a click for my thoughts

Sometimes I don’t know if my actions deserve such blessing. And yet, there it is– a wonderful family. If not for a family I won’t be able to get an opportunity to go back home…again! (One benefit of taking care of my niece is receiving a promise and the fulfillment of that promise: I get to go home to Philippines…woohoo!!!) That means I get to see my family and friends again.

Thank God for my family! Even though my family is not perfect, I am proud and thankful for them. Of course, in a basketful of apples not all red ones are sweet, and not all green are sour. But, what family doesn’t have those oddities among them? Regardless, I love my family still, and hopefully my actions won’t show any condemnation or anything that would make any of them turn away from the closeness we already share. For, who am I to make them feel uncomfortable or picked on when I for one make mistakes? And I for one experience family’s grace many, many times. Besides, these ‘green’ apples might be that they are merely taking time to sweeten and ripen.

Let me indulge this ponderings…

I was brought up in an environment that values strong family ties. Thus, I am a family-oriented person. It comes with my culture and as a family legacy. Both of my parents’ sides share that same value. Unfortunately, I am not very close to my mother’s side because, while I was growing up, we were islands apart. But I am close to those who were near us, of course! (‘Near’ meaning, a walking distance or a few hours travel. Unless one lived/lives or traveled/travels around Philippines, one will never understand what I mean.) On the other hand, I grew up being able to visit with my relative from my father’s side more often; hence, this subject is mainly based on that side of my family.

Expressing my subjectivity, let me say that we are one, big, unique (interesting) family. I grew up knowing each of my first-cousins’ name…even the names of their children. (Wow, now that I am in Canada, I got a lot of catching up to do when it comes to knowing the names of my nieces and nephews.) I have wonderful memories of large family gatherings and reunions with them. I learned how to enumerate my father’s siblings from the eldest to the youngest. In fact among us, (me, my cousins, and siblings) it has became a must to know it. I grew up hearing and loving the stories of my aunts’ and uncles’ (and of course my dad’s) stories of their childhood days. In fact, their stories were also used to teach us lessons (e.g. of obedience). And these stories are reminisced often with loving recollection, for they bring warmth and laughter.

I remember having to memorize Rev. 12:17. I don’t know the memory verse by heart anymore, but I know it’s about an enraged dragon that made war with the remnant of the Church. This memory verse became quite like a legacy passed on to my father’s generation and then to ours. But one thing for sure, the fear of the Lord and loving the Word is a valued principle instilled and exemplified to us by my grandparents. That, for sure, is one legacy they passed on to us.

When I was growing, my parents instill in me and my siblings the importance of worship. We’d had bible games along with the reading, songs, and prayer. There were lots of fun memories of family worship that I enjoy to recollect. When relatives get together, worship is still there. In fact, it’s more fun. We have three pastors, and quite the rest are active church members and some of them work in our denomination. I remember a particular reunion wherein the whole family went to a private resort for a weekend. Sabbath was like being in a church (only much more fun) because we had enough people to have deacons, Sabbath School teachers (for a number of age ranges), and other participants similar to the worship that in a church building… from Sabbath School to sundown worship. But what I love about the big worship with all my relatives is the singing. All of us love to make music, maybe not all of us were endowed with a gift to make wonderful music, but we all love and appreciate music. I also remember when all those who play the piano had a showdown…more like a jamming session. Each took their turn to contribute to the repertoire.

I remember launching an evangelistic seminar as a family where we assembled a choir and Victory in Jesus became a family anthem.

I remember that Sabbath afternoon is not about sleeping for most of us…it’s either AY or about singing songs. And afterwards, if we are in a familiar territory, it is preceded by a stroll. Kuyog! (Ahhhh…memories! Can’t wait for another set!)

But what makes our gathering so memorable is the humor. We tend to be loud because of our laughter that is caused by the humor that almost each of us possesses. Our humor comes from the humorous ordinary blunder (e.g. frying one side of the eggplant or CPR without AR), from innocence/ignorance (e.g. “…anong illiterate?” or “ate irene, may medyas ka dito. Sa kabila sapatos” *pointing to the cheeks*), from wit (e.g. “Kuya Modie, may bangot o…” *in reality: ipot*), from past experiences (e.g. sumbang bituka), and up to making jokes. It keeps our reunions and gatherings ringing with laughter and full of fun. It seems that humor is a dominant gene that we inherit from my grandfather. (Although, lola has her own sense of humor as well.) Even in times of grieving we find comic relief (e.g. “Inay, inay! *sings* Di ko kayang tanggapin!” kulang-kulang na hambalusin ng inay ng payong). Even in hardships we find the time to make fun of our predicament…not that the difficulties weren’t serious, but because it relieves the stress a bit, and somehow, if you are really “in” the family, it’s comforting. To enumerate such fun and funny memories would be tedious because there is so much! These memories are what make me so excited to go home, for I know the people I hold dear and cherish are the ones that make these kinds of memories sweet.

~ by klengsfile on February 4, 2007.