Pure Kindness

He who confers benefits will be aptly enriched,

And he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed.

---- Proverbs 11:25 ----

At the Ford Engine Plant in Romeo, where my husband, Bong, goes to work, Amy and Perla are the other two Filipinos.  Every day, as they go about their daily chores, they bring with them their donation cans.  Their cans and their Pinoy looks give it away, they are ready to accept donations for the typhoon Haiyan (or Yolanda) victims in the Philippines.  Some 500 people work in that assembly plant and everybody does not really know everybody.  But between the three of them, they gathered a good sum of help.  Bong tells me how he was touched by the kindness of each and everyone who had pitched in, even from people he did not even know.

 
At one point they had a collection which included a big bundle of singles.  So when Bong stopped for gas (he was tasked to be the sender and was carrying a big bundle of bills in his pocket), he asked the store clerk if he can exchange the singles for bigger denominations, while also telling him the story about the money. The clerk counted, 67 dollars. Without hesitation, he reached at his own pocket and added 3 more singles to make it an even 70, then gave Bong three 20's and a 10 from his drawer.  Bong left the store with a very warm heart.  When it does not become necessary to know who you are helping but still you do without hesitation, that is pure kindness.

This Christmas, many will be without homes, many will still be grieving for their loved ones who perished in that monster typhoon Haiyan, but this season brings us hope, and love shown from every corner of the globe has proven that kindness is not dead.  

Jesus is the reason for the season.  Merry Christmas!       

Let mutual love continue.

Do not neglect hospitality, for through it,

Some have unknowingly entertained angels.

---- Hebrews 13:1-2 ----

- no angel -

Beyond Pearls

How did this happen?  When we came here from the Philippines, we only owned five balikbayan boxes of things and five suitcases.  Now, we have so much things, more than half of them, we don't really need or use at all.  Oh, so much to clean up before we finally say goodbye to this house which was home to us for the past twelve years.  

To keep or not to keep, that was the objective as I was sorting out old files.  As I was doing this, I came upon this...

     

When one finds a worthy wife,

her value is far beyond pearls.

Her husband, entrusting his heart to her,

has an unfailing prize.

She brings him good, not evil,

all the days of her life.

She obtains wool and flax

and works with loving hands.

She puts her hands to the distaff,

and her fingers ply the spindle.

She reaches out her hands to the poor,

and extends her arms to the needy.

She watches the conduct of her household,

and eats not her food in idleness.

Her children rise up and praise her,

her husband too extols her, saying,

"Many are the women of proven worth,

but you have excelled them all."

Charm is deceptive and beauty fleeting;

the woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.

Give her a reward for her labors,

and let her works praise her at the city gates.

-------- Proverbs 31:10-13, 19-20, 27-31 --------

This was the scripture Jas read at Mommy's funeral mass at St. Cyprian.  It has been a year ago and I can still remember Fr. Bill saying how my mom had been taking care of other people her whole life and suddenly she was on the other end, the one who needed to be cared for.  She used to tell me how she did not want to be a burden to anybody, and I guess God granted her that wish. 

The day we said goodbye to Mommy, After she was 
taken back to the funeral home, her temporary home,
until her flight back to Cebu.

God had entrusted my life to this angel I called Mommy.  She took care of me from the beginning of my life until the end of hers.  She molded me to be what I am today.  She taught me how to cook, how to sew, how to love, how to live.

When I was a little girl, I used to be very afraid of her because she was the disciplinarian in the family.  She had this distinct 'psssttt...' call that would just make me drop whatever I was doing to go answer that.  But as I grew older, she became more tolerant so I can be free to be whatever I wanted to be, not without guidance but with a lot of understanding and encouragement.  She spoke softly but hers were words of wisdom.  I once complained how I have ugly, wrinkly hands.  And she would assure me, "Beautiful hands are those that work".  Mommy was a worker.  She worked hard not for herself but for all those she loved.  She'd give everything she had for my dad, for us, her children and her grandchildren.  Her value was truly beyond pearls. 

 So vibrant on her 74th birthday.  Not a hint that
at age 75 she would be gone.

 

Tita Clavel, Ate Del, Tony and Anna flew from LA to Michigan

to surprise Mommy on her 74th birthday. 

I think of her everyday.  I miss her everyday.  But God's plan is bigger than mine.  Nine months after Mommy's passing, came to us a gift, a new life.  After her Lola, Jas named her Fae.  Meet our bundle of joy, Fae Olivia.  We fondly call her baby Peepay.  

Fae Olivia Taylor, born Sept. 2, 2013

- no angel -