Life is beautiful

(Written last December 25, 2013)

I have been pondering this truth since the day I began to understand and see the beauty of life. Undisputedly, for me life is beautiful and I believe many would agree on that compared to the number of people who helplessly succumb to the pit of hopelessness and despair after those serious trials in life. Yes, life remains to be beautiful in spite of all those discouraging tragedies, hardships and failures we encounter everyday as we struggle to survive.

My conviction has proven to be true when I watched an interview of a particular victim (an old woman) of the super typhoon Yolanda which recently devastated some parts in Visayan region. I was astounded and caught in profound sympathy as I watched and listened to her story on the TV. When asked how did she feel now after that typhoon, without any pretense on her face, (I noticed how she gave her smile to the reporter as she tried to find words that would best express her true feelings.) she responded with a very positive and heart-touching statement: “Of course, I am saddened of what happened to us now but it doesn’t mean I lost my faith in God, and in spite of it, I still see the goodness of life...Life must go on!”

Despite the fact that the super typhoon left so many ruins, untold stories of misery, and claimed thousands of lives and properties especially in Tacloban, this old woman keeps her very optimistic view about life. In her subsequent statements, she said that notwithstanding those misfortunes, people should not engage in a blame-game. She continued that victims should not blame God for this catastrophe but instead, trust on His great love and mercy. This woman had lost her husband and four grandchildren in that dreadful day. Thus, for me, it is understandable for her (and those who are in the same situation) to be bitter and find a justification on her loss. She might eventually blame others or worst blame God as what people normally do when faced with seemingly unbearable sufferings. But she did not do that. She never attempted to hate God but, instead, her faith was strengthened and professed how great the Lord is!

So what’s the moral lesson? Life continues to be beautiful no matter what! Life must go on no matter what! Indeed, there are so many reasons for us to hold on to our beliefs, reasons for us to be happy after being bombarded with so much evil in this world.

In the middle of the interview, I tried to ask myself this question: if I were in her shoes, can I be like her who is emotionally and mentally matured enough in facing the harsh realities of life? Unsurprisingly, my immediate answer was a big YES. The reason, I believe, why I don’t find it difficult to say yes even though the old woman’s present situation is fear-provoking and beyond my imagination, is that because I have a clear and good grasp on the meaning of human sufferings. As long as we find meaning on our sufferings and as long as God is the source of our strength, it is easy for us to rise up right away and embrace life once again after our downfall.

I was deeply touched by this woman’s extraordinary courage and faith so that I watched the video of her interview several times in the internet. I was crying in my room the first time I watched the interview and still, I cried for the second and third times. Inspired by her testimony of God’s boundless love, I read some religious books in order to seek spiritual knowledge. A very consoling explanation of human sufferings was given by Rick Warren in his famous book “The Purpose Driven Life.” According to him, we, human beings, suffer in this temporal world because it is not the true place for us. Even before we were conceived in the womb, God had already destined us to eternity. In other words, we are destined to be in the paradise and to be in communion with God. Hence, we cannot find perfect happiness in this world. True enough, we are only pilgrims here on earth and our Heavenly Father is waiting for us in our true home which is eternity!

PADAYUN!