Before the Celebration

Dear Papa God,

2006 started out to be really challenging, but to my surprise, it is now reaching a wonderful, fulfilling end.

Thank you Papa God for all the lessons You have taught me this year. Thank You for showing me how letting go could indeed be an art. Thank You for allowing me to confront my fears, and for ultimately providing me the realization that my fears are not as scary as I thought. Now all I can do is pat myself at my back (literally, I'm doing it! Haha) and say, "Hey, you have now proven to be really strong!". Thank you for putting angels here on earth as it is with them I experience YOU. They constantly stand by my side in the guise of my parents, my siblings, my relatives, my friends, my professors, authors of my favorite books, those random people I come across with at school, in the net, or wherever but have said/wrote something that has really refined the way I look at life. Thank you for the producers of TV shows and movies too (haha). As long as there's entertainment, my life shall never go boring. Basically, thank You for the assurance: that I can be so much more, that there is still an extensive space for me to grow, and in it, is already EVERYTHING I need.

Thank You for the opportunities and indelible experiences You have given me. Thank You for my school; I would probably have never discovered the beauty of learning in any other place. Thank You for my long-sought-after freedom! Now I have memories of going out with friends at night, crashing friends's places for sleepovers, and having out of town trips. :)

Thank You also for that plane ticket to the States next year (woohooo!! finaaaaally! haha) and the digicam I have always wanted. :)

But to my shame, forgive me if it took me this long to finally understand You. For the past grueling years, I complained so much on why I couldn't feel You. You must had a hard time trying to catch my attention, and so as Your last resort, You took away my "god" and turned my life around. Altering my life and seeing that I have to get use to the adjustments must have been hard for You too.

Even if our relationship is back, forgive me for not talking to You as often as it used to be when I was younger. But you know what God, I know You are aware that are relationship has matured (not that I am making an excuse). Our relationship works the way it is with my best friends for years, Kit and Shen. I have known the two of them for so long, but we barely have the time to catch up and tell stories to each other. Nevertheless, I go through life still feeling their presence, and by the time I talk to them, it would always seem as if months have not passed us by. With You, I may not always open my mouth to pray, but my heart will never be latched, for it always listens. The moment I see the sun rising, I already feel You, and my heart can only be filled with praise and thanks. But at times Lord, please forgive my pride. I rely on myself too much that I forget to put all of my confidence in You.

A few minutes to go, and Christmas is here. Before I celebrate it with my loved ones, let me proclaim my love for you, Papa God. I love You.

Thanks so much for 2006.


Yours, Iya