(A Notes to Self Series)

Quote for Thursday, 14 March 2019

“Sometimes good things fall apart, so better things can fall together.”

― Jessica Howell

For the past years, I’ve always written about my deliberate intent to steer clear of divisive topics such as politics and religion. Yet just like any other “talk” that’s difficult to walk, the more I’ve been faced with circumstances that forced me to say something.

To be honest, because of the countless times that such awkward situations happen, I would already often sound parrot-like and repetitive in stating my stance. For the purpose of assuaging everyone, I’d like to state that my unexpressed views may tend to sway to one side or the other, or perhaps both, but what I’m keen on is to view what’s unifying, harmonising, pacifying, diplomatic, constructive, and positive.

Yesterday night was one perfect example. I was a bit taken aback to receive an out-of-the-blue message from someone who said that his country turned conflict-ridden. He wrote about electricity outages, firing outside his home as of that moment he was typing his message, genocide, the pull-out of international humanitarian support, and the apparent world media blackout about it all.

Reading through his message, my initial reaction had been pity and concern for all involved, especially those who have lost their dearest ones. I could just imagine the angst, fears, and hopelessness that pervaded areas with those kinds of incidents.

There are battles that are not for you to face.

With all the seeming impossibility of the situation and the obviousness of my inability to assist at all, I suddenly remembered our featured quote the other day and what it stood for. It’s not a battle that’s for me (or perhaps even him) to face. It’s something resolvable by someone with omniscience and omnipotence.

At times, helping when it’s not for you to resolve won’t help at all. Sometimes, helping may be so inappropriate and may even cause more harm than good. I think he realised the same thing. He requested for prayers, and said he appreciated the fact that there were people who cared enough to pray for them.

I did pray for him. I even sent him a copy of the St Francis Prayer, something that I knew I should pray more for as well:

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.
Where there is hatred, let me bring love.
Where there is offense, let me bring pardon.
Where there is discord, let me bring union.
Where there is error, let me bring truth.
Where there is doubt, let me bring faith.
Where there is despair, let me bring hope.
Where there is darkness, let me bring your light.
Where there is sadness, let me bring joy.
O Master, let me not seek as much
to be consoled as to console,
to be understood as to understand,
to be loved as to love,
for it is in giving that one receives,
it is in self-forgetting that one finds,
it is in pardoning that one is pardoned,
it is in dying that one is raised to eternal life.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prayer_of_Saint_Francis

Well, I was about to fool myself to think that I could do a magical thing and suddenly wield powers to gather all information and make a world-changing contribution to humanity. You know what happened?

Facebook and Messenger (along with other Facebook-related products went down) today. I ended up not being able to get in touch with the person once more. I believe most of us suffered the after effects of such a service interruption, especially if we’ve been trying to contact our friends or those who matter to our lives.

Searching up the internet for more information about his country, you know what else I found out? The conflict had been caused by a language-instigated debacle: English-using people wanting to gain independence from their predominantly-French nation. For me, it really is quite unthinkable how that could ever happen. Language is supposed to be a unifying factor, a means to understand and be understood, and not the complete opposite.

Nonetheless, I should still see something positive about all of these things.

Things happen for a reason. I just got the following insights from Bo Sanchez’ Break or Bounce and Francis Kong’s Life’s Work:

• If a door is closed, it’s not for you to enter. There must be another door that’s meant for you.
• If a door is closed and you can’t go out because the door is locked from the inside, make sure that you unlock it so you could do so. If it’s locked from the outside, then you may really be needing help from someone else who could open it.
• If you encounter an obstacle or huge challenge that prevents you from doing or achieving something, it may be because you are not ready for it. It may mean that you would be in a bigger trouble if we do so.

Given the above thoughts, I think I should try to stop myself from feeling guilty that I’m not the superwoman of my childhood imagination.

Some may scorn me; I could already feel people scowling at my lack of “leadership” or “courage.” I could remember the devil who taunted Jesus three times on the mountains, coaxing him into doing things he shouldn’t. I’m not Jesus because I am as flawed as could be and just like any other human being is, which is why I should know that I’ve got so much more limitations to be aware of. It’s easier to be carried away by pride or ego, by wanting to be famous or to have superhuman abilities. However, I should know and realise what would be beneficial and what could just be a tricky, tenuous trap that may cause more havoc than good to others.

Someone wiser and senior to me said yesterday the following, too:

A pessimist will always see a problem in every opportunity. An optimist will see an opportunity in every problem.

-Winston Churchill

Things may fall into seeming disarray, but they are actually falling into place to fit into what should really be according to God’s plan.

As I pray for those brothers and sisters of ours who had been suffering in one way or another, I’m trying again to walk my talk.

I think there’s a message that God may be sending me today. I need to learn to trust Him more. I need to really mean what I say in my prayers when I say “Jesus, I trust in You.” We should work and pray hard, yet there are things that should be left for Him to solve.

Like the falling of the autumn leaves that usher in winter and the promise of spring, there are things that are inevitable and could turn out to be for what’s really better and the best.

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What do you think? If you were in my shoes, what would you do?

I’m looking forward to knowing your thoughts.

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Credit goes to the following sources/resources for this and my other posted blog quotes:

• Goodreads and BrainyQuotes for the quotes,
• Wave.video for the videos or photos,
• WordPress and Canva for some of the photos and graphics, and
• Wikipedia for more information for the quotes’ writers.

Check out all my other previous hopeful and optimistic quotes on this blog here.

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