The Wind Heads North

An epilogue to “Love Letter to the Wind”
Sevenink in Singapore
5:10am 05-28-2007

“In your graceful and unfathomed steps, you leave a trail for hope to follow. As the leaves kiss the ground when you head home to the north, so will my heart lie peaceful beneath the adornment of dust and shingles that covers my chest.”

85 miles north of the Equator, a few hours shy of sunrise, with a cup of coffee pretending to be my soul mate, I hurried to my laptop in dire hope to write in words the absence of words in my lips.

In the past few days, the Sovereign God introduced Himself to me as the God of details. Many times in my life He proved how majestic the works of His hand is, how he turns worship inside the church to a glimpse of heaven. How He turns mourning into dancing by quenching the thirst of the desperate souls.

But despite His glorious powers displayed in ways that makes every “believer” shun his own god (or even former gods), despite the grandiosity of the sick being healed and sinners being delivered, there are things that are mostly untouched following these words, “I thank the Lord for…”

As our name gets called to stand on the pulpit to testify on God’s goodness, a miniature time-machine gears up at the back of our mind speeding its way to the last time God proved himself to us.

Does it always need to be artistic? Do you need a lot of words to speak “Praise God?”

If God have numbered even the hairs of our head, and if He names all the stars in the sky, then He is in real serious business of touching our lives even in the animosity of our confused society. Even in the unnoticed details that exist with every second of history. In fact, He has crafted us in detail (“fearfully and wonderfully made”). Have you heard of placing an electrode in the human scalp just to record the electrical activity in the brain? Oh well, if there’s anyone else other than God who better understands how each of our brains should perform such activity, I’d give him my life. Do you know that the human heart has two separate parts? One collecting de-oxygenated blood, the other, collects oxygenated blood. A meshwork of cardiac muscle cells, who planned all this?

Truth of details versus the status-quo preference.

What if you are trapped in an island with only the earth’s crust to comfort you, can you dance your way into praising Him? With the immovable rocks before you and the heat of the sun exposing the absence of shade in a radius of 5Km, can we shake our own hands and tell ourselves “I’m glad you are here?”

Without the sound of the cymbals, the amplified rhythm section of a loud band, without a microphone in your hand, without the presence of a rejoicing peer, without the pastor, without your best friend, without your loved one, without everything else. Only God’s promise in your heart…brethren how would you praise God?

Is praise possible in the absence of everything else? Yes, you might say, but have you gone that road before? And are you willing to travel that unpopular direction if you are led to?

Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will be joyful in God my Savior.
Habakkuk 3:17-18

A Ray of Hope for Philippine Politics

Sevenink in Singapore

05-19-2007 12:45am

Gone were the days that the governance of the three stars and the sun were diminished by fame, so to speak. Darlene Custodio, making the lead over a crowd favorite boxer and Eddie "Among Ed" Panlilio with a surprising lead over the son of Leon Guerrero and the wife of a suspected gambling lord gives reason for the young generation to hope.

It’s high time that Filipino’s regain the momentum of choosing better options for their nation. In earlier times, greater exposure in the boob tube and top billing a popular movie no matter how shallow the story is, will give you greater chances of landing a place in the political arena. A place where heroes spill their blood holding integrity and truth as their only assets.

Now, with actors vying for a seat in the senate not landing the top 20 of early tallies proves that popularity alone is not enough. The people have had enough of the popular guys wearing suites instead of aprons.

Aside from this one news that is so appallingly numbing to my skull, TU gets 12-0 in Maguindanao. I’m not that good at mathematics, but when stupidity overshadows logic in the most obvious way, people really do exist in dreamland. I don’t know about substance abuse, but Jim Morrison, Kurt Cobain, Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin cut lines of crack till their brain stops functioning. The TU guys obviously are not on the road to being OD’d but how come their brain seems to be at loss? Hold your breath, Singson at number 1 followed by Pichay at number 2.

Laughing stock of Asia you would say?

I say no. For this matter is not of the laughing nature. With gnashing of teeth, people involved and who are still subject to the norms of righteousness should stand out for this horrendous feat.

Can’t say the TU guys are not worth it, but for obvious reasons, let’s not allow a circus act dictate our future. Whoever the operators of this abysmal craft should find out for themselves this early where they are heading.

12-0?

Ok let’s go back to paragraph one.

Love Letter to the Wind

Sevenink in Singapore
05.08.07 11:41pm

The helm of time rolls over with a counterfeit bliss attached to its series of countless revolution. In the solace of nature’s warm embrace, I find each moment more invigorating by your presence in my every breath. Though I desire to hold you as you softly swift in front of me, the world may hate me for my selfish carnality to own what is not mine. And as another life breathes you from the opposite side of the world, thus, my will to take you as mine will be forsaken.

In your graceful and unfathomed steps, you leave a trail for hope to follow. As the leaves kiss the ground when you head home to the north, so will my heart lie peacefully beneath the adornment of dust and shingles that covers my chest.

I seek to find rest with you alone in my arms. But how? Calmly you stay but my eyes can’t see you. I can only see you when you swim through the trees with a lovely song . Oh the cruelty of the forest will not make my heart believe that I can't love you. Though tall trees hinders me to follow you, the comfort of the streams that feeds their roots shall lead me to you.

Oh great wind! Speak softly to my ear and tell me where you are heading. Though I may not find ways to make you safe to your chosen place, still, I can build a fence of prayers that my heart alone can give.

Never mind the rain, never mind the heat of the sun... for your breeze will hide my tears and bring forth a cooling soothe of confidence to my weary soul.

The night approaches, will you be here when I sleep? It won’t matter for tomorrow I will wake up and breathe the first air for a new day. I know it’s you, the wind who will stay long after my name is forgotten by everyone. Everyone who will witness my frail body being sealed under the same ground that the leaves have kissed when you left.

And then will I know where your home is. Need I knock when my heart is already at home with you?

Unfathomed Tears

Sevenink in Singapore
05.01.2007 11:45pm

We have the right to cry without the whole world knowing why!

I woke up in the saddest of my days, can’t hardly pray that’s why I just told God what’s in my heart. Today I lost my most treasured possession, which I can not throw away, and plan to throw away, has found a way out on its own. With all its glory and beauty and majesty, the treasure bid goodbye to me.

Last night, the mischief in me caught a glimpse of its own misdeed in mid-air. Of all things to pray about, I prayed about death. I pray that God take me from where I am because I would not know where I would be after the last page of the book turned and galloped to eternity. Where do I pick up the pieces of a broken glass window, and if found out where, why would I pick it? It would only make me bleed!

Minutes after I closed my eyes to sleep, death came knocking at my door. Never was death so vivid and clear in his intention of pulling me out of this earth. The bed I was sleeping has a second deck on top. Suddenly, a rumbling feeling came out of me, I could see the second deck and what’s fascinating is I could visibly see that I’m on my way pass the deck on top of me, and I could really feel my body is still laying on the first deck. It was slow sure death. But I thought about names of persons, of people, then I shouted and I woke up.

How do I pray after that ludicrous stunt?

My first time to read the bible from the back of my tears, imagine yourself inside a car as rain pours heavily outside and on the opposite side of the window you find little words scribbling for your attention. Hard to grasp. But as I am in dire need of God’s word this morning, I just opened my mouth and transcribed the pain I’m feeling inside.

As hopeless as it may seem, I did not waiver to seek for one Word, anything at all that would untie the cord that is strangling my consciousness this very minute.

Then the awesome display of God’s abundant provision took center stage.

“No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love Him”

Pointblank, the summation of all good things I thought of, I planned to have, all the worth of this world that I strive to keep as myself – they all became like a dew on a leaf in a forest compared to the One who created the forest.

This is what I call small time.

I plan to buy my own Mac this year, I plan to drive my own car next year, I dreamed of plotting my own orbit for the greatest love I’ve had and I see myself as a successful creative artist with limitless access to my digital canvass. Of course I also have different things in my mind other than these which are nothing less than hedonistic. But I choose to discuss anything positive out of myself this time as to avoid confusion. Besides, I’m portraying the role of a super villain here. (Remember a few paragraphs earlier I prayed for death?)

Small time it is.

Now I don’t have a choice but to wait. But for sure, never again will I pray for death. Never again would I reduce the time allotted for me to traverse this road ahead. And with these words, I hope to plant a smile to the beauty of the night; to the color I love most, to the walking shadow under the heat of the sun, to the half of march, to the silent wailer, to the crying voice. I will see the unfolding of God’s promise in a time that is only His.