|
|
|
read between the lines
birthday banter i decided to do something different this birthday: spend some one-on-one time with god. it was actually pretty rewarding and worth every penny. at first i had my doubts, but the minute i checked into the room of my favourite hotel, i was stoked. yes, i had been planning this and saving up for some time *rubs hands together like mad scientist*. anyway, i unexpectedly received some extra money on my birthday so it's almost like i didn't take anything out of my savings, hehe.solitary times have always been hard to come by and i was starting to crave thos  e times i could just hold a normal verbal conversation with god and not get interrupted or get weird stares. what's more, with my regular friends studying or working this year (times have changed and we're all not on holiday like before), i figured i might as well spend my favourite day of the year with the Big Kahuna, haha. i've never been one to blackmail people into hanging out with me if they're busy just because it's my birthday anyway.besides, my cell group "surprised" me the day before and made me make a wish and blow off a candle on a slice of cake one of them had kindly sponsored (thanks friend, my favourite flavour too -- mocha), which i was thoroughly embarassed to do while cameras snapped (ah, the benefits of being in a cell group). to cut the story short, i blew the candle off before anyone could snap any photos of me, confessed i had made an empty wish and instead chose to tell them the pre-birthday gift i received from god a few hours earlier: my days of unemployment were coming to an end. woo hoo. an interesting gift i got this year from a friend was a book by some spiritual walk guru called fenelon. never heard of him, but he  helped my friend a lot...so i'm guessing his writings must be good stuff, heh. thanks also go out to the well wishes i got via SMS, heh.back to my personal retreat. this time i brought my palm, so i managed to capture some of the awesome views, or at least what i could take of them, since the palm can neither zoom nor focus. i rather like staring for hours at scenery from high vantage points, so it was good therapy, heh. before that i went out to watch a movie: it was a choice between beowolf and lions for lambs, and i chose the former, which i regretted. it was the most tasteless, chauvinistic crap i had ever seen come to life from paperback to silver screen and i have no idea if the book was that bad. sure, the graphics were reasonably realistic but i'd have rather watched the polar express if that was the case. i also decided to gorge on my favourite food for dinner: chicken lasag  na, organic tea and the chocolate indulgence cake. i was considering wolfing down an earthquake ice-cream set, but i was too full so i shall do it another time when my stomach has more room, hehe.anyway i tried to make the best of my limited time as i could because from experience, one day is never enough. i mostly reflected and gave thanks for the past one year (since my last birthday). i also had a few things in my head sorted out: thankfully there wasn't much to sort out this time, since god had already sorted out a lot in the past few months. overall, i was glad that the year that was supposed to signify my official entry into the adult world reflected its age through the events that have happened. by His grace and enabling (and lots of prayers from myself and the friends around me), i've progressed a lot in terms of personal growth. looking back on this past year, i can see now that everything has happened exactly as it should have. and even though it was difficult to go through certain hardships having not understood why, i am glad He brought me through them, now that i have a better view and understanding of the Big Picture and am tasting some of the fruits of my labour. i also covered my future in prayer, for i knew it didn't just end there. |
|
|
.jpg){kind=link}