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.

Resting In the Lord

Yesterday, I slept from 5pm to 7am the next day. When I woke up, I was disoriented of the time. Was I that physically tired? I guess so, yesterday I was starting to feel my tonsils swell and I knew my body wasn't in top condition.

Rest. Our bodies need it, and so does our souls.

Psalm 62
¹ Truly my soul finds rest in God;
my salvation comes from him.
² Truly he is my rock and my salvation;
he is my fortress, I will never be shaken.

While we may use our bodies for active work, our minds for thinking and decision making, our souls we use to find meaning in what we do and in where we are. Without the strength of soul, our bodies and minds will not be motivated. Without our souls, we are mechanized humans, like robots going about our daily tasks for compliance. Our souls feed us our passion, and without the spirit being nourished or rested in the Lord we cannot be effective as a person.

“My soul is restless until it rests in Thee my God.” St. Augustine

Another view is about our souls being restless. Always in active search for true happiness. St. Augustine couldn't have said it any better. In today's day and age, we are faced with many lures of false happiness. We can be lured by materialism, making us believe that the latest gadgets, clothing, or more money can make us happy. We can be swayed by recognition, where we work hard for applause and approval. Even with false new age practices which tries to conform our worldly needs to our spiritual needs. But at the end of it all, our restless souls can only find rest in God alone.

At least once a year, it is good to take time to nourish our souls through a spiritual retreat. We are provided with holidays or "holy"days so we can exactly do this. These are the seasons of the Holy Week or the All Souls and All Saints day and even our Christmas breaks. Instead of just thinking of a fun outing, we can truly use these days for the Lord to feed our souls and fill us with His mighty presence.