My Personal Encounters that Proved, "God Will Provide"
Posted on Friday, 30 October 2015
My
Personal Encounters that Proved, “God Will Provide”
By Apolinario Villalobos
Though I take pride in my unquestionable
faith, there is still a bit of skepticism left in me when it comes to solving
personal problems due to my fatalistic attitude at times. Just like the rest of
most Filipinos, I always leave the result of my efforts to fate after having
done my best. I did not have the heart to depend always on God because my
personality is rooted in the principle on personal endeavor without depending on
anybody else, thus, the saying that “God will provide” has always been out of
my mind. But my attitude changed due to observable “proofs” that indeed, God
does not leave us in times of need.
When I was a Boy Scout in Grade 5, I was
only using one white collarless t-shirt to go with my also, lone short khaki
pants. There was always a problem if scouting activities were done in two or
more consecutive days for as soon as I arrive home, I must wash my t-shirt and
pants immediately to be hung-dry overnight. I was then, a drummer in our drum
and bugle corps. I could not tell my parents about my problem because I might
be told by my mother to just leave scouting. Fortunately, one Saturday, our
neighbor and playmate gave me two sets of his old scout uniform. Since then, I
stood out in the corps due to my loose t-shirt and khaki shorts because the
donor was bigger than I.
When I was in high school during which I
became a complete orphan due to the death of my mother, eight months after that
of my father, I had no polo shirt of my own. For special occasions in school I
had to borrow my elder brother’s. I had a problem when my brother’s shirt was
not available as he was scheduled to wear it also on the same school occasion.
Fortunately, when I accompanied a cousin-in-law to Davao city, she surprised m
with a pre-cut polo fabric with just the right color and design that I wanted.
When I was called for a job interview by an
airline company, I was caught by surprise…and, worse, I was without extra money
for fare. On my way home that afternoon, I met along the way a relative whom I
loaned money, but which I forgot in time. She paid me back right there, and
then went on her way after profusely thanking me.
When I underwent an operation in a Makati
hospital, I was told by a neighbor that our house was burglarized and my son
was also almost abducted. It was the day after my operation, and I expected my
attending physician not to allow me to go home even for a quick check of our
home, especially, because I am a “bleeder”. My fresh wound might give in to the
pressure of travel. Fortunately, a colleague in the office, “Ed”, dropped by
for a visit. After knowing my problem he
immediately persuaded my attending physician and nurse to allow me to go home,
but he signed some kind of a guarantee for my immediate return. To make sure
that I would do it, I was driven by his driver, while he took a taxi back to
the office.
During one of my random sharing sorties in
Tondo/Divisoria area, I gave all the remaining cash content of my wallet to a
family that lived on the sidewalk. As I was on my way home, I thought that the
coins in my purse would be enough for fare all the way to Cavite. I was wrong.
As I counted the coins when I took a jeepney, what I had was only enough until
Zapote in Las Piἧas which is more than five kilometers from my home. I was resolved
to walk my way home from Zapote but when I alighted at the jeepney stop, a
neighbor driving his car and who was on his way home, saw me and offered a
ride.
One time, when I thought that all plans
would push through as regards the sending home of a family to their province in
Leyte, my expected “professional fee” as editorial consultant was not remitted
in time, and worse, my client texted me to request for an extension of one
week. I was crestfallen by the unexpected kink. Meanwhile, the excited family
which was among the victims of typhoon Yolanda, was all ready to go home the
following day as planned. As a last resort I decided to sell some of my precious collections to cover the
cost of the project. Fortunately, just before noon, a follower of my blogs
texted me about the money he sent via a remittance center, in reaction to my
blog about the victims of Yolanda, temporarily living in Tondo and who
collected vegetable trimming in Divisoria to earn a living. What he sent was
more than enough to cover the cost for the mentioned family. A significant
amount was left for the next family who was scheduled to go home two weeks
after. A week later, I received an email from another follower in Canada about
her remittance for the same project.
About a month ago, the stock of diapers of
a friend whom I, together with the rest of his former colleagues had also been
helping, was almost depleted. The supply was bought using the pooled donations
from our friends but which was also exhausted. Just then, I received an fb
message from another friend, “Manny”, who had been monitoring updates about our
ward, telling me that he will call as soon he arrives from the States. He
further stated that he will donate to the “diaper fund”. Three days ago, I
personally went to see him to receive the money, plus other food items.
I
wrote about an elderly couple in Quiapo. The husband had a stroke and the wife
was eking out a living out of her small food stall. The husband was sleeping on
the cold concrete floor of his former single-chair barber shop, using only a
thin mat. They wanted to go home to their town in Antique, as expenses in
Manila were mounting especially for the medicines of the husband who was more
than eighty years old. However, I felt that the man was dying as he had been
refusing to eat solid food for several days. I did not tell them about my plan
of raising fund to raise fund for them. An “angel” from California who read my
blog about the couple e-mailed me a short message, “….I am remitting $.....for
the couple in Quiapo”.
Those mentioned are just a few of the many
incidents that point to the veracity of God’s indirect benevolence.
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