This is the product of my fertile thoughts. I am recreating them here and am sharing them with you, dear bloggers, for whatever benefits, if any, you could derive from them. I wish you could be more open and share with me your comments and suggestions so that I can improve on my blog. Thank you, God bless and have a nice day. Mel Avila Alarilla
It was the hardest decision in my life to take. Come to think of it, I had no choice then but to turn to the Lord for guidance and deliverance in those troubled times.
After so much soul searching and inquiries from the Lord, I decided to forgo the operations and let my wife proceed to the US to work. Actually, there was no choice since we do not have the money for the operations. And even if we do, how can I be operated for three different diseases that all needed immediate surgeries. I think even king Solomon would have been hard pressed to solve that problem.
My wife finally went to the US and I was left alone relying exclusively on the grace and mercy of my God. I have to become the father and mother of my four kids, the youngest of whom was my six years old Princess Heidi.
Oh, problems were aplenty and I terribly missed my wife to share the burden of the upkeep of our house and the rearing of our children.
I have been to the portals of death so many times that I have already prepared myself for such an eventuality. In my sleep, the evil one would taunt me with the possibility of death. So many times, I would hear the vein on my nape snapped as I thought I was already having a major stroke. I knew that a single stroke would kill me since as a diabetic, whatever wound that might develop in my brain would not clot and I would bleed to death.
I have time and again suffered sleepless nights because of the excruciating pain in my lower back and in my groin. I hid those pains to others as I ministered and prayed for the needs of those the Lord had brought to me. But at night, I pour my heart out to the Lord. I shed copious tears to the Lord but never did I question the reason for my terrible pain. I always trust in His unfailing love and mercy.
But it's not all pain throughout. There were respite and relief from the nagging pains in my journey to life. They serve as virtual oases in my desert trek in life.
I have been through a lot of misfortunes and pains that there were times where my faith wavered. Like when we suffered that devastating flood that practically wiped out all our material possessions in our house. My wife suffered scarcity of and intermittent jobs in the US because of the housing and unemployment problems there. And lately, the scoliosis problem of my lower back and the acute hernia and enlarged prostate gland in my groin have caused me so much pain that I could scarcely get up, much less walk.
I no longer use my mind to ponder these things since all signs point to a permanent disability or complete paralysis of my lower body. I hold on to the great promises of God to deliver me from all these trials.
My favorite verse containing His unequivocal promise is, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways, acknowledge Him and He shall direct your paths." (Proverbs 3:5-6) He has delivered me from all my trials before, and He will deliver me from them, again and again and again.
Each day that I wake up in the morning, I thank Him for keeping me alive and still become productive for my children and the souls I minister to. Truly, I am now living by faith and not by sight. To God be the glory now and forever. Amen.
Posted by Mel Avila Alarilla Philippines Spiritual/Inspirational
No, this is not a sob story. This post was written not to elicit pity or compassion from the readers. Rather, this post was written to show the incomparable glory of God through His amazing grace in my life.
Thirty years ago, I was diagnosed to be suffering from hypertension. And twenty years ago, I was also diagnosed to be suffering from diabetes type 2 or diabetes miletus. At about the same time, I found out that I have a congenital scoliosis- a disease of the spinal column where there was an abnormal curvature of the lumbar section.
This last disease has caused me considerable pain all through these years and has time and again threatened me with complete paralysis of my lower body.
During those times, I found myself going in and out of work because of my sicknesses. Until I finally retired at a relatively young productive age since no company could tolerate my frequent absences due to constant illnesses.
My wife had to take on the role of bread winner of our family as I switched roles to be the caretaker of our children and our house. It was a bitter pill to swallow to a male ego, but I humbly accepted the reversed role that the Lord has given me and I concentrated on the spiritual upkeep of my family.
The Lord has showered us with tremendous blessings through my wife as she was promoted again and again. I was showered too with countless spiritual blessings as I ministered to the spiritual needs of the souls that the Lord has given to me.
Last year was the turning point in our lives. My wife decided to try her luck in the US to work, as our expenses simply outstripped her income. I used her medical insurance card to seek treatment from the best hospital in our country.
The doctors were astounded in what they saw. I was diagnosed to have a severe hernia and an enlarged prostate gland that both needed immediate surgery. Another doctor who x-rayed my back was taken aback by what she saw. My lumbar 5 bone had collapsed on my lumbar 4 bone in my spinal column. She also recommended immediate surgery. Yet another doctor diagnosed me with an enlarged thyroid gland and also recommended immediate surgery.
But the allowable amount in the medical insurance of my wife had all been used up and her insurance card had to be surrendered to her company so she could seek clearance for her resignation and travel to the US to work.
(End of Part 1)
Posted by Mel Avila Alarilla Philippines Spiritual/Inspirational
I am sorry to all my friends who have been faithfully patronizing my blog through their visits and through the wonderful comments they always leave behind. Be assured that I treasured them all and I regarded you all as my most cherished friends. But I have to declare an indefinite blog holiday because of fortuitous events that have been happening and may about to happen to my life.
As of the moment, there is a super typhoon that was forecasted to pass through our province. The biggest dam in our province has already spilled their excess water and half of our province have already been inundated in floodwaters. The super typhoon was forecasted to pass by our province within two days. To those who were with me since four months ago, they were aware of the devastating flood that swept through our house and devastated all our material belongings. To make matters worse, I have been suffering from severe scoliosis on my lower back and acute hernia in my gut that prevented me from going out of our house for more than one month now. The pain is so excruciating that I find it almost impossible to sleep peacefully.
I leave everything to the grace and mercy of my God. He will deliver me from all these trials and burdens in my life. To all who need my prayers, be assured that I will continue praying for you and I will appreciate it very much if you can also pray for me.
Thank you very much for your faithful patronage of my blog. I hope that when I come back, you will still be there to visit me and leave your wonderful comments. They have been a source of so much inspiration to me. I love you all with the love of the Lord. God bless you all and have a peaceful and pleasant day to everybody.
Man strives for that one shinning moment in his life, that one in a million, chance of a lifetime, when he can etch his name in immortality and fame.
And so he keeps on dreaming, and in his mind, he thinks of all the great things he will do to achieve just that- immortality and fame.
He marvels at the pantheon of the immortal greats of history- Julius Caesar, Alexander the Great, Genghis Khan, Napoleon Bonaparte, and others.
He marvels at the great minds that shaped the philosophical and intellectual world of mankind- Socrates, Plato and Aristotle, Freud, Emmanuel Kant, Charles Darwin, Karl Marx, Albert Einstein, to name a few.
He spends a lifetime of planning and plotting to achieve that one in a million, chance of a lifetime shot at fame, glory and fortune, and a place among the immortal greats.
He climbs the highest mountains, swims the deepest oceans, treks the unreachable places of the earth, jumps from the highest structures, and so on.
It does not matter whether he risks his life in order to attain that one in a million, chance of a lifetime ticket to fame, fortune and immortality.
Many have perished because of these quixotic quests. Many have fallen by the wayside in their attempt to achieve worldwide recognition. And they died disillusioned, broken and in anguish.
Even the so called immortal greats did not have that shinning moments at their life's end. Julius Caesar was treacherously murdered by his bosom friend. Alexander the Great died of mortal wounds sustained in numerous combats at a youthful age. Genghis Khan also died a lingering death because of mortal wounds of war. Napoleon Bonaparte died in exile, a suspected victim of arsenic poisoning.
Man has time and again, became victim of the illusionary goals of this world. They swim with the collective mindset of the world, established by that great enemy of man- Satan. Like the rats of old, they march to the hypnotic tune of the Pied Piper of Hammelin to the edge of the cliff and to their eventual doom. They strive for greatness only to end up in disaster and doom.
Why? Because God never gave us the one in a million, chance of a lifetime to be great. Instead He gives us little stones scattered all over our lives, to pick up each day until our lives become clean and wonderful, devoid of any litter and trash of this world. We then become a shinning testimony of God's greatness in our lives, as we reflect His wondrous glory. Then we become a light of the world and a salt of the earth, reflecting and magnifying God's glory to the world.
One In A Million - Hannah Montana
Posted by Mel Avila Alarilla Philippines Spiritual/Inspirational
Do we have the "give" mentality or the "get" mentality? The answer to this question determines who we are spiritually.
Man by nature is used to have the "get" mentality because of the instinct of self preservation. To him, success means how much he can "get" out of life, and how he can minimize what he "gives" to others.
But as far is spirituality is concerned, the exact opposite is true. True spirituality is measured by how much we can give without expecting anything in return. In fact, most spiritual souls suffer undeserved persecutions and calumnies because they go against the norm of society, which is , to get as much as one can get in this world, where survival of the fittest is the rule rather than the exception.
To be selfless and passive in this dog eats dog world would mean a life full of ridicule and persecutions. Man, in his ignorance, hates the person who is different, who go against the raging tide of what is acceptable to society. Man still uses the old maxim "when in Rome do as the Romans do."
There is also an old saying that goes, "it is better to light a single candle than to curse the whole darkness." As foreboding evil beclouds the whole world, would we participate in the common man's insatiable lust for licentiousness and wanton living? If everybody else seem to have lost the integrity of his soul and has gone the way of living the wicked life, would we do just the same since everybody else is doing it?
Or should we heed the still small voice in our heart that says no to wanton and profligate living? The answer lies in what we firmly believe in. If we believe that life is just a one shot deal where we have to get the most out of our limited existence before we experience annihilation, then the worldly man is right all along. But if we believe that this life is a transitory one, a springboard to a much fuller and satisfying one, then we must do as our conscience dictates us to do. To do otherwise would be like committing spiritual suicide.
The Heart Is A Lonely Hunter - Dave Grusin The paintings and music in this video are dedicated to Greenearth and Sacrifice- our resident artists at World United Bloggers. Hope you like the paintings.
Posted by Mel Avila Alarilla Philippines Spiritual/Inspirational
We work ourselves to death trying to accumulate wealth for our children to hedge their future against all kinds of uncertainties in life.
We buy all kinds of insurances to ensure the future welfare of our loved ones.
We send our children to the best schools that our meager resources could afford just so we can ensure their future prosperity.
There are times we even sacrificed our scrupples and throw our principled integrity to the waste bin just to accumulate the much sought after wealth to ensure the future of our loved ones.
We worry ourselves to death regarding the future of our children, how they will fare in this jungle of existence where the norm is survival of the fittest and dog eats dog.
We do all these things and so much more, but there is one basic and fundamental question we refuse to even entertain in our minds. The question is:
HAVE WE PREPARED OUR CHILDREN FOR ETERNITY? Think about that.
"THERE IS A WAY THAT SEEMS RIGHT TO A MAN BUT IN THE END IT LEADS TO DESTRUCTION."
Chopin - Op 10 No. 3 in E Major
Posted by Mel Avila Alarilla Philippines Spiritual/Inspirational
La Mer (The Sea) (English Translation of the Song - La Mer by Charles Trenet of France)
Somewhere beyond the sea Somewhere watching for me My lover stands on golden sands And watches the ships that go sailing
Somewhere beyond the sea Somewhere waiting for me If I could fly like birds on high Then straight to her arms I'd go sailing
It's far beyond the stars It's near beyond the moon I know beyond a doubt My love will be there soon
We'll meet beyond the shore We'll kiss just like before Happy we'll be beyond the sea And never again I'll go sailing
And never again I'll go sailing
La Mer (The Sea) - Charles Trenet (1945) - France
The Sea (A Love Poem) Mel Avila Alarilla
Ah, the sea. So many happy memories we shared by the sea. We used to play along the shores like little children. We gathered shells and made sand castles as we weaved our dreams by the sea.
We watched the sun set by the sea and we marveled at the sea birds flying all around. And we pledged our undying love by the sands of the sea.
As long as there were sands in the sea, we swore our eternal love for each other. Nothing could ever separate us, not even time and space.
But you have gone beyond the sea, and I am left alone to wade in the cold waters of the sea. As I watch the setting of the sun, I can feel only the emptiness and sorrow you left in my heart that nobody else can ever fill.
Yes, I am left standing alone by the sea, wandering whether you will still come back to me. The sea. How lonely is the sea. It sings a sad song of emptiness in my heart.
As I retrace my steps back to the shore, I am leaving behind a lonely pair of footprints where before there used to be two. The sea. How lonely is the sea.
It becomes now meaningless without you by my side. And I could feel hot tears of sorrow gliding down my cheeks as I try to drown the deep loneliness welling up inside my soul. The sea. How lonely is the sea.
Posted by Mel Avila Alarilla Philippines Poetry/Literary/Immortal Song/Youtube
"Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts" (Hebrews 4:7b)
DO YOU NEED HELP? ARE YOU IN THE DARK? CAN'T FIND YOUR WAY AROUND? NEED A FRIEND WHO WILL STICK WITH YOU THROUGH THICK OR THIN OR WHEN EVERYBDOY ELSE HAS DESERTED YOU?
It was the hardest decision in my life to take. Come to think of it, I had no choice then but to turn to the Lord for guidance and deliverance in those troubled times.
