♫♪♫All that I am, all that I have
I lay them down before You, oh Lord
All my regrets, all my acclaims
The joy and the pain, I’m making them Yours
Lord, I offer my life to You
Everything I’ve been through, use it for Your glory
Lord I offer my days to You
Lifting my praise to You as a pleasing sacrifice
Lord I offer You my life
Things in the past, things yet unseen
Wishes and dreams that are yet to come true
All of my heart, all of my praise
My heart and my hands are lifted to You
Lord, I offer my life to You
Everything I’ve been through, use it for Your glory
Lord I offer my days to You
Lifting my praise to You as a pleasing sacrifice
Lord I offer You my life
What can we give that You have not given?
And what do we have that is not already Yours?
All we possess are these lives we’re living
That’s what we give to You, Lord
Lord, I offer my life to You
Everything I’ve been through, use it for Your glory
Lord I offer my days to You
Lifting my praise to You as a pleasing sacrifice
Lord I offer You my life
Lord, I offer my life to You
Everything I’ve been through, use it for Your glory
Lord I offer my days to You
Lifting my praise to You as a pleasing sacrifice
Lord I offer You my life
Lord I offer You my life♫♪♫♪
This inspiring song has played in my head since this morning. I was more inspired attending mass at St. Padre Pio chapel with Fr. Jerry Orbos, SVD as mass presider. Josef and I agreed to meet there before the mass but we saw each other only after the final blessing. There were so many Padre Pio devotees who attended – people from all walks of life, people in wheel chairs, people who believe that there is a loving God who will always be there for all of us. I was touched listening to some of them sharing a bit of their stories before the mass, some came from nearby towns and provinces just to attend the celebration. We were on the same journey, seeking intercessions from Padre Pio. We each have our own personal intentions but we were there as one family celebrating his feast day.
The past week was not just busy for us, it was pretty tiring too. Come to think of it, Metro Manila was not even under any storm signal but typhoon Mario wrought havoc to our town again, flooding most areas because of the monsoon rains. It was typhoon Ondoy all over again. We are still thankful though that even if flood waters reached our house (almost knee-deep), it didn’t bring damage to properties. PAGASA said that what is supposedly an amount of rainfall for a month fell in a day. Five years ago, when typhoon Ondoy hit us, we had to renovate. I had all our cabinet changed and fixed permanently. I am not yet done arranging and fixing our personal things which we had to move to higher shelves. Sometimes I feel physically drained, it’s like doing manual labor, cleaning the house etc. ( I haven’t touched the garden yet).
Life is a bit hard sometimes but we have to move on and move forward. The uncertainties, the fear and trauma of dealing with such natural disasters are still there but we are thankful that we are alive and enjoying moments with the family. There are more things to be thankful for than to complain about. Fr. Jerry said in his homily this afternoon, “Offer your pain to God, be thankful for all your blessings. When the burden is too much, let Him carry it for you”.
Sunshine comes after the rain.
Dreams And Escapes 