All men are made of water, do you know this? When you pierce them, the water leaks out and they die.
- A Game of Thrones, George R.R. Martin
Showing posts with label forgiveness. Show all posts
Showing posts with label forgiveness. Show all posts

Friday, June 1, 2012

Of Oreos and Happy Endings

Music: Just Watch the Fireworks by Jimmy Eat World


"You're all right, you're all right, you're all right."
"Simon," Lifehouse (No Name Face)

...

Three years after I vowed never to eat an Oreo cookie again (for reasons that only a few close friends know of), I finally found the resolve (or is it courage?) to buy a pack of my-at-one-time-favorite snack.


2012 is the year of new beginnings for me, I guess.

Well, I only bought the chocolate sandwich cookie flavor. I think it will take a couple more months before I can actually try the vanilla-flavored version again. Because although this year is about new beginnings and all that jazz, I never did like forcing myself in situations I’m not comfortable with.

(Three hours after eating them, my stomach started to ache. Haha, very funny, I say to no one.)

...


Sometimes I think God has such a quirky sense of humor He enjoys making me wait and wait and wait until the last minute before He actually answers my prayers. Because He knows patience is a virtue I didn’t learn in school, and that surprises rarely appeal to me (unless they’re really, really good news), and maybe, just maybe, He enjoys making me wait, just so He could see how much I can take before I just, well, explode from frustration.

So every time he does answer, I always feel like saying, "Yeah, very funny, Lord, and yet, I’m happy (and relieved, perhaps? and just a little bit excited, maybe?) that You finally answered."


...

I don’t assume. Wishful thinking, yes. Daydreams with convenient plot holes, fire away. But not assume. Never assume. Because assumptions lead to disappointments. And I’ve had enough disappointments to last me a lifetime, thank you very much.

...

I opened my Formspring account after ignoring it for a long, long time. Heck, I completely forgot I even have one until the site sent me a notice via e-mail. As I was scrolling down the questions posted for me since the last time I’ve logged in (last year, apparently), I spotted a not-so-cryptic post smacked in the middle of “What’s your passion?” and “Who is the sexiest man alive?” (My answer’s Cillian Murphy, by the way, to both questions, maybe.):


“Still angry with me?”
(Mind not the typo.)

I realized I never answered the question before. Maybe because I didn’t know the answer one year ago. And then, as I reflected on it, I realized that, no, I’m not angry with her anymore, or him, for that matter. I haven’t been for a long time. Maybe even during the time when the question was posted.

Some people deserve to be forgiven. I don’t know if she, or he, does, but then again, who am I to decide who deserves forgiveness or not? God forgave my sins, so what right do I have not to forgive others? Besides, I think I owe it to myself to forgive them anyway. And I guess I must have, a long, long time ago, because I couldn’t feel even the slightest hint of repulsion as I stared at her profile photo.

Well, I guess this year is about endings and new beginnings, after all.

(No. I am no longer angry with you.)

...

I don’t believe in happy endings. For me, endings are always painful. Death, breakup, separation—what’s so happy with that?

I don't expect a happy ending with anyone.

I do believe in a life lived happily, though. Because instead of focusing on the end, I’d rather take one day at a time, really. And make the most out of it. And love the people around me. No matter how much I dislike them.

I pray for a life lived happily with someone, then. For as long as I, we, could.

(Uhm, yes, there's a difference.)
...


I swear, I’m going to finish writing my zombie fairy tale. Just because I don’t believe in happy endings, doesn’t mean I can’t write about one, right?

Besides, zombies are cool.

...

To quote Maurice Sendak:

I’m ready, I’m ready, I’m ready.



Wednesday, September 8, 2010

to forgive or not to forgive

Music: Emmanuel by Hillsong United

A day after I posted my "to the guy brave enough to tie the knot with me" entry, a guy friend commented in my FB account and said:


"...and never forgive someone who cheats. Not even once. Especially when you're married."

(Well, yes, he said many things other than that, but that's what struck me the most. Especially since he's a guy.)

Tonight, I open my devotional book and the entry for today is telling me to "draw on the unlimited account of [God's] forgiveness" as I "deal with personal relationships and people [who] hurt me, sometimes repeatedly."

I try to think of people who have hurt me repeatedly, and one person jumps to the top of my list. But I have already forgiven him, and we both have moved on, so I try to think of other people whom I might forgotten but not really forgiven.

I remember a girl back in high school, who was one year my senior, and how much I loathed her because she said I'm good-for-nothing. I recall a classmate who said I couldn't sing, and at that time I was so insulted that I never spoke to her again. I think of an officemate who tried to blame me for a mistake she did, and how I was never able to look at her the same way again after that incident. I think about my former best friend's girlfriend, who accused me of liking her boyfriend, and how I blocked her from my FB account because I found no point in continuously arguing with her.

Now that I think about it, I probably will never have the chance to talk to any of these people anymore (well, maybe except for the officemate), but I can pray and ask God to help me forgive them, and to forgive me as well. Sure, my grievances may seem like petty cares that should be forgotten, and I have indeed forgotten about most of them (the person and the wrong they did), but I realized I've never really forgiven them, never really prayed for them, never really asked forgiveness for being angry at them.

And so, I will pray for my senior to be successful in whatever career she's in, and hope that she will be good at something, anything. I will pray for my classmate and her beautiful voice (oh yes, she could sing), and hope that her talent will take her to places. I will pray for my officemate, that we can remain civil, even if we can no longer be friends. And I will pray for my ex-best friend's girlfriend, that she will have a happy relationship with his guy, and hope that she never finds out that he's playing around behind her back. Lastly, I will pray for myself, that I can stop being sarcastic and such a pain, and that I may be humble enough to know that I am also in the wrong, and accept that I cannot forgive and forget, unless the Lord helps me do it.

Oh, and as for the cheating husband?

I'll stick by what I said in my earlier post :)