Chronicles of Charyl

Waaaaah!!! I lost my ballpen case!!! I was frantically searching through my bag last night to look for that gray box, where my truly prized pens are kept, but I just can’t find it! How can I afford to lose it, or even not mind about it! No! I just can’t accept that it’s nowhere in my sight! I know this may sound crazy to anyone, because I guess nobody else in this world existed to share my passion for pens. But if you lost something you truly value, whatever it is, I know you could relate with me. My pens are the extension of my being me. I use them to express my thoughts. I use them to plot my daily, monthly or to-do schedules. I use them to underscore striking thoughts in my own readings. I use them to calculate my bi-monthly allowance. I use them to take down notes every time I listen to somebody speak. I use them to write personal notes to valued people. And my list could just go on! So you could just imagine my uncontainable joy when my friend texted me this morning th...

A friend of mine quoted the popular line about patience this way, “patience is a talent.” I thought it funny at first because it was supposed to be virtue and not talent , but I later understood the truthfulness of that matter. Patience as a talent does need to be cultivated, developed and practiced, in order to be professionally performed . One day, I was praying about matters of the heart and I asked God to help me be patient as I wait for His timing for me. God’s answer was this, “Are you really praying for patience? Or you’re just asking to be spared from the pain while waiting?” It was a shame to realize I was just actually asking God to shield me from the hurt and frustrations of the waiting period, in the guise of patience. There are so many things to wait for in life, and patience is such a vital element in that. But we also have to recognize that while waiting is hard, we have God’s promise like this, they who wait upon the Lord will renew their strength. They will rise up wi...

I am a Christian. I believe and accept Jesus Christ as my personal Lord and Savior. I follow Him and His teachings in my everyday thinking, talking and walking. I am sure that when I die, I will get to be with God in heaven, because that is what He promised to those who believed in Him. But YES, I am also a hypocrite. I grew up in a Christian church, having a Reverend Pastor as father, well-versed in every known Bible story and always “sticking to the rules”, that is why, I despise (please make that criticize) those who are “not like me”. I don’t speak foul words, you know, like the “F*ck” and “Sh*t” lingo, and I am “proud” of it. When my close friend got involved in PMS (Pre-marital s*x), I heart-fully told her God is not happy with what she did, but until now, I’ve never had the heart to give even just one gift to her child. I abhor ladies dressed in so revealing ways, and freely label them in my mind as “easy-to-get girls”, but I “love to be called” a “decent” woman. I tell ...

It has gotten into me again, the serious consideration of life and death matters. Just last night, my ate-friend was sharing to us her frightening almost-robbery story. She was riding aboard a van-for-hire which would bring her to her home city, and they were passing through an unlit and unpopulated mountain-road when some armed men stopped them for a supposed checkpoint, only to declare that they were after the passengers’ valuables and they are supposed to surrender them without complaining. Although my “Ate” was instrumental in the “postponement” of that almost-robbery (because of some unexpected but God-ordained circumstances), she still admitted becoming afraid at that moment. No, she was not afraid to die, but she was afraid for the people she was with that time, some of them were crying, fearing for their life, which were under the mercy of the armed men that time. From their story, death is indeed a cause for fear. Then my father, who was one of the listeners when my “Ate” ...

Being a year older... >should not be a cause of despair because "i'm getting old", but a reason for gratitude because God has given me another year to live; >should not bring worry because i have to throw out an "expensive" treat but a time of rejoicing that there are people whom i can celebrate it with; >should not be a frustration because some people didn't care to greet but a chance to be thankful because there are those who did; >should not bring sadness because "i didn't receive any gifts" but a realization that the best gifts in life are those unseen, like love and thoughfulness from family and friends; >should not be a discouragement because of another year in this hard-pressed time but an opportunity to exercise faith in seeing something despite a blurry beyond; >should not bring accusation in remembering failures but a time to gain wisdom, to learn from them, and keep on again; >should not be a burden because of ex...

“ Takas Queen pala ako Lord?... hehehe… ” I blurted out when I realized how many times I have tried to escape God’s lessons for me, by making out excuses. Meanwhile, I thought those excuses were "valid", until He rebuked me. “Em, if you will continue to ask that you will be spared from all those heartaches and pains, you will miss out on the valuable things I will be teaching you along the process.” “ But Lord, can I still not ask You to spare me? ” “Of course you can, and it’s best that you will, but it doesn’t mean you will really not go through them.” “ But Lord, don’t You have pity for me? ” “Of course I do! It’s for that very reason in fact, that I want you to go through these hurts and pains because only in so doing can you come out strong. You can’t be strengthened if you won’t be exposed to them. Pity is such an understatement, but if you say so, then yes, I do have much, much pity for you. But I do love you.” “ Because Lord, I can’t bear the pain… I don’t like...

It is difficult to repeat a lesson to someone who’s been taught already. For one, the pride of unlearning is a great hindrance. Then there’s also the subtle implication that the learner is not wise enough to carry out a one-word instruction. And the most hurting of all is when the relearning appears to be a failure on the part of the learner. But isn’t life a university, and an unending education? So long as you live, there’s so much you have to learn and can learn. And well, yes, the hardest part of learning is when you get hurt as you learn, but it is also the time when the lesson is greatly valued. In the end, the learner realizes that though the learning process may be unpleasant, what matters most is the lesson gleaned. I’ve been a learner. I still am, and still will be. :)