The Lord's Bucket List in my Life

Ever since I’ve known God and we’ve established a relationship, naa jud ko’y constant prayer and that is “Lord, help me grow more in You”. I have no idea, no plans on how that would happen but kana lang jud. Pirmi nga pakapin sa akong mga prayers, even until now.

My journey with the Lord has been a constant battle of YESes and NOs, staying or leaving, keeping on or giving up, silence or speaking up and so on. But all those time, God was there. And this sharing is all about how God answered that prayer through the service He led me to do:

• To take comfort on Me – I may not look like one but I’m actually an introverted person. I am not comfortable with a huge crowd and I don’t like adjusting to so many changes. I joined Lingkod when I was 22 years old and just a year old with my first job. The name “Lingkod ng Panginoon” was not new to me that time as it was already introduced to us during my CYA days in Iligan City, when I was still a student. That it’s a community for young working professionals, and so on. Di lang halata, but my transition to this community was not that smooth for me. At first, I was dependent to the attendance of my fellow CYA alumnis. Muattend ra ko ug muadto sila. But God was persistent that later on, when my friends pursued other priorities, I decided to stay and build relationships with the brothers and sisters nga gihatag ni Lord. I started joining Music Min practices but still hesistant nga ig actual prayer meeting, naa ra ko sa likod. Kung naa koy matawag nga legit service na ko for my first year in Lingkod. Presence Ministry ra jud. I even remember someone asked me, unsay service nimu sis? And I panicked (gracefully, syempre di halata) while confidently saying “To smile bro”. It was during my first RLTC that I really decided to obey wherever God would lead me to despite all my hesitations and discomforts (isog kaayo ko ‘bai). Naa pa ko’y mga “sa trabaho ra diay ko mag-offertime? Unya kay Lord dili. Mas labaw pa lugar akong Boss?”which of course, totally made sense man pod. That was then I became the Admin’s Secretariat, which leads me to God’s second on his list.
• To be stubborn for faith – ironic siya paminawon no agi sa word nga “stubborn” but if we aim to be faithful, we also have to be “stubborn” against everything that would discourage us in serving the Lord. That’s what He allowed me to learn during my time as Secretariat. Don’t get me wrong, I love papers, my job involves a lot of documentation and all that but Secretariat was a different story. Who would have thought that a wallpaper like me would suddenly naan a sa welcoming table, greeting strangers and doing all extroverted things. There was just a lot of things to do and sometimes nay masayop, nay malimtan, kapoyon ko, and for someone like me who used to be results-oriented jud and di ganahan mufail, I got discouraged pod ui, many times even with small things. But at the end of the day, the Lord would always rewind everything and remind me that faith matters most for Him, and so I would once again renew my decision of keeping on with the service and just be relieved holding on to His promise as Paul said in Galatians 6:9 “Let us not grow weary in well-doing, for in due season we shall reap, if we do not lose heart. So then, as we have opportunity , let us do good to all men, and especially to those who are of the household of faith.” With God’s grace, I said a couple of “YESes” to oppose the things that are not comfortable and things that scared me. Bahala na ug mangurog ang tuhod, maglisod ug ginhawa basta kay mashare lang jud ang gugma sa Ginoo. Little did I know that these things are important for God’s third bucket list in my life.  
• To be soft as clay – one simple YES is a start of God’s abundant grace. One service led to another, and then another and another and all those time, God has been molding me like clay in His hands. When I prayed to grow in my prayer time, He led me to serving IPT (though it was only for a short time). He knows that I love writing that when I got a No for a manuscript, He made the branch’s newsletter “Enkindle”. When I prayed for guidance, He sent my leaders to correct and guide me, He gave me pastoral roles both in Lingkod and CYA, He sent people who helped me through my discernments. When I prayed for patience, He allowed me to encounter situations where my patience is tested (CREATIVES mag-ingay!), where I had to adjust, and keep my cool, not only in the community but at work and personal life. These things sound so ironic but all these, was His answer to my prayer of growth.
• To be hard-hearted. Not in terms of being compassionate but in terms of standing still about what is true. Not easily persuaded to momentary emotions or feelings. To be hard hearted in terms of really pursuing the deepest desire of the heart.

I cannot tell everything on His list (aside sa wa pa sad nako nadiscover ang uban) :D One thing is for sure though, God is not yet done with me. At times, I still fail on these three things. I’m still a work-in-progress. But even so, God assures to equip His servants - who would willingly commit their YESes to Him – to whatever battles they may be up against. Three letter word ra jud. “YES”. The daily challenge would be… Will you take comfort in Him? Sensitive and obedient to His calling? Will you be stubborn for faith? Consistent and faithful to your commitments? Are you willing to be molded? Humble and living freely for the Lord?

Indeed, serving Him does not promise a comfortable and easy life. But it is always worth it. To end my sharing, I would like to share to an encouragement from the letters of Paul to the Corinthians “Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain”. (1Cor15:58)