The Journey in Life, Tina V [best ereader for academics .txt] 📗

for her trip. Their dad lived alone in another state. He already resigned from the bank. He didn’t had a permanent job. He stayed in a small room. He lost the comfort of what is called “home”. He also lost his real family.

Contrary to that, the separation made their mom a stronger person. She seemed physically weak but determined to survive for herself and for her children. Their journey in life was not easy. She turned to God for help. They were led to a church missionary that helped her family survived those times of tribulation. As the bible verse in Psalm 46:1 says, “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.”

Chapter 3 – Trials and Struggles in Life

Joshua 1:9 - “Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”

*****

I had seen the changes in their life as a broken home family. From a luxurious lifestyle, it was substituted with a simple living. The adjustment period was so difficult that they experienced a lot of problems within them. They had to let go of their housekeepers, gardeners and drivers. They only retained one helper to assist their mom in their household. The global economic recession that we are experiencing now is nothing to them for they started their crisis in life at an early age.

All of them needed to learn how to commute all by themselves. I remember the first time that Caroline and I rode in a public transportation. She was really having a hard time. She didn’t know how much to pay the driver. She also didn’t know how to cross the street. I always told her, “Come on, let’s go! You can do it.”

It was funny to remember those days, but she learned her way in life so fast.

Since their mom didn’t have a fixed income, their family experienced difficulty in paying for their school’s tuition fees. Their youngest James would also tell his mom that his shoes got a hole underneath. Since they didn’t have the money to buy for a new one, he still walked to school using it. Poor James . . .

I witnessed almost all their problems. I noticed how their friends and relatives slowly disappeared in their life. One by one, they were gone . . . some turned their back away from them . . . while others mocked them, too. As the saying goes, “You will know who your true friends are in times of troubles.”

There were only a few of us who remained loyal to them. Painful, wasn’t it?

Caroline had a car accident when we entered the middle school. I remember that day when we were practicing for a school dance at the garage of one of our classmates. Alvin was supposed to back out his car, but instead of putting it on the rear gear, he moved it to drive forward. His car suddenly squeaked . . . bang! He did hit Caroline at the back. I saw her body flew a few yards. We were all stunned. At first, we didn’t move. We all thought that the car ran over her.

It happened so fast. I suddenly shouted, “Caroline, are you okay?”

I ran and sat beside her. She wasn’t moving. My heart started to thump fast. My body shivered. I felt my hands got numbed. I didn’t know what to do.

Until one of our friends said, “Let’s bring her to the nearest hospital.”

So we did.

The doctors and nurses immediately attended to her. Alvin and I went to their house to tell her mom about the accident. Some of our classmates waited in the emergency room.

Her mom was astonished and nervous when she heard about it. Tears started to flow from her eyes. She asked us, "Is Caroline alright?”

I anxiously answered her, “She will be fine. The doctors are already checking on her. She’s at the emergency room with our classmates.”

Alvin assured her not to worry about the bills to pay because his family will be the one to settle it. He apologized for what happened.

Aunt Lisa held no grudges and told him, “I know you didn’t mean to hit her. It was all an accident.”

That was only one of the trials that hit their family. Caroline stayed in the hospital for a week. Her legs were numbed. Her doctor told them that it would take some time to be back on her feet again. It was just like a nightmare! She couldn't walk!

When Caroline left the hospital, it changed her life. She became moody and irritable. I witnessed when she yelled at her mom and bitterly said, “Life isn’t fair! Why do terrible things happen to good people? Am I that bad?”

There was so much pain inside her. She blamed God for what happened to her.

Oh well, I also didn’t understood the reason why bad things happen to good people. Life wasn’t really fair to them. It seemed that they were God’s favorite family to deluge all those burdens in life. I just can’t imagine how I would survive if I were in their shoes. (Sigh!) hhhmmm . . .

But Aunt Lisa was so patient to comfort her. She would tell her, “God will not give us any trials that we cannot handle. Put your faith in Him and trust Him in everything that we do.”

She seemed firm and strong.

I had seen their struggles in life. Caroline continued to go to school using those wooden crutches. It seemed that she felt helpless. She would hide her pain through her smiles. Just like her mom, she never held any grudges to anybody. She would go to her physical therapist at least three times a week.

Good thing that Aunt Lisa would always remind her of the verse in Matthew 11:28, “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”

I was not a religious person. But this verse struck through my head.

Her mom took so much care of Caroline. It took her almost six months to walk again. Her mom convinced her to go back to church. But after that heartbreaking incident, she seemed to live a double life . . . a church goer and a backslider. She taught children’s bible school during summer. But she started to smoke and drink behind her mother’s back. She thought it would ease out the pain. Pity Caroline. . .

That was not the only problem their family had experienced. The second sibling Russel became the so called “black sheep” in their family. When their parents separated, he went on to cut classes. He started to drink and smoke. He later indulged himself with marijuana and other drugs. I witnessed that he almost committed suicide because of those drugs. He had a hard time accepting the situation of being a broken home. He engaged himself with school and gang fights. He was kicked out and transferred to another school. He failed to finish his college degree.

Russel also had an accident when he was doing his skateboarding. He twisted his right palm and broke his right arm. His friends rushed him to the hospital. The doctor placed a plaster or cement cast in his arm. He recovered in almost a year. But their mom never gave up on him. She took care of him at her best effort.

Moreover, Caroline told me that their mom felt bad when her eldest sister followed their dad after her college graduation. Antonette worked in a travel agency. She was the least in the family who had experienced difficulties in life. She always traveled to different countries. She loved signature clothes, bags and shoes. She seldom remembered to send money to their mom for financial support. Aunt Lisa never obliged her to do so. And to my surprise, she stood out as the favorite in their family.

Their family sufferings just didn’t stop there. They had already sold their cars and other land lots to finance for their needs. Eventually, they also had to let go of their last house helper. We were already in college when their old big house was demolished because of a strong typhoon. I saw their condition during those times when I went to their house. I saw them shivering from the cold weather. They were just sleeping on their old sofa set using some plastic and umbrellas to cover them. They used it to protect them from the rain. They still didn’t have the money to fix it. They shared canned goods to eat for lunch and dinner. They couldn't cook anymore. I could see the worries and fears in their eyes. Yet, their family still talked and laughed together. It took them a few months before they transferred to an apartment. But it took them almost two years before they built a smaller house on that same lot.

Their mom was so strong to survive it. Her faith in God and her love for her children had moved mountains to exceed all their trials and struggles in life.

“It is not the times that we falter and fall that matters but it is the times that we rise from each fall.”

She would always tell them.

She continued to say, “You know what is right and what is wrong. You should learn to make wise decisions.”

I learned one thing from them that courage is the ability to face one’s challenges in life amidst the presence of fear.

There is nothing wrong if we sometimes feel scared and afraid. But it is our strength to conquer that feeling that counts most. We have to learn to move on in our journey despite of that fear.

Chapter 4 – A Mother’s Faith and Love

Proverbs 3:5 - “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding”

*****

Aunt Lisa so firm and comitted within herself to let all her children finished their schooling. As I mentioned earlier, she didn’t had a fixed source of income. She wasn’t able to graduate in college because she was always sick and absent in school. Remember that I told you that she had asthma? Her asthma usually attacked her every change of climate weather. She couldn't breathe well. She couldn't sleep well. She used an inhaler to help her with her breathing problem.

Inspite of all these weaknesses, it didn’t become a hindrance for her to earn their living. She used her love for baking to make pastries