today isn’t your birthday, but i am celebrating it anyway. i choose to celebrate you and each day i know your eyes have awaken to a bright new morning of new hope and new chance to conquer your battles. i choose to rejoice in the knowledge that i have come to know and love one exceptional human being whose faith can stir even the hardest heart, whose courage can vanquish any fear, whose resilience can inspire an entire generation.
our renewed friendship is a whirlwind romance of some sort. it’s amazing how we belonged to the same ‘barkada’ in high school and yet we never became so tight until 30 years later. so, thanks to facebook and a simple birthday greeting, we ended up exchanging lengthy emails – catching up on decades upon decades of lost time, beautiful memories, and almost all the poignant stories of our lives. eventually, sealing a sisterhood so sweet and secure, there’s no stopping us from believing in the promises of growing old together, regardless the distance between us.
i don’t know if i ever told you, but finding you again came at such a perfect time in my life. our reconnection made me believe in lasting friendships again. in loyalty between friends. in second chances. in believing in the true goodness of people. in knowing fully how it is to be loved sincerely for all that i am – no ifs, no buts, just because. having you back in my life is like God telling me i still deserve to be blessed more. more than having ding in my life. more than the simple and quiet life i lead. more than all the beautiful friends i already have in my life.
you are that special.
you are that vital.
sometimes, when i think of all that you’ve gone and still going through, it amazes me where all your bravery and hopefulness are coming from. i can’t help but be in awe of how much love you have in your heart to want, as in really want, to keep on fighting to be with all the people you hold so dear for far longer time than your illness is trying its might to dictate upon you. it is so astonishing to know someone who has been stripped of so many things, lost valuable people in her life, and then struck with an illness that is both a traitor and thief to be still armed with the most genuine smile, the most generous heart, and the most positive outlook in life. you being superwoman is such an understatement.
i know your fight isn’t over yet, no matter how much i pray everyday that you get to beat it once and for all. i know, too, you have days when you can no longer put a brave front and just wish for the pain to disappear, for the setbacks to stop hindering your full healing, for the tears to wash away everything – your fears, your doubts, your exhaustion. but, more than anything else, i do know how immense your faith is and how merciful and omnipotent our God is.
and i know that despite the excruciating pain, the devastating hurdles, the almost endless procedures and various treatments, the uncertainties, you are still choosing to fight. to live. to be the warrior you were born to be. to be the truest symbol of bravery, faithfulness, generosity, and resilience. to continue being one of the greatest blessings to those who know you and your story.
so, yes, i will keep on celebrating every day God taps your heart, opens your eyes, and wakes you to a new day of beautiful possibilities. i will keep rejoicing that you are given another chance to continue your story of survival and gratitude. i will keep on being thankful that today, i still have my beautiful friend alive and kicking…and our promise of growing old together is still in the offing.
-elcc-
08 september 2018
Evelations 