St. Francis of Assisi

I don't know where to start.

The whole of month of December is a very intense month for me and my family. I say this month is a month of first time for us.

Why?

When some of you have been busy preparing for Christmas, busy wrapping gifts and busy practicing for the corporate Christmas Party, my family, on the other hand, has been very busy struggling to survive the three consecutive man-made floods that recently hit the island.

The First Family has always been used to floods as our house is located in one of the lowest residential areas here. But never did we experience a flood so high it almost killed our business and more importantly, our spirits.

There was a very specific instance that until now I still haven't been able to let go...

Before Christmas, we were in the hotel, listening to the battery operated radio we brought along. And then a very familiar Christmas Carol was played. My mom and my eldest sister closed their eyes, changed the frequency and started crying. AFter all, this was our saddest Christmas.

The floods nearly washed away our happy thoughts-- the ones that we have been always reminiscing over breakfast, lunch and dinner..

I, myself, lost all my positive energy and my feeling-supreme mode... Who wouldn't? You couldn't anymore see your house, you were rescued by a rubber boat, you had no decent clothes, everybody around you was sad and apprehensive and restless. It was hard.

However, during those floods, I still tried to be the Jajajanice who believed she could get away with anything. I tried hard to find the little optimism that I believed to be hiding underwater.

At sa tingin ko naman ay nahanap ko ang akalang kong katiting na optimism, at sa baha ko din siya natagpuan.

I always have the idea that our family is intact and strong. But it was only during the flooding that I was finally able to see that idea. It was nearly tangible. We remained united, did our best to recover, and prayed together.

Even our employees were all there to help us clean our warehouse and shops. We were all together.

And that I guess was one of the best feelings I have felt in my life. We were all together. No one gave up. No one left. We were simply side by side.

God gave us a test. And my family welcomed it. We didnt question it, but we just accepted it...

And even if we still feel sad about what happened, I still pray, "Lord, help me to accept things I cannot change..."

Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury,pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
and where there is sadness, joy.