Be Inspired and Enriched!

After spending three weeks reconnecting with relatives and friends, I feel so refreshed, renewed, loved, important, happy and accepted; The encounters strengthened my self-esteem and self confidence. It motivated me to value myself more and be more grateful for all that I am, all that I have, and all that I do. I feel more vibrant, more hopeful and more energetic. I am more motivated to be the best of whoever I am. I feel healthier, even though I had increased blood pressure. I feel happier, even though I missed my family so much. I feel wealthier, even though I spent more than was budgeted. Relationships rekindled were like opium of the soul. I still feel like I am on cloud nine. I feel great! I feel accepted. I feel I am right. Joyfulness and fulfillment fill my days. I believe God was there. The Lord was present wherever I was. He was there when fear gripped me. He was there when I enjoyed the pleasant trips. He was ther...

Sitting on the city train this morning with our two boys next to me, I realised how blessed I am and suddenly felt this blanket of joy, peace and fulfilment envelope me. I felt affirmed of the decision my husband and I made fourteen years ago. But it was not easy for me.   After trying to conceive for seven years, we finally decided it was time to take another step in our journey … to go through the adoption process. After two years, I really wanted to pull our application out.  My husband convinced me otherwise.   It was a long drawn process that took a total of about nine years for both of them to join our family. Being a parent is not an easy task.  Making decisions for the family is not easy.  Even making a decision as to which school they should go to takes a lot of thinking, consulting, praying and discerning. Although parenting is not an easy responsibility, I still believe my life is more meaningful, complete and satisfying,...

Recently, due to family priorities, I changed my work schedule and this somehow affected the completion of my usual tasks in the office.   However, this change has also inspired me to reflect on life in general.   My thoughts were on being more prepared for the future. No matter what our age is, we are constantly searching for something.   Some search for new homes and suburbs, new locations for holidays, cheaper airfares, tours and accommodations and better places to buy clothes and food.   Some are still searching for extra income, whether through employment, investments or new business. Many people are also still searching how to live a life on purpose and how to make the most out of our remaining time here on earth. Every day, we are on a journey towards somewhere because life is simply that … a journey. And we all hope that this journey will be pleasant and will bring us to that happy place we desire. But, are we ready to reach our destination?...

At one of our Faith Sharing Group discussions, the topic was about people’s experiences during inheritance distribution in their families. Most of the time, tension and discord are created among family members.   Even the most respected families can be divided simply by an inheritance decision. Some families can be considered blessed when they do not have huge assets to inherit and distribute because harmony in their families usually remain intact.   My family was also affected by this inheritance situation a few decades ago as my grandparents on my father’s side had a huge sugar cane plantation with a sugar processing plant on a few thousands of hectares of land. There were nine children in their family. They all completed university degrees and built rewarding careers.   One of the four brothers became a district judge. Later, they discovered that he sold the land piece by piece by asking their aging and almost-totally-blind father to sign documents allo...

One rainy day looked more fruitful than any other day. In the morning, I had the opportunity of gathering almost 20 ladies to a retreat – reflecting on spirituality and their spiritual growth journey. During breaks, I had the chance to meet again a fellow parishioner who is an ex-refugee and talked about a possible catch up cuppa. Also, during a session, another lady called to ask for a carnival schedule and for some more details of the job vacancy I sent her for her unemployed husband. I spoke to another lady wanting help in encouraging her husband to be confident in sharing during faith group discussions and the possibility of including him in leadership training and formation programs. After attending Mass, I met again a lady I haven’t seen for a long time, who is not baptised yet.  I was able to suggest to her to look at joining the church and affirmed her that it is not a very difficult process. When I arrived home, a long time friend who is on Facebook messaged me abo...