Find Me

Today closes a full circle of a year that has passed since I came back from a half a year stay with my relatives in the United States. What a year it has been.

Before I left the country in June 2008, I told myself and certain close friends that the trip is going to be the opportunity for 'soul searching' I've always wanted to have. Since the path after college overwhelmingly branched out to so many different directions, I promised myself that I'd take a back road for a while and figure out where I'm headed for in life. I suddenly realized a few days post-graduation that twenty long years didn't seem that long after all. In fact, it passed by a little too quickly than I thought it would.

Six months in a looking glass away from home also flew by much like a breeze passing through a field. I knew I came back the same person but with broader perspectives, stronger convictions, better values, and deeper faith in God. However, the questions I have when I left still remained unanswered even after arriving back in the Philippines. My period of 'soul searching' was finished but I still haven't found what I've been looking for. At the time, I possibly felt more at a loss than ever.

As I began to re-adjust to life at home, I slowly found my place under the sun without being aware of it. It was like being given a second chance in life - a clean slate to start all over again. Now I've come to understand that 'soul searching' doesn't mean you have to isolate yourself to a far away place in order to have an epiphany. It means looking within... for wherever you go, there YOU are. You are the one thing you cannot escape from.

I have come to the conclusion that, indeed, "Home is where the heart is".

I couldn't be more thankful to God for giving me the opportunity to rediscover who I am and who I can be. Life is truly about the journey - going through every experience we face each day with much gusto. The destination is a bonus, an affirmation of what it took the sojourner to get there.

For almost eight months now, I am blessed every single day to be working with kids with special needs at a therapy center in the metropolis [after a whirlwind of serious decision-making]. I am wonderfully blessed to be living my dream of being a catalyst for good change and a positive influence in society. Moreover, I couldn't have asked for a more supportive family and circle of friends.

I am eternally thankful because when God found me, He not only helped me find Him - He also helped me find me.