2008 IS STILL A BABY

January 9,2008

A Journey through cancer
By Muffet Dolar Villegas

Reflections

Year 2008 is still a baby. She’s only a few days old. Her eyes are expectantly looking around her small cubicle, a few weeks more and she can see the world clearly.
She explores her new found strength, her sounds are coos and aahhhsss. She came out with a heavy big bang, depending on where she was born. Everyone welcomed her with laughter, cheers, good wishes and fireworks. People prepared the most delicious food to usher her in.
Around her, news about the currency getting stronger or weaker does not register well. There is a new rise in world oil prices and commodities maybe affected. She doesn’t care. She’s still young, and there’s so much time to dream and live.
Then one day, she begins to explore the world, and the war which made her predecessors sad is still raging mad. Late at night, tired people come to empty homes with broken hearts. Children are either begging in the streets or they live in broken homes disguised as mansions. People are still dying of loneliness or cancer.
The pursuit for happiness is still as elusive as a dream.
After a long journey and endless visits, she comes home sad and exhausted. “The work is too large and the time is too short. I can never be better than the years before me. I can’t even start.” She sighed mournfully.
But as she’s about to give up, she sees a child coming out of a door. Like her, he has hope in his eyes, his feet has wings. She was like him before she started out her journey. He turns around and sees her.
“Come,” he says, “I will show you the rainbows.” And he takes her by the hand and brings her to the same place she had been. But there are no rainbows.
The child detects the frustration in her face and he smiles. “ Look closely. All you see are their tired and unhappy faces. All you hear are their complaints. But look deeper, and you can see a small glimmer in their hearts. Those are the rainbows.”
The year 2008 may not bring a promise of hope and happiness, because she cannot. Each one of us owns that promise. It’s a flicker of faith that lies deep inside our hearts. It cannot die, as long as we hold on and believe.
God did not promise us a world without troubles, but He assures us that He is the spring that we can draw upon our strength and hope.
These sparkling embers can become radiant rays if we all unite in love, understanding, humility, and selflessness to make 2008 much better than the last year.