together – Beautifully Waiting

As I try to think why I enjoy trips and travels, I realized that since when I was young and my family still lived in Cebu, my parents would take us to different trips. We would go to Bacolod and visit our relatives through bus and ferry. We would go to Cebu City with our neighbors for tours.

When we moved to Bacolod and all of us started going to school, we barely had trips unless our relatives from the US would come home. It was something we haven’t done together as a family until my siblings and I started working. We had our own trips but not as a family

Every time I go to some nice place, I always wish that my family is with me and that I could share such memory with them. That’s why every time I go home to Bacolod, I always make sure that we go out of town and just enjoy family time. Sometimes, it’s not really the place anymore. It’s really being with them.

Early this year, my sister and I planned for a CDO trip. We booked the whole family for a flight to Cagayan de Oro last August without telling Papa and Mama first. We wanted to give them a treat at the same time be able to visit relatives of Papa’s side. And I must say, it was really worth all the expenses! 🙂 One of the best trips I had.

We all don’t know when we can really have the time with our families unless we want to be intentional about it. Because I live far from my family, I really make sure time with them is time well-spent. I’m looking forward for next year’s trip, maybe, when my brother comes home. Maybe visit Cebu and relatives of Mama’s side.

I’m thankful that God allows us to enjoy life to its fullest with people that we love the most. 🙂

When I moved to Manila to work, I didn’t have any immediate family with me nor friends that I can live with. I was basically on my own at the start. It wasn’t an easy move and I can still clearly remember that I wanted to go home to Bacolod during my first week of stay. I got so homesick as it was my first time to really be away from family.

Eventually, I made a lot of friends from my work, from where I used to stay and from church. As months went by, I realized how important to have people who would continue to guide you and even become accountable for you. That’s when I decided to join in a small group. And being part of it really helped me in my continuous stay here in Manila.

The small group became my spiritual family. It is composed of people who show genuine love and concern towards each other. In the group, we share our victories and trials to one another to be able to encourage each other. We pray for each other and help each other in our walk with the Lord. There is nothing so extraordinary in a small group except the common factor why we meet together – Jesus Christ.

I’m glad that I made that decision to be part of a small group. It’s not just about meeting together, talking about our lives, doing fun stuff together, a small group is more than that. It’s a privilege to be a blessing to different people. It’s a privilege of knowing God through other people who share the same passion for the Lord.

Indeed, we are all created for relationships. We are not meant to be alone. If right now, you feel like you don’t have friends, or you’re too far away from your family or you just really feel alone, and you’ve been invited to be part of something like this, give it a chance. It’s more than an invitation, it’s a privilege.

In small groups, we don’t just gain friends, we grow with friends.

“Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works. And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near.” Hebrews 10:24-25

These are the different small groups I’ve been with and still with. It’s just amazing growing old with such beautiful women, some have gotten married already, one had kid, some had left the city, some had returned, some still stayed single :), but despite of the changes, the journey of encouraging, praying for each other and lifting up one another never changes.

Truth is, our lives together go beyond the small circle of group. 🙂 🙂 🙂