By Bishop Jovie Galaraga
New Year is always a time for serious reflections, looking back to the past year and looking forward to what’s ahead. Let me assure you that God wants you and me to enjoy success all the years of our lives. I encourage you to read and apply the following tips on how to take hold of a great year. This is Part 1 of a 2-part series.
- DON’T GIVE UP! Maybe you failed to achieve your set goals last year. Well, you are not alone. Millions or maybe billions of others also failed to realize their 2013 goals. I’ve written hundreds of resolutions since I was in Grade V. In elementary and high school it was a requirement of our English teachers when we returned to classes after the long Christmas vacation – remember those theme papers, “My New Year’s Resolutions,” and if your teacher is of the sadistic kind, he required another one, “How I Spent Christmas?” If all those resolutions were realized, I would own the whole of Pangasinan province including the Hundred Islands by now.
But DON’T GIVE UP! If Thomas Alva Edison gave up after his 1000 experiments failed and his laboratory burned down, we would not be enjoying the benefits of the light bulb today. If Alexander Bell gave up, we would not have the convenience of telephones today. In fact for those of us who use iPhones, iPads or Macbooks, we won’t have these lovely gadgets if the late Steve Jobs of Apple Company gave up when faced with grave problems. If the Wright brothers (Wilbur and Orville) gave up after wasting tons of materials for their prototype planes, we would not be flying to and from Israel through El Al or Korean Air today.
Many of us delight in KFC ‘s finger-lickin’ chicken with its great gravy but not many know that Colonel Sanders almost gave up after 1009 restaurants turned down his recipe. Well, wala ka sa mundong ito kung nag-gave up ang Papa mo noong nililigawan niya ang Mama mo (or maybe, it’s the other way around – noong nililigawan ng Mama mo ang iyong Papa!)
One of my favorite motivational authors said that “success is never ending, failure is never final.” Indeed. It’s not how many times you’ve failed but what’s important is how many times you’ve gotten up and try again. Listen my friend: We’ve no reason to give up because God has not and will not give up on us. He loves us so much; His help is always available to make us successful.
- MAKE YOUR FAMILY TOP PRIORITY. We don’t have to repeat what every OFW knows as a horrible fact: Countless OFW families are either broken or on the way to being broken. We are all aware of the main reason (s) for this tragedy. But whatever the reason, this year, determine to put your family, your house in order. Make it your Top, Number One Priority. May kasabihan tayo na, ano man ang nangyari, pamilya pa rin. At the end of the day, it’s still the family that matters. Hindi ito sa movies or teleserye lang. There’s no substitute for the love, joy, strength that only family, the real place of refuge and rest, can give. Why? Because God loves and preserves the family, it is His priority.
God has already done everything to ensure that the family is intact, blessed by His love, harmony, happiness and prosperity, among other things. Ano man ang situation ng family mo, wasak na or malapit nang mawasak, remember, with God nothing is impossible. There’s always hope for reconciliation and restoration. All you need to do ay lumapit ka sa Diyos and through the Lord Jesus Christ, ask forgiveness and grace. I know several true stories of how God worked miracles in families when there seemed to be no way anymore.
- LAUGH OUT LOUD REGULARLY. Sino ba yung kumanta ng “Tawanan mo ang iyong problema?” Thank God for Facebook na naka-imbento ng LO reminding us always that laughter is indeed one of the best medicines.
In prefacing its Humor Special some years ago, Readers’ Digest affirmed that laughter has been “proven to be good for your health.” Well, King Solomon had affirmed that over three thousand years ago when he wrote that “A merry heart does good like a medicine…,” (Proverbs 17:22). The famous King should know – after all he must have been one of the happiest men who lived – sobra-sobrang kayamanan sa pera at magagandang asawa – 700 official wives and 300 unofficial lang naman.
Ang buhay OFW is a mixture of joy and loneliness, fulfillment and struggles. But happy are them who have known the secret of smiling and laughing at the storms and hard challenges of life. Whatever worry or burden they may have, they’ve learned to trust the Lord for everything at hindi kina-career ang pagiging worrier.
A story is told of a Pastor who went to a counselor because he was a chronic, hopeless worrier. He was advised to hire someone to worry for him that he will have time to laugh. So he hired a young man who, when he reported for work, asked for his job description. The Pastor said, “Only one, to worry for me.” “Oh, that’s a hard job, how much is my salary, Pastor,” he inquired. “P25,000 a month,” the Pastor assured. “But Pastor, how can you afford that, I guess your salary is not even P15,000!” The Pastor smiled ear-to-ear at his future “worrier,” and said “Young man, that’s your first worry.”
Remind yourself of the powerful lyrics of “He Will Carry You,” from the bestselling musical, Joseph the Dreamer: “There is no problem too big God cannot solve it /There is no mountain too tall/ God cannot move it/There is no storm too dark/ God cannot calm it/There is no sorrow too deep He cannot soothe it.”
At the Cross of Calvary, our Lord Jesus had already carried the heavy load of the world, that’s you and me. His invitation is, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.” Will you do that today?
A HAPPIER NEW YEAR TO ALL!