His Promises

THESE THINGS HE HATH PROMISED

The Lord did not promise
All days would be bright
Or promise we'd never
Shed tears in the night.

For life is a mixture
Of sunshine and rain,
Of happy times, laughter
Of sorrow and pain.

He did promise always
He'd stay by our side
And never forsake us,
Whatever betide.

He promised His grace for
Each trial and task,
His strength in our weakness--
We have but to ask;

His tender forgiveness,
New life from above,
His peace beyond measure,
His undying love.

These things He hath promised,
These things He imparts
To all who will trust Him
With faith in their hearts.

-- Beverly J. Anderson

The -th

I was not able to attend the service last Sunday even though i was in the church. And while there are hundreds of excuses i could state, i shan't give any justifications. The only consolation i have is that ex attended the service. After all, we are already of one flesh *wink, wink*

After the service, ex seemed very happy. He was so blessed with the sermon. (The preacher was our ninong. we made a good choice.) We then mingled with our missionary friend and exchanged pleasantries.

Before leaving the church, we saw our ninang (the wife of the one who preached), and ex, with a twinkle in his eyes, told her about the service. Then, we saw our ninong. Again, ex eagerly told him of his delight with the preaching. All those times, i could only obtusely nod my head and smile as if i knew what they were talking about.

When we were inside the car going out of the church parking area, ex, gleamingly and excitedly pronounced, "i loveth you!"

What???!!! Did i hear him right???!!!!

My eyebrows were still raised and forehead wrinkled when he smilingly explained, "during the preaching, Ninong said that the -th in the New King James version was not there merely to make it difficult for us to read the words. It has a meaning. It is a tense. A tense of eternity."

"Thus," he so sweetly continued, " i loveth you means i loved you, i love you and i will love you. Forever. For all eternity."

Lazing the Weekend Away

A few years ago, during the late '90s and early 2000, sleep was a luxury that i dearly treasured. Six hours in bed was already a lavishness to me, one that was that feasible only during weekends. My routine was to sleep around one or two in the morning and wake up at around six in the morning. I was never late in any of my appointments and meetings, and every minute counted in my datebook.

But after gaining the membership in the bar, my schedule became erratic. The only advantage I derived therefrom was that sleep became accessible which i constantly obtained, and lots and lots of it.

That was before. Before i was officially detailed at the executive office. My schedule is still erratic, highly hectic and constantly toxic. But sleep went back to being a luxury. The difference now is that i have no control of my time or my tasks (and that is a different story).

Anyway, be that as it may, time is neither an ally nor foe. It just is.

Last weekend, the weather, although gloomy, enticed me to stay in bed to revive my strength. After a busy week, i think i deserve some reward. Still, the reward has a price to pay. Though i spent most hours in bed, i was not able to do the chores (laundry, cleaning, ironing, etc). Blessedly, i have my ex to do all those things....

Yet, i would not trade my weekend for anything, except a million dollars, of course :D