Finishing Strong!

My son Sev and I joined the CFC Ancop Global Walk to sponsor scholars. It was participated by about 80,000 people. It was a 5km distance and Sev was on his bike. At first I doubted if Sev could finish the whole stretch. But my son was determined. It also helped that I was encouraging him. We took it slow, enjoying every bit of the scenery and the people until we finished the race. We were not ahead of the rest but I could say that we finished strong!
In our walk with the Lord, we can easily have doubts along the way. Some of us start strong with our relationship with Him, only to give it up later in life. Somehow we get tired and succumb to the weaknesses of our humanity. But the Lord is there to encourage us and to show us how to enjoy our journey with Him until we reach the end. So how do we finish strong? We must have...

1. Faith that God wants the best for our lives. The Lord wants us to reach heaven and he'll do everything to help us get there. We go through trials to strengthen our faith and practice humility, so we may fully embrace the cross. We have to keep on believing in him in both good and bad times to reach heaven, our finish line. We have to...

2. Invite the Lord daily to walk with us. Prayer and Scripture is key. The Lord encourages us through His Word. But if we don't invite Him and take time to listen, we might just miss out His message that will give us hope and determination. We have to seek...

3. Nourishment to gain strength. Attending Mass regularly is the ultimate nourishment. The Eucharist gives us the grace to partake in the body and blood of Christ that will quench our thirst and hunger. We are also nourished through the relationships in the community of believers. We must gain...

4. Inspiration from those who successfully finished. One of my inspirations is a video in You Tube about a father who entered an Iron Man race with his son who could not walk and speak. They called their team "My Redeemer lives." Despite the odds, the father pressed on and finished the race. I was inspired to tears. We also know of countless saints who like us, humans with weaknesses, have kept the faith and finished strong in life. We can draw inspiration from them.

5. Seek ye first the Kingdom of God. And yes, all these things shall be added unto you. What slows us down are the many distractions along the race. We get sidetracked by our own greed and selfish ambitions. We must remember that if God comes first, everything else will be put in order.

6. Help others along the way. God calls us to evangelize and bring glad tidings to the poor. In fact the only way to reach the finish line, heaven, is if we have helped the poor around us.
Let us strive to finish strong by being faithful to the end. His grace will give us strength to endure and reach the finish line.

I continue my pursuit toward the goal, the prize of God’s upward calling, in Christ Jesus. Phil. 3:14

Stopping-over and Moving Forward

Over the weekend, I went to Baguio through a 7-hour bus trip going there and another 7-hour trip riding with friends going back to Manila. My favorite parts of the trip are the stop-overs. Besides getting a good stretch and a rest room break, I can take a snack and buy some things I forgot for the trip.

Stop-overs. In our life do we have stop-overs? Is our life in a constant rush?  The opposite can be, "Are we stuck in a stop-over?"


Some reflections on moving forward in life:


1. Life is a marathon, not a sprint.  In a sprint, you give it all you've got from start to finish since it has a short distance. In a marathon, you pace yourself, taking important breaks to regain strength for the long haul. Some give up in running the marathon, some pursue it until they reach the finish line.  We aim to reach the finish line. "I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus (Phil 3:14).


2. Rest if you must, but never give up. It is natural to get tired specially after consecutive days of pressure and concerns.  Maybe because of our lapses in prayer or a lack of focus, we get burned out.  If we are certain that we are doing what the Lords is calling us to do, then we are to be faithful.  We can take our time to cry and heal, but we must pursue the mission.  Like a bow, it's string has to be loosened when not in use, otherwise it will affect its effectiveness.  Have a stop-over, relieve the stress, retreat into prayer, and regain your strength.


3. Move forward with the Spirit.  In the journey of life, we encounter crossroads. We make decisions, some of which are life changing.  How much prayer do we put into our decisions?  Where is God leading us?  We must realize that each of us has a God-appointed mission on earth.  Will our decision bring us closer to His mission for us?  Many of us just make a pros and cons table and weigh our options.  We can be practical thinkers, but we have to also take into consideration the important aspects like family time, service to God, and how our talents and gifts contribute to building God's kingdom.  Some of us cannot decide and we get stuck in our "stop-overs." Let us move forward knowing in our hearts where the Spirit is leading our lives.


The journey to Baguio and back was long, but the trip was worth the trouble because of the destination. All of us are in a bus ride towards heaven.  It's a long ride, at times frustrating, but we have to set our hearts "heavenward" and be led by His Spirit to get there.  And yes by His grace, we will get there.