Let Me Encourage You...

*Let Me Encourage You...*

Hey, it's been a while. A lot have been consuming my time lately and yah, I guess it has almost diminished my time to blog. Maybe I'll be back.. or not (hehe).. but lately, a number of things at work and at home have taken its toll on me. But! I'm right back on track. Unmoved. Stronger. And yes, I'd like to think wiser.

Ever since I got back from my short vacation in HK, things have been quite challenging. There's the daily mommy stuff, issues at work and problems with one of my siblings. Nope I'm not moping about work (I am just so over it and moving on with new things for me).. so as my title suggests, let me try to encourage you with a moving testimony of my brother's life.

My big bro is about 11-yrs older than I am and resides in the States. About a month ago, he decided to surrender his life to God and enter a facility that would help him get over his dependency on drugs. It's a big step, what he did; and it involved a praying wife that got through the challenges of being with a partner who wasn't at all perfect. You're probably guessing it right. With dependency on you know what, things may sometimes go haywire.. But my brother had something good, his wife and his family back here in Manila.

His stay at that center was a good one. Strict and tight security, but nevertheless, twas a place where he was able to feed on God's Word. They have Bible Study classes there and some sort of a support group; catering to the questions we humans mostly throw about life - and finding the answers from the Bible.

I wouldn't want this to drag too long (i'll try), however, let me summarize the events that have unfolded last February...

1) My brother had a "mild" heart problem and was taken to the infirmary. We didn't worry much. My sister-in-law couldn't get much details from the nurses.. but they reassured us that my bro was alright.

2) About a week after, we learned that he had suffered a stroke, leaving him with an internal hemorrhage in his head, affecting his right brain, leaving the left side of his body paralyzed. But God is faithful. Doctors say that 1 out of 10 people survive this kind of attacks. Praise God, my brother lives.

3) Upon knowing this, I tried asking God 'why', however I stopped myself immediately and thought that I was not in a position to question God and His plans. I had a long pause after my sister told my at around 3am. My chest felt heavy, eyes downcast, feeling helpless as I was miles away from my dear Kuya.

4) But then, God, again, in His loving nature, assured me that everything will be alright. It reminded me of a verse that says in Romans 8:28 that all things work for the good of those who loved the Lord. God's Word comforted me and my family.

5) We could have looked at the situation with no hope. We could have pitied my brother. We could have sulked in dismay. We could have gotten angry with God.

6) Choices were made. Decisions were taken. My family and I, along with my sister-in-law and her family as well, chose God. We chose His Promises. Didn't He promise healing? Didn't He promise restoration? Didn't He promise LIFE? At that point, we made a decision to hand the circumstance to God. Approaching the situation with pessimism just didn't make any sense. Hey this is nothing that God can handle. Hey, with Jesus, all things are indeed possible!

7) A few weeks passed and doctors agree that my brother's progress was miraculously fast. We have only God to praise for that! He was eating well, able to recognize some family and friends, and slowly being aware of what had happened to him.

8) My brother learned his lesson. God gave him a heavy blow, allowed him to be broken.. God perfectly knew what was going to happen next. My brother made a decision not to go back to his old way of life - for he had Jesus in his heart.

9) Just as we thought things were going well, we were all dumbfounded to hear about the hospital bills. It had almost reached to US$1.5M. I almost fell off my chair. I nearly fainted when my sister confirmed that yes, it was indeed in US Dollars. Again, it was a test of faith.

10) Day and night we declared that those bills are paid off. We declared by faith, that God is able, much able to supernaturally shoulder the bills. It's a huge amount of money. It's an enormous sum that even if we work 10 jobs at one time, it wouldn't still be enough. But we had someone bigger in our lives. And that IS God.

11) Jehovah Jireh is our God who PROVIDES. Jehovah Shalom is our God who brings PEACE. Jehovah Rapha is our God who HEALS. We hung on to His promises. It was all that He wanted us to do.

12) Days passed. Tears have gotten dry. People came helping from all ends. GOD shone through. God showed that He was in control. A friend of my sister-in-law said that he was going to take care of the bills and that all my sister-in-law had to do was to take care of my brother. When Ate texted me this, I thought, could this be right?! A second later, I raised my head up high and praised God with all my heart! Isn't God so awesome?!?!!

To this day, my brother was transferred to a hospital for his various therapies. He is making good progress and slowly but surely, God is restoring my brother physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually. Oh praise You, Father.

Don't you know how awesome it is to serve a living God who knows everything and anything about you? Oftentimes we feel misunderstood, we feel empty, we feel like our lives our going no where. We break down to the extent of even wanting to kill ourselves because of the problems we encounter in life. We are this way because we have forgetten what it is to Trust. To Trust in the Heavenly Father that created us. We are blinded by our problems because we choose to look at them instead of exercising our Faith in Jesus Christ. What God did and is doing for my brother is just the start of his new life. He has been given a second chance by the God of 2nd, 3rd, 4th, chances.

If you're going through a painful situation, and you feel that things seem really bleak, try calling on to God. Can you imagine the pain my sister-in-law had to go through with her more than 10 yrs of living with my unstable brother, depositing him in a rehab, hearing about him being taken to the ICU, not being allowed to visit, seeing that half of his body & brain is paralyzed, being confronted by US$1.5M of bills, being just by yourself to handle all the pain? If you talk to her now you'd be surprised that her spirit is full of joy. Why? Because God lives in her. She has held on to God's sweet promises. Her faith was immense and her deeds followed.

I pray that whoever is reading this post will be encouraged to go through their hardships in life. Believe in your heart that God is able to get you out of that situation. Believe in your heart that God is there for you. Have you given your life to Him? Make that decision today...