is put on the head of the bride symbolizing her acknowledgement to be submissive to her husband. And on the shoulder of the groom symbolizing that he carries all the burden of providing for their family. The chord came late too so it was not explained. After that, they were asked to put off the candles lighted earlier to light a new candle together. It symbolizes that they are extinguishing their individual selves and starting a new life as one.

I never knew of these symbolisms! Is it explained in Catholic’s weddings too? Apparently I was 100% paying attention to the service... because I was not busy gossiping with anyone. Hahaha

Anyway, after the candle, a few more pastors were called to come up the stage together with the parents for a pray over. The father of the groom, then the brother of the bride (the father is deceased) the 2 of the invited pastors prayed for them too.

It was an amazing ceremony! Very meaningful. And very God centered.

After the service, everyone was asked to leave the hall. It will be set up for the reception while the entourage was having their pictorial. Cocktails awaited the guests at the hallway.

At the reception, they had a band. Food was catered by The Manila Catering Services. Motif was a combination of lilac and pink.

One of the principal sponsors was asked to give his words of wisdom for the couple. I would like to share what he said too. He pointed out what the pastor has said during the ‘homily’. LCL – Lord, Communication and Love. He added, ABC - never Abuse, never Blame and never Criticize. True, right? I am telling you. I have learned so much from that wedding.

A Detour

One trip. One conversation. One failure. It’s amazing how one thing can make such a big impact and difference. All this time you have been dreaming and planning of your perfect life. But really, it just takes one detour to turn things around. It maybe for the better or for the worse.

People say there is no such thing as coincidence. They are probably right. But when something happens that you can not explain or comprehend, an easy way to make sense of it all is to consider it as such. Why stress about it when you can not find the answers anyway. So just sit back and wait until it reveals itself to you. Just be vigilant and be open. This revelation may not come as soon as you want it to. Or perhaps it has already happened without you realizing it. It all boils down on how you interpret things. How meticulous you are of seeing the ‘signs’. And of course what attitude you carry.

In every person’s life, there is this one turning point. An incident that will crash your ideal life. For some, they will take full accountability to it. Either they consciously caused it to themselves or allowed others to bring about such misfortunes in their lives. Expected somehow. Others are however left in awe. Not knowing the reason. Not having something to point their finger to.

For the more optimistic, that incident is an eye opener that things don’t go always as planned. And for the best part, it is not the end of the world. There are a lot of other possibilities and opportunities waiting to be stumbled upon. If you are brave and a risk taker, the new path you are headed to will almost certainly be more promising and more fulfilling. You just have to learn to be receptive. Give it a chance and see if you like it. If you do, well and good. But if not, it was just one option you chose. You now know that the world offers you a whole lot more. Communicate with yourself and find out what it is you want at this moment. Then give it a try. Set a new goal and work on it.

Sadly, others are not as strong and hopeful. One incident sends them down the drain. The worst part is they end up wishing of the life they know they can not have anymore. It becomes hard to get out of the pit. The result? Failure after failure. Every road leads to a dead end. Making it even more difficult to straighten things out because the pit you are in just keeps on getting deeper. In situations like this, it takes more than mere planning. A decision has to be made that you want to get out of this predicament coupled with a real determination. And faith that something good will come out of it.

This year, my turning point happened. It started with my trip early this year. Never in my wildest imagination did I think it was possible. For me, it was too far-fetched. But it happened nevertheless. Of course, I was thrilled. That trip was my eye opener. My conversations with relatives, friends and acquaintances made me realize the vast things I can do. It painted a completely different world that I can be apart of. Something I would not have thought of. Surprisingly though, I liked it. I went out of my way to actually take steps of inquiring about the opportunities. My mind was processing things crazily. Weighing the pros and cons. I was definitely getting ahead of myself. I almost made an impulsive decision of staying. But I had to hold myself down. After all, I was still tied to my long time plan. I didn’t want things to get mixed up or leave things hanging. I wanted to stick with it. So I went home. Although a big part of me was wishing I didn’t. Then a week later, I received a bad news. My failure. Unexpectedly, I was ok about it. I mean, considering how big a deal it was supposed to be. Or it was probably my defense mechanism to shield myself from feeling the pain, the embarrassment and the disappointment. I kept myself busy by planning my next move. But never did I allow myself to sulk or be bitter about it. In my mind, I was thinking, ‘God does not take away something without giving something better in return.’ With me though, He gave me something first before He took away another thing. I was grateful for that. It made the coping easier. From then on, I allowed Him to lead me. Deep down, I know He has a reason for all of these. So I am patiently and carefully piecing the signs together. Slowly making sense of things. Acknowledging my naiveté of interpreting things. I was seeing only what I want to see and what is favourable to me. It makes me sigh sometimes how literally I took things in.

Where I am now, seems like a route toward the world I liked and want to be apart of. I would not be here now had I not made that trip, or had that conversation or experienced that failure. It’s so surreal. It was all in preparation of the life that I should be living. Gradually, fate is unfolding before me. Im good where I am now. I wouldn't have it any other way. =)

My Mean Friends

It's Masskara weekend highlight in Bacolod. it means another excuse to go out and party!!! sadly though, i am in Manila... tsk tsk

My 2 gal friends from law school are just plainly mean. hahahaha of course, they were going out but with some new people, Trish's classmates from ICA, and i am MIA! and they had to rub it on my face! tricia had to call me up and let me hear the music/noise! they wanted to make sure i know how much they were having! they are soooo evil. then she ended the phone call by saying she can't hear a thing i'm saying because it's too noisy! imgaine that! hahaha so while they continue to party and get drunk, i was stuck planning when i'll go home! hahahaha pathetic! i can't think straight. "i wanna go home" chant hanging around my head. so disturbing.