My heart beating, my soul breathing,
I found my life when I laid it down,
Upward falling, Spirit soaring,
I touch the sky when my knees hit the ground...
While doing market research on facebook dating groups, I found this message. I felt his pain, because I’ve had many moments like these as a young adult. If I wasn’t such a polite guy, I would have told him, “Ask God for Help!!!!”
It was February 2007 and the start of the Spring semester in my first year of college. As many can relate, the first week of college is like a zoo with so many students on campus registering for classes and crowding parking lots to park their cars.
My first class for the semester started at 11am. I thought that by arriving on campus at 9:30am, I’d have no trouble finding a parking spot on campus. However, I spent more than an hour finding parking around the campus parking lots. With cars barely moving around the parking lots, I became stressed. Stressed from being late to my first class of the semester 🕔 and stressed that I needed to use the bathroom 🚽.
For the first time in my life that I can remember, I humbly prayed to God, “Lord, I know that I’m not the most faithful person. You know how important my education is so that mom and I can have a better life. Please, Lord. Please help me get a parking spot. Please…”, as I leaned my head on the window, closing my eyes in defeat. A few seconds after fully humbling myself to God, a woman walked right in front of my car and told me that she was leaving. Her car was parked right in front of me.
That Spring semester went well without any issues, and the rest is history.
Fast forward eleven years to April 22, 2018. I felt defeated from repeated failures in my 20s. I was unemployed for 18 months, because I moved back home due to family circumstances. I was let down by friends who told me that they can help me find a job but were nowhere to be found when I needed them the most. I hadn’t been on dates for almost three years, because I let a couple of rejections discourage me when I was not far from attracting the right partner had I kept going. When people asked me in networking events what I do for a living, I felt ashamed to tell them I wasn’t working. Who knew that I can still fail and lose my dignity after doing what was expected of me?
That afternoon, I attended mass at a church in the outskirts of San Diego. I sat in the church during mass, reflecting on the two years that led to this very moment. As the priest preached his homily, I made the conscious commitment that I will be just fine whatever happens after this point. For the first time in a while, I felt alive and free of expectations. Who cares if I do not have my shit together at this time? Who cares that many friendships and relationships along the way did not last? Who cares about being unappreciated? The fact that I even pursued this journey of personal development and haven’t yet given up at this point when most would have already done so already makes me worthy. These series of obstacles in the road were the dream itself, testing me on much I really wanted these goals for myself. In the process, the obstacles forced me to adapt and re-invent myself to deserve those goals.
– taken from the post “The Moment I Actually Turned Pro”
Later that week, I received two job offers and the rest is history.
During the first week of 2020, it was God’s intervention that led me to my girlfriend. I had known about my girlfriend in the Spring of 2017 when I first heard about her. When I saw her picture at that time, I thought, “Oh, she’s pretty.” But when I saw that she was dating someone, I thought, “Awww, that’s a shame. She could do better. 😄” At that time, I didn’t think I was worthy of dating someone because I was in a rut of being unemployed and having low self-worth. Life moved on, as I Turned Pro a year later and went on a journey to be a better version of myself.
My mother and I attended Sunday mass. The priest shared in his homily, referring to Matthew 7:7-8, that all we need to do is ask God for what we really want in this world.
Later that mass during communion, I humbly asked God for a lady to come into my life as we kneeled in the pew praying. This time around, I meant it from the depths of my heart. In the past, I’d pray and hope that a lady will come around as my habits remained in autopilot. But after going on this journey of intense personal development, building solid friendships with lady friends as my career progressed, I knew I was ready.
– taken from the post “All You Have to Do Is Ask”
Two months later, the timing for us according to God’s will came as I Crash Landed Into Her Life. The rest is history.
The reason for sharing these stories is because we have many desires in this world, but we often feel like we’re not worthy of what we desire deep in our hearts. As if we are afraid of our own success. However, God has plans for us as long as we are willing to open our eyes, ears, and hearts to embark on journeys that transform us into better versions of ourselves.
When our backs are against the wall on the journey, it’s okay – actually, it’s a must – to ask God for His help and Saving Grace. And once we are blessed by God, we have two choices:
Do we fall back into our old habits or use that Saving Grace as a stepping stone towards becoming better versions of ourselves to attract the right people in our lives?
You stay the same through the ages, Your love never changes,
There may be pain in the night, but joy comes in the morning.
And when the oceans rage, I don’t have to be afraid,
Because I know that You love me, Your love never fails…