Pressing On amidst the storms

October 10, 2009

September 26,2009, Sa turday (Metro Manila,Phil.)- The heaviest rainfall in decades poured into the cities of the National Capital Region, brought by the typhoon named ONDOY (International name:Ketsana). During that fateful day, i woke up late and so for half a day, i was oblivious of the darkness and wrath of the said catastrophe. It was a day after my birthday. i still got that ‘hangover’ from the friday night ice cream ‘party’ and so i jolted out when i opened the TV and saw the worst scene i have ever encountered- houses engulfed by flood waters, people quivering at the roof of their houses crying for help, corpses carried by floodwaters and eventually got jabbed on tree branches, children screaming, weak and elderly men and women trying to stand up and run for their lives, the media reporters and rescuers trying to cross the turbulent waters and yet fail and more of the worst scenes you could ever magine. It was at that moment that I realized how  happiness becomes so fleeting. One moment they’re in the mall trying to unwind, or in the streets walking towards home, or in their houses comfortably sleeping , or in school having their saturday classes and suddenly they’re gone. All of their possessions and family vanished, just like that. All in one day. I tried to walk around the streets  to have a glimpse of what was happening outside but then one of our neighbors warned me to stay at home because the adjacent street ,which is situated at a lower elevation, has already transformed into a sea of murky water. Yes, a sea of murky water- no more houses, no more people.  The electricity went out, and for an hour it felt like the darkest hour of our lives. My cousin and I decided to go to the nearest mall to get hold of the latest news and for some selfish reasons, to study. 30 minutes passed and the mall’s generator crashed, and so we had to go back home. Fortunately , the lights were back on and there we were, back in front of the television trying to digest what happened , what was happening and what was to happen since the rainfall had not stopped yet. It was a hard time letting the information sink in. Classes were suspended and relief operations started immediately. More than 20 provinces declared they were in a ’state of calamity’ and so the government went on fright for they  had to suffice all the needs for goods , health services and security of the thousands of families evacuated.

Oct 2,2009 -A week passed and the people had started getting back to their homes and for those who have nothing to return to and nowhere to run, they started getting support and help from big-hearted individuals and institutions. But before everything gets back to normal, another threat came into view. Another typhoon entered the Philippine Area of Responsibility and attacked the Eastern Luzon. Typhoon Pepeng  (International name:Parma)was believed to  have stronger gusts of winds than Ondoy but the amount of rainfall was left unpredicted and so just as what happened to Metro Manila, provinces in the northern Philippines sank into floodwaters for days .Later that week, it was announced that the typhoon was already on its way to Taiwan. Plans to restore and rehabilitate the affected provinces were laid and were about to be executed, but all of a sudden, out of its wickedness,  typhoon Pepeng reversed its direction. It turned back and now hitting the western part of Luzon. 

October 8,2009(Pangasinan,Phil)- Typhoon Pepeng swallowed the Northwest provinces of Luzon and all roads going to the North were closed. People are still waiting for help up to this very last hour. Rescue teams cannot penetrate the affected regions because of the road closures due to the destruction of major bridges accompanied by landslides. And as i write this post, i whisper a prayer for the families’ safety,including mine. I cannot reach them up to the very moment . Electricity there was out for 2 days now the news announces and the last time they texted me, the floodwaters were already waist-high and even 6-ft high in some provinces, including ours.  

There are so many things to worry about. I can feel the pain of the people who lost everything. I understand the fright and worry at the midst of these storms. If i were to be pessimistic, i could say that the nation will be a hard time restoring what have been lost and what have been taken away. But since i chose not to, and by God’s grace, He revealed the truth about Perseverance and Pressing On.

 In Philippians 3:13-14, Paul wrote:

 13 Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but [this] one thing [I do], forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before,
14 I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.

Paul teaches us three things: To forget the Past, To Reach for the prize and at the midst of the two, the most important point, To Press On.

TO PRESS ON means to run swiftly in order to reach the goal just as a runner strives to win the prize in a marathon or a mountain climber striving to reach the peak. It is synanymous to persevere and keep going strongly, to pursue difficultly, to face all fears and move forward, to push limits, to fight. The occurences of these catastrophes in the Philippines require the need for the Filipinos to Press On, to face a new a day ahead, to fight for a new life. This can be done through faith- faith that clings to God’s promises and greatness ; to yield in God’s provisions and wait for great things to happen in His name. This can be done through perseverance and hard work- to work harder this time to gain back what is lost, to build what is destroyed, to put back into order what was shattered. This can also be done through concerted efforts. We need the help of one another to keep pushing for a new journey, a new beginning, a new life.  We must not be afraid of trying. Filipinos must strive hard, fight hard, believe hard. We must not be afraid of falling. If we fall, we can still stand up, straighten the folds and then move on and start anew. Opportunities to begin a new life are never-ending and is always around the corner just as God’s grace and miracles  are.

Keep moving forward for as Paul said in verse 14, there is a prize at the end. Also in Hebrews, it says:

 36 For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise.

-Hebrews 10:36

It is clear. After all the striving, after all the pain and suffering, once we press on and be patient enough , we will receive the promise. This promise is true to all Filipinos and other people throughout the world. God is faithful and He will bring back what is lost. He will give every one the prize, a new life full of joy, hope and abundance.

 WHEN THE PRESSURE IS ON, PRESS ON.