Signing, Not Blogging

The Manila Internatonal Book Fair (MIBF) is in full swing. It's the third day, and if I don't go to the happiest place on earth, I will miss the books I had wanted to browse and buy. 

Most importantly, I need to see and touch my new book, "Ready,  Set, Go!" (published CSM and  illustrated by Urli Pagaduan) After my editor sent the last page of the manuscript months ago, I have been holding my breath, impatiently waiting to see and touch the actual book. 

Finally! Today, in a few hours, I will be at MIBF to hobnob with book afficionados and sign my books for readers. I already missed many of them. This photo was sent to me on Day1. 

I am looking forward to also meeting new friends and long-time buddies, whom I only chat with on social media. (Blogging will definitely come again soon.)  

Grace overload!   

Benefit of the Doubt

I used to hear this conversation (argument) between my sons and their father.  Whenever Tony gave street children food or treated them to snacks or meals, the debate ensued.  

“Papa, you are encouraging begging!” 

“I am not giving them money, I am simply feeding these poor, hungry children.” 

“But they’ll grow up thinking begging is the way to live. They will lose their drive to work hard for the things they need,” sons would stress. “Haven’t you read the government’s warning that these kids are controlled by syndicates?” 

“I give them the benefit of the doubt,” Tony would reply gently. To me he confided, "I simply love doing it." 

Giving someone the benefit of the doubt is to believe something good about him/her—rather than something bad, when you have the possibility of believing either. 

“You are being too kind!” sons would insist.   

Since Tony left us for home, these arguments are no more. And so I ask, is there such a thing as being too kind? 

1 Corinthians 13:4-8 (NLT) says, “Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged.” 

How then can we know if our heart and acts of kindness are what God means in the above verses? 

We can go to Him in prayer and ask for His grace of discernment, “Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life.” (Psalm 139:23-24) 

God encourages us to be kind to one another, even enemies. 

“Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, and slander, as well as all types of evil behavior. Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you.” (Ephesians 4:31-32) 

My Dad’s Tree

This lomboy (duhat in Filipino; Java Plum in English) tree standing tall at the corner of two roads in our village is 48 years old. It was planted by my late dad. Behind it is our home which is just as old.  

Dad, the original plantito--long before the term was invented--planted many kinds of trees in our yard immediately after we moved in. He and mom lived in the province, but he came to visit us to work the ground. Unfortunately, we had to cut the trees down when we had a house extension for three growing sons. 

The only tree left is the lomboy because it is farthest from the house and didn’t interfere with the construction.  

Every year, this tree generously bears fruits. Because it has grown so tall, Mother Teresa had painstakingly constructed a fruit picker made of a long wooden pole. During the tree's peak season, she would serve us and our neighbors a bowl of lomboy—washed, sprinkled with salt, and gently shaken in  a covered bowl for a few minutes until the lomboy softens and the salt enhances its natural sweetness. Yum! 

Caution: lomboy leaves your lips and tongue blue, as though you’re suffering from cyanosis or lack of oxygen.  

Forty eight years later, today, our aged house is being renovated because it is falling apart. All the plants in the garden have disappeared from sight because they’re hidden by heaps upon heaps of construction materials.  

But the lomboy tree? 

It is far too tall, far too strong, and far too far away to be affected by it all. It needs to be pruned now and then because its branches get in the way of  electric wires, but Dad’s tree has set its place in the sun. 

From our terrace, Tony and I would often talk about Lolo Mate's tree, how it stood the test of time. With Tony gone, I view it still, but without words. So I decided to outdo words this morning by clicking my camera and let the photo above speak for itself.