25 and Counting :-)

Ave Maria:-)

Silver thoughts, silver emotions go hand in hand with a silver anniversary...God knows why there is a motif for every given year, a silver, a golden jubilee..a ruby celebration...a diamond bash... oh my today marks 25 yrs exactamente since Puno and I exchanged "I do's" in front of a beloved uncle who officiated during sacramental marriage.1987 imagine that.. in fact am not too sure about the year...kidding

This uncle was our late Archbishop Mariano Gaviola... he who belonged to a big clan..12 not so little injuns..and he was the only one who remained single and chose a priestly vocation. Twas a running joke.. forever theme of cousins then teen-agers or young adults... gingerly trying and experiencing the romantic route of typical boy-girl relationship --whenever the relationship turned rather serious we'd tease  :" Aha... Ikaw na ang sunod nga ikasal ni Monsignour!"

And indeed many of recieved his blessing.. it is wonderful enough to be married by any good priest especially one who knows the couple getting married... but to be joined together as husband and wife by a blood relative who dearly loves us and more important and crucial dearly loves the LORD , this is a divine gift.

Of course we never understood that then...the majority of us being young, foolish, headstrong..jumping with open eyes into the rivers of matrimony..and any thoughts or reflection of how we'd do our part would follow hehehe... a good many years after.By then we would have suffered blows to the head, the spirit the brain and heart..any zone that pain can reach. 

Did we silently think.. did we nurture that secret hope that if dear Mons would marry us..that he had some sort of special blessing..that his connection with the Lord would earn the graces we would need? Alas..we soon found out... that Mons' role would be first to counsel us (granting we cared to listen) ..then to offer the holy mass for us-- sometimes give financial help ... give the sacrament of marriage..and then offer tons and tons of prayers and sacrifices for all nephews , nieces, friends and strangers whom he had helped enter the vocation of marriage... I'm sure till his last breath he prayed hard for all of us. Oh how we benefitted from this spiritual concern..and from other family elders...friends who pray for couples in distress. when people sincerely care and pray..heaven listens...God acts and intervenes lovingly.

I had attended many weddings.. you could say we were a marrying bunch It was always a joyful family event..sharing someone's new-found happiness. When our turn came... even if I was not young...in fact 29 yrs. is considered a hag by other cultures hahaha.... yet was giggly with happiness...so was my groom. Let's see was that giggling form true joy or nervousness... but we were really happy that day. Both our parents were still alive... my father walked me to the altar, a short walk, we were married in a tiny but pretty chapel... I saw Mama shedding tears..but I was too happy to cry with her...and then I saw my father also red as a beet... oh dear ..iiyak din.. I resolved to Be Happy

Finally the blockbuster of the mass was our uncle's homily.I've told this story before so those who know can skip this part.... He went full -blast on this theme about marriage being like mounting Calvary..like husband and wife going up making that difficult climb... but to be rewarded by the sight and presence of our Crucified Lord.... I'm like..."Geez..Mons you could have chosen a less serious homily....Crucifixion... Calvary..??Jesus uniting us in marriage... ano ito? Hello....did not understand one phrase of what he was driving at.

But today is our SILVER And yes dear brothers and sisters... Dilbert and I climbed our mountain..we also fell off the mountain many, many times... oh how we found the mountain hazardous, difficult terrain to conquer... oh how we wished there were cool, shady stops along the way, for us to regain our strength, to drink of waters that would refresh our weary spirits.... how we wondered if other people had their mountains to climb..and did they also fall as hard as we did? During this marital journey..to say we learned a lot is the understatement of all time. At first we did not want to learn..both of us strong-willed with inherent weaknesses only our Lord could be patient with...

 Have you had the feeling that sometimes you find it hard to forgive yourself ..or bear your weaknesses... Yet Jesus our Saviour is there for us... no wonder Mons kept saying, Jesus is the Third Party and He too signs the contract.. with His Blood and Spirit. So for all our lack, our misgivings..all the terrible , unforgettable, unprintable, un name-mable mistakes we make whether  as husband or wife...parent/child... peer-to-peer...neighbor-to-neighbor..it is Christ Jesus who fills in our blanks and makes the relationship work, praise the Lord.

My most silvery thought and emotion is one of gratitude and awe... at God's marvelous patience, guidance, provisions,forgiving, healing, nurturing..strengthening... every single need we have..we had and will have God knows this and will help us in His perfect way. 

When a marriage..a friendship.. a family ..a community becomes a venue for one to know the ways of Christ , to imitate him and grow to be like Him..then it is relevant..it is of great and lasting value.

But when all the above only serve to grow worldly natures in us... and help us breed monstrosities... its bitter fruits: hate, unforgiveness, a culture of death and abuse....      then God is nowhere in it..and if God is not there, of what value , of what relevance could it hold and give to a bleeding world.?

I thank the Lord for the gift of family, friends, community.. my sister, brother, stepmom,in-laws..dear cousins/relatives are far away..yet the mere thought of their love and support , their prayers lifts us up.... and where biological loved ones are geographically unreachable, there will always be the Christian community, the Living Word community, Mt. Carmel brothers and sisters... priests and nuns... even people who donot know us but are an inspiration to us...God shows His Face thru His children and that is enough.

In one way or another... your good deeds..kind thoughts and prayers have helped us reach our 25th Dil and I still have many lessons to learn but we'll get There, in God's Perfect Time. 

We must not complain but trust the Lord... we each have a path to walk, let it lead all the way to the Giver of Life, to God ALmighty. God wants us to grow in holiness where we are.. may our experiences increase in us knowledge of Christ, arouse that courageous faith and love to share with others. ............................................God bless you .........te mye