When you have walked and still walking through the valleys of experience in life, you
meet wonderful people that are part of your life forever and helped shape your
foundational values to shine more light in the dark. This can be a life-experience
walk in your past and still be a connection of dots to your future life.
Sometimes what has been done to you in the past is a great ingredient for you
to keep yourself humble like fruits bearing its magnificent taste to other
people who have tasted it before, still wanting to taste it again and wanting
to share it around. Things that happen are never a coincidence but for a
reason when you look it back with discernment.
As a wife now, I’m connecting the dots of my life as it
needed since when I was single person to MARRIAGE LIFE. The “still small voice”
reiterates me in January 2012 about reconnecting the dots of my life gearing
towards the choices we have made as a couple that we’re both peaceful about it.
We’ll be 7 years of marriage without kids yet, but I choose to submit to my
husband not to land a job even if it’s tempting when the Lord God took away the
job opportunities I have applied rather to stay home and help my husband what
we are passionate about even if it may take us years to do it on the “less road
travel” by faith in action. An author once said “ANONYMOUS sufferings are
actually the best kind --- in fact our Lord Jesus (Yeshua) tells us otherwise,
others might recognize us and compliment us and that, will be the reward but
what we do in secret God will reward us - Matthew 6:16-18)”. What we believe
becomes stronger like a pillar especially when the sign is not everyone is on
your side but they are in fact a great springboard for us (a blessing in disguise)
because we’re not doing it to glorify ourselves but to glorify Yahweh God who
is Faithful and only Truth! We believe that everyone on earth is here for a
reason especially if you find your purpose and passion in life and just ACT ON
OUR DREAMS and VISION of burden given to us. My urgent job right here, right
now is to complete my husband as Father God orchestrated it for us as a couple
uniquely or not the same with other couples. Pastor Jack Hyles put it this way.
“Always in the Bible the first command is to the follower. In Ephesians 5:22,
for example, it says, "Wives, submit yourselves unto your own
husbands." Then in verse 25 it says, "Husbands, love your
wives." Who's supposed to start it? The wife! Woman comes to an incomplete man, completes him
(Brian), and then receives the benefits of his completeness. Woman comes to an
incomplete man and completes him (Brian); that's her job--to be the aggressor,
to lead him (Brian) to become a complete man so he can lead her, but he (Brian)
needs woman to start him! Then after woman completes man (Brian), she receives
the benefits of his completeness!”
Somehow this year 2012 starts, I have personal prompting
reminding me back before I went to Bible College after I finished my University
degree in Education and had some volunteer jobs which were related to the business
industry. For those who knew me and even don’t know me, may ask “how can I be
in a job not even related at all to my profession that time” ---I learned
nuggets from past experiences and it’s relating now that I’m married to what
we’re heading on as a couple. My point is before I entered to Bible College for
a short term training that prompted on me; an “ANONYMOUS financial supporter” have already paid my tuition fee for
the whole training course in full-term , all I needed to pray about was my allowance
then, which the Lord have met in different unexpected ways I can testify &
grateful with.
“When someone paid my Bible College tuition fee in full
terms ANONYMOUSLY not coincidence because the Lord has its purpose later in my
marriage life as one of our foundational values for us to keep growing in our
FAITH as a couple when we give; and keep ourselves from pride to what He
purposed us to do.” Not only this experience occurred in Bible college but also
where I was nurtured young when my parents were pastoring a Church in the
Philippines, there were ANONYMOUS givers who just left a big sack of 100
kilograms of Rice in front of the church pulpit when we really had nothing to
eat the next day (I’m not exaggerating it) and other things I can testify. That
in itself is one of the foundational values I had grown up with to be a
blessing to someone anonymously. When we faithfully serve the one who has
called us by heart; His provision is in the CALL. It’s all our choice &
willingness with patience as one of the fruits of the Spirit of God even if it
hurts our guts out to be misjudged; that fruit will bear more fruitage
abundantly and exceedingly in due time.
The fact is it’s from the Lord’s Word Himself who says,
“When we give, don’t let your left hand know what your right hand is doing like
the Pharisees and Sadducees in Jesus’ (Yeshua)’s time who were very religious
and proud even when they prayed/fasted in public!”
Matthew 6:2-4 “So when you give to the
needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues
and on the streets, to be honoured by men. I tell you the truth; they have
received their reward in full. But when you give to the needy, do not let your
left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in
secret then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.”
The secret thing is, if we are faithful to do
things in small ways faithfully the ONE WHO IS FAITHFUL can trusts us to do
things in a big scale in due time. The pity side of it is when someone claiming
to be Christians who wants to announce what she/he done or give this or that to
other people or to charity they have a long way to understand the ways of God…
because if a Christian does it so, how much more the people in the secular
world can easily proudly televised it for themselves! I live in Australia and
every year, they would occasionally announce a long list in one of the TV
programs who gives their charities with their FULL NAME! You know what, even at
my husband’s workplace who are not claiming to be Christians, they don’t even
want their names to be scrolled on the TV screen how long they have been
working there for long years’ service, which was just happened this 2012. My
hubby said, because the company is a business, it’s for their marketing
strategies and they thought they are doing favour for their employees (although
his co-workers can’t see it that way as they questioned why, he said to me). Art
Carden, an Assistant Professor of Economics and Business stated “There are, of
course, good reasons to be totally open about your giving–when you are trying
to honour someone, for example, by naming a building or lecture series or
something after them, or when you explicitly want to change people’s
incentives. If you just want to give
people stuff, though, then your charity is most effective when it is given in
secret.”
When Christians are constantly mentioning what they
give or done to others the charitable value losses its true Biblical sense as
we’ve heard or read in a sermon but not doers of the Word. Watch out their
motives later in life I’m not a prophesying this but there’s something why they
say so with pride and to shoot other’s ego immaturely as a babe
Christian (Hebrews 6:1-2 speaks of spiritual immaturity, which is another topic).
If any of you out there struggling to give/help or intended to do it when you
have got something to give, stuffs or even your personal time, don’t be
discouraged because when your turn comes, the Lord God has already opened that
door for you because you have done it in your heart in secret for a heavenly
reward not from men.
I thanked God for His PEACE that passes all
understanding as a living testimony. The calamities, challenges, and negating
words outside our marriage because of the choice we’ve made thriving us deeply
and robustly in the Divine Creator’s hands by faith in action. The pruning is
great season to bear so that we shall bear much fruits effectively when that
perfect season arrives because He’s our Emmanuel “God is with us” at all times. When we learned to separate ourselves from
the crowd for a season in the wilderness-walk you learn more deep things from
our Lord Yahweh God like Jeremiah have himself “set-apart” to be a prophet
although not everyone called to be a prophet but we are all unique and our
uniqueness is needed in the world when we learn our Heavenly Father’s secret
not only in giving!” Jesus said, "If anyone wishes to come after Me, let
him deny himself, and take up his cross DAILY, and FOLLOW ME," (Luke
9:23).
