Winter Trees

Friday, March 17, 2006

After a tiresome deliberation, I finally convinced myself to go home (to Rizal). It was motivated by my long conversation with King Edmund during our journey to Archenland. He told me that I might regret not spending time with my family when they're not around anymore. So after my B.S. with Bagilu and Trufflehunter, I fixed my contribution to Shasta's portfolio, submitted my pictures to the office, and had a nice chat about life with a friend before finally going home.

However, inside the bus, a strange man sat beside me and offered me a drink. He looked like he didn't sleep for 2 days, and he's really nervous. I declined nicely not only because I wasn't thirsty but also because I felt an eerie air around him. I immediately texted Trufflehunter and Rilian to pray for me, but they didn't reply (mabe they're out of load), so I settled myself "comfortably" in my seat and relied on the Lord to protect me. I noticed that he was so uneasy during the trip. He would always look at the backseats, then look at the person at the right, then look at me.

My fear was confirmed when we were near the last stop. Most of the people in the bus have left already. The backseats and the seats on the right were already vacated. He told me that he wanted to put a knife on my neck (in his terms, it's "le-egin") and get my things from me forcefully, but when he saw my face after i turned down the drink, his heart was crushed (in his terms - "nabasag ang puso ko"), because he felt a feeling of kindness toward me (i almost laughed because I thought that he was bluffing--- I would believe him if he told me that I looked like a goon and he became afraid of me)... But then, I realized that the Lord has protected me so many times before since I was a child, and now, He has once again shown His mercy upon me by blinding this man's eyes and turning my unpleasant face into something that seems "kind" to him-- I remember how Max Lucado compared us to the moon reflecting the sun's light, that when we receive grace and love from our God, we reflect His glory.

I immediately thanked the Lord, because I knew that it was his working. The man told me about his past, and about what he's currently going through. I immediately felt a surge of pity... I wanted to share the gospel to him, but I only said "I will pray for you..." such a cowardly act after discerning God's will... God already gave me a chance to share to a person who's suffering, but i hesitated because of fear. He then told me that he wanted my cellphone, but he won't get it because he's feeling weird. Then he asked me if i could help him. So I told him i can pray for him, but he wanted something more "tangible" --- this is definitely hold-up in a very polite fashion hahahah... So i offered him 100 pesos, he told me that he'd appreciate it if i give him more, so i gave him 500, which fortunately was a bit abundant in my wallet (i just got my weekly salary ... so no big deal).. And i thought that I would be promoting God to this man when i show him kindness despite of what he wanted to do to me, and already did to me... I also thought that he might just be bluffing, and he might be really harmless and was just trying his luck... But i thought that if I would struggle and try to fight him, what would he think of the God I told him about? Hence, my decision.

He thanked me (he looked like he was very hungry with is eyes fixed on the nearest food station...) and unboarded the bus... It was my then my turn to unboard the bus when we reached Kamias. I walked with my hands shaking with fear, awe, and excitement ---- fear because he told me that we will meet again and i don't know what evil plot he has in mind... Awe because of the protection I received from the Lord... and Excitement because when we meet again (if that will ever happen) I don't know how God will use it for me to finally do what I was appointed to do in the first place -to introduce this man to Christ...

The Grace of God is surely immense....
All glory to His name!

5 Comments:

Anonymous said...: Praise God...

whewwwww. that was scary...

* found another one(a much heavier one)hehe; 4:41 AM
Anonymous said...: didn't notice this > I finally convinced myself to go home (to Rizal). hehe la lang....; 5:03 AM
okaonis said...: sorry, i had no load during that time and my prayer was a quick one like 10-seconds long.

i'm sorry, didn't help much.

But hey, that was COOL!!! You were shielded!

Glory to God!

"Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer." Romans 12:12
-=that was the word that Saturday=-; 10:07 PM
okaonis said...: i mean friday; 10:08 PM
nobody's listening said...: GOd is really moves in mysterious ways :)
Praise GOD :); 1:06 AM