"Fill it with water"

“Fill it with water.”

Miracle of the Wine

By Lot Jr Tabilid

Before the miracle of turning water into wine, Jesus first asked the servants to fill the empty jars with water.

This comes with two powerful insights.

First, the jars had to be empty. 

Before something new can be received, there must first be a space for it. Often, we don’t realize that to make room for transformation, we must first learn how let to go. 

To be nothing. 

To be empty.

Emptiness—though difficult to embrace—teaches us to reflect on what we had, what we’ve lost, and what we are ready to receive.

Secondly, the act of filling the jars—slow, repetitive, and seemingly mundane—is essential. 

It reminds us that miracles don’t just happen in an instant; they follow preparation, effort, and perseverance. 

The process may be tiring, but it builds patience, resilience, and trust. 

The miracle starts with our willingness to act, even when results aren’t immediate.

May the miracle of the wine remind us that through life’s series of struggles, transformation is possible.

But first, we must be emptied… and then be willing to fill again—drop by drop—until the miracle comes.

"Alone in my thoughts"

 

14 December 2021

9:35pm

Life is green,

Life is brown.

Life begins,

Life ceases.

That which flourishes, withers;

That which thrives, shrivels.

As I sit here to ponder,

my memory fades and wander.

When I dream of you tonight,

caress me and hug me tight.

#sadlymissed

"Memory"

9  December 2021

If a good memory is a blessing, then being reminded that life isn't meant to be forcefully CONTROLLED but rather to be SHARED lovingly with everyone is a comfort to my soul.

Months ago, my mother, who died of cancer, can no longer hold her cellphone in the same way she used to. She had lost so much strength that even a small device presented a challenge to her.

But she was so resilient.

A few days before her death, she managed to reach out to her cellphone and video-called us for the final time, most likely motivated by her desire to bid us farewell without saying anything.

For a few moments, I was given a rare expression of love that I will forever cherish in both my heart and mind.

She may not have had complete CONTROL over her fate, but she did SHARE a lasting memory.

And that was a good thing.

#sadlymissed 😢🥀

"Jesus wept."

A Holy Week Reflection3

1 March 2021

From afar, an atmosphere of distress drifted through the air. 

The wind was cold.

The smell of melancholy was unbearable.

The sight of anguish was tormenting.

The sound of sadness was deafening.

Then suddenly, Jesus appeared.

After seeing everyone grieved over Lazarus' untimely demise, He too, in spirit and in flesh, was deeply troubled. 

As he looked deeply on each mourner's eyes, he showed his compassionate nature. 

"Jesus wept." 

Reflectively, He did not weep because of his friend's death itself for He knows entirely, that in due time, Lazarus and like everyone else whom he fondly loved will ultimately be in heaven with him. 

(1) His crying was marked by sympathy and sensitivity to other people's emotions. Like all of us, Jesus, was just being human. He was spontaneously affected by the affliction and grief shown by everyone else.

Moreover, (2) Jesus wept because he got to see a firsthand account of how it feels like to lose someone dearly. He too was thinking of his friends and family's excruciating pain over his impending death. He knew that He will be mocked over, tortured, persecuted, buried and mourned for. And such lamentation, like everyone else would feel, was too much of a burden to anticipate.

And lastly, (3) He knew exactly what lies ahead. His "inner cry" was a reminder that he can't escape even his very own death.

True enough, a night before his crucifixion, he was in agony. Physiologically, I assumed, due to apprehensive uneasiness, His body was shaking. In fact, in point to biblical account as cited by Luke, Jesus experienced "hematohidrosis" while earnestly praying in the garden of Gethsemane. In extreme anguish, "his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground.”

"Jesus wept".... Again.

_______________ 

May this season of Lent reminds us that no matter how difficult life is, we are never alone. Jesus understands our pain; He understands our struggles. No matter the sleepless nights, "Jesus weeps with us."

#HoldOnTight #ThisTooShallPass 🙏🙏🙏 

Have a Blessed Holy Week 🙏🙏🙏

"The Christ in Christmas"

 

The whole year has been very difficult for everyone all over the world.

Trips are cancelled.

International borders are closed.

Quarantines and lockdowns are set repeatedly.

Employment becomes unstable.

Economies are fluctuating.

Mental health is in peril.

And the list goes on tending to induce stress.

Consequently, Christmas-- the day and the season to be joyously celebrative-- looks differently than normal. 

Some activities are temporarily set aside. Gatherings are limited; a few parties and gift-givings are suspended. The tradition, that has long been enjoyed in the years past, is now confronted by a sudden wave of uncertainties. We can only anticipate but the future remains unguaranteed. The pandemic, henceforth, makes all things unsure.

With everything that is taken away from us, is there still meaning in Christmas? Is there something else to look forward to?

YES.

In such a tough year, the message of Christmas remains the same: the nativity is still an "invitation" to live a life of humility and simplicity.

Christ, time and again, reminds us that despite His divinity, he humbly lays down in a manger where all else is damp and cold. His royalty is of no avail for His companions are but mere farm animals that give Him warmth on a very rough night.

And yet Christ's birth, a painful initiation to a predetermined life of struggles, grief, loneliness and persecution, perfectly exemplies the true meaning of love, hope and joy.

To Him, as it is to us, in the midst of family and friends, love always endures.

With their undying presence, hope is within grasp.

With their comfort, joy is inevitable.

These trying times therefore is but a favorable juncture of circumstances in our life, a timely break to remind us that Christmas is not all about WHAT we have, but WHO we have.

It is Christ who brings us all together.

It is Christ who embodies genuine love.

It is Christ who gives us hope.

It is Christ who transmits joy to our hearts.

Wherever we go, whatever we do, we should all be merry. For with Him everything is well.

CHRISTMAS after all means "Christ Makes All Special."

_________

Merry CHRISTtmas to all of us! 🎁🎅🎄♥️

21/12/2020

12:03 AM

"Dreich"

Disconsolate and tired, the day star is set to rest. 

Slowly, it closes it's eyes to the far west. 

As the wind hums to say goodbye,

The clouds sing to stay and cry.

For along the poet's dream to catch melancholy in the sky, lies a truth that he can't deny.

And as his soul awaits for the reason why, 

life just teaches him how to sigh and fly.

28.11.2020

11:50 PM

🚩 Watsons Bay, Sydney Australia 🇦🇺

"Put on Christ"

When a friend tells you to "put on" decent clothes for tonight's party, it plainly means to "get dressed in (fittingly)."

So, in the desire to look lovely as possible for such an occasion, we wear something that best embody us. It is so on account that what we wear and how we wear them, in most times, reflect who we are. In fact, just by wearing a religious habit, one gets the respect and the recognition embedded in such a habilament. In like manner, one is also encouraged to maintain the same amount of values a person earns simply from having it on.

But, to wear a thing on one's own body is one thing. Needing to "be enrobed" is another matter.

Why?

Because to "be clothed in" requires something more: 

to be unclothed;

to be undressed;

to be stripped;

to be naked.

For a person, beyond it's literal analysis, could not clothe himself unless he becomes bare and empty. And he could only do so if he knows exactly the purpose, the goal or the ultimate reason of wanting to be "clothed."

St. Augustine, for example, in his thirst for renewal, journeys inwardly to find that which "shelters" his heart. He does so in an agonising way. For he foreknows one painful truth: "the journey of returning traces the long and dark road back home."

And yet, as he foresees his fears and awaits for the inevitable to happen, he readies himself. 

Slowly, he "takes off his clothes" to vacate his heart, mind and soul. 

Through this, he allows himself to be filled.

To be revived.

To be changed.

To be new.

And finally, in the midst of his torment, confusion and "homelessness", he finds himself and God. He then realises that perfect happiness and love could only be attained through our Creator-- the Ultimate Good, the One on which all goods come from. Thereby he declares: "because you have made us for yourself, and our hearts are restless until they find their rest in You." (Augustine, Confessions, 1.1.1)

Since then he is "Clothed in Christ." 🙏

24.11.2020

11:48 PM

"A You A Cheerful Giver?"

Ideally, a gift is anything that is given willingly to someone in absence of remission, a present of one's own accord. 

No conditions.

No prerequisites.

No constraints.

More than that, a gift is also that which binds both the giver and the receiver. For there is a special language, either by thoughts or emotions, that connect them in ways that they alone personally understand. Giving someone a withered leaf, for instance, may appear unusual to some, but to a friend who dearly loves the nostalgia of autumn, a bronzed foliole is an invaluable endowment. Hence, it reveals profoundly how a person is related to a recipient.

But, like all relationships, the act of gift-giving can also be examined further. For it could either intensify or weaken any emotional bond between persons, or perhaps, may even cause a misinterpretation, depending on the intention of the act. If one genuinely gives out of happiness or out of abundance, then the act becomes altruistic. After all, as Anne Frank famously writes: "no one has ever become poor by giving [wholeheartedly]." However, if done out of publicity, the gesture becomes hollow, unworthy of praise. The giver, eventually, may even feel arrogantly dominant over those in need. Also, although rare, the act of giving could be misunderstood. Coming from a distressed relationship, a person, for example, who happens to find joy in sharing his plentitude constantly to anyone, may find himself suspiciously scrutinised by his partner. Now annoyed with a strong bias against him, whatever he does is likely to be perceived or implied unfavorably; the act of giving is seen untowardly even if the intention is good. Thus, in no desire to put malice on such an act, the purpose is still misconstrued.

On that note, gift-giving, henceforth, reliant to intention, will either make us feel better or not. If the objective is significant, sensitively forethought and emotionally appropriate, then the gesture is worthy of commendation. If given selfishly to give rise to insecurities, repression, impartiality and emotional manipulation, the gift is of no value. 

Giving, above all, must not be done in an intent to return a favour nor to respond in kind. St. Paul in his letter to the Corinth reminds us that: "each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion[.]" 

So, like unconditional love, it must be sincerely expressed from within.

Free from expectations.

Unchanging.

Measureless.

Infinite.

Boundless.

It does not have to be reciprocated at all...

... "for God [simply] loves a cheerful giver." 

(2 Corinthians 9:7)

Are you? 😉

23.11.2020

10:58 PM

Digital Art by: Lot Jr Tabilid

"Be With Me Forever, Wherever I Go."

 

In most times, whenever we feel an enormous sense of love towards someone, we humbly ask that person to stay; to spend some more time.

In marriage, for instance, as it is in some other vows in life, we solemnly profess our endearment with a tender request:

"Please, be with me forever, wherever I go."

Despite of our mortality though, we still desire to hold on to forever.

We say "yes" to...

... savor the good time, 

have fun together,

feel unexplored joy,

experience rare happiness,

be engulfed by sweet memories...

           ... even for a moment, even for a significant period of time.

Yet, no matter how great a love is, sometimes it is not enough.

Nothing lasts.

We are constantly reminded, night and day, of our limitedness.  And that no matter how we wish to be eternally there for someone, our corporeality won't just allow us to be. We won't have each other's care long enough after all. For this life is not ours to keep.

The "wherever I go", then, is never really guaranteed. For somewhere somehow, I can't be where I can no longer be. I can only, perhaps, stay for a while, but sadly, never for a lifetime. 

We live within borrowed time.

So, I must admit the fact that the ones that really matter the most in life are only those in between "hellos and goodbyes," between "freshers and farewells."

19.11.2020

07:54 PM

Digital Art by: Lot Jr Tabilid

"What Makes A Good Friend?"

In the dwindling cold of the winter, a lost soul sits right in front of me.

There is silence everywhere.

No word is enunciated.

Not a thing is expressed.

Strangely, in the midst of it all, the friendship develops in nurturing stillness.

As the days pass by, somehow, the unheard thoughts resound more profoundly than those that are spoken.

Sadly, like all things in life (especially the ones that mean so much more to us), they don't stay long enough.

"The friends we know we meet along the way," as the famous line of a song goes, "too soon the times we share form part of yesterday."

In the same quietness, I ask: 

What makes a good friend?

To my mind, real friendship is never about: "we are friends insofar as we enjoy each other's benefits." For if it is, then friends are but mere objects of utility intended for a definite purpose for a certain period of time.

Neither is frienship based solely on pleasures. I can't be friends with someone only when all is else is satisfying, agreeable or fun. Nor do I leave him right off whenever life becomes repulsive and dreadful. Otherwise, the affinity becomes contentious. After all, "the best time to make friends," as Ethel Barrymore beffitingly says, " is before you need them."

Personally, true friendship doesn't diminish in the absence of merit or gratuity nor does it find comfort merely on what is receptively gratifying.

For it to last, like authentic love, it must instantiate a deeper sense of connection, an intensely personal one; that which captivatingly brings out the "magic of togetherness" that they alone exclusively understand and enjoy.

Further, true friendship respects, recognises and appreciates individuality.  I value your strengths and weaknesses as a human person in the same way that you value mine. Hence, we don't infringe nor unjustly consume each other's integrity. "[For] my best friend," according to Aristotle, "is the [one] who in wishing me well wishes it for my own sake."

Again, what makes a good friend?

The abovementioned is nothing more than a subjective sentiment. 

It is no perfect answer.

But, I know one thing: wherever my friends go,  they carry with them a part of me as I carry with me a part of them. 

Forever AND always.

07.11.2020

01:14 AM