This is a story of a lovely
Filipina from the Philippine
countryside who has to go to
school in Metro Manila. Unable
to make both ends meet, she
has no better option but to
try the red light district. It
helped her dream to go
overseas for greener pasture
within reach.

In no time, her U.S. tourist
visa was approved and
more

This is a story of a lovely
Filipina from the Philippine
countryside who has to go to
school in Metro Manila. Unable
to make both ends meet, she
has no better option but to
try the red light district. It
helped her dream to go
overseas for greener pasture
within reach.

In no time, her U.S. tourist
visa was approved and before
she knew it, she had a job
with a decent pay as a nursing
aide and eventually earned
immigrant status. Earning
enough money overseas doesn't
mean helping her family back
in the Philippines of their
financial needs is a sure
thing. Modern lifestyle abroad
made her spending lavishly
that seems like a necessity,
worse than her life in
Metro-Manila. She even had a
second job.

One day, she decided for a
long visit to the Philippines
with enough money on hand to
try everything that she had
never experienced earlier in
her life. Unfortunately, she
met a Manila hustler looking
for a victim exactly just like
her and she fell prey. Turning
nights into days, she became
an instant common figure of
the malls, discos, bars and
eventually became a nightmare
of every parent, an addict to
drugs.

Bad fortunes started trailing
her and got closer to her side
when calamities struck her
hometown and devastated all of
their properties. On top of
that, her parents became sick
and brothers became alcoholics
to her disbelief. The parents'
only wish to her is to pull
herself up with wisdom and
praise God despite all of
their setbacks.

She needs more money now more
than ever, the same thing that
her boyfriend was also longing
from her. Her guardian angel,
as patient as ever, hinted her
that God is always there to
turn to. She passed by so many
Churches, typical in many
places in Manila yet she
wouldn't go in. She paused
many times and thought, 'I
tried it before but it didn't
help much.' But who else
should she turn to, her idiot
boyfriends? She hit the
crossroad and felt very
confused and vulnerable. Would
she go in or go the other way?


At some other point, she met a
rich flamboyant Makati
playboy. She opted for the
easier way - with him and
forgot all about the wisdom
that her parents taught her.
With her more sophisticated
profile as a 'balikbayan,' or
stateside, she blended very
well in the jet set
communities of Makati and
Ortigas and she was enjoying
the night life more than ever
with a dream come true. The
Makati playboy turned out to
be the same as the hustler she
first met but in better
attire. She added another page
to her life but with the same
title. Her misery outweighs
all the good times.

Feeling so humiliated and
besieged, she left to say
goodbye not just to him, not
just to her circles of friend,
but to the whole world. She
passed by Baclaran Church and
saw thousands of women walking
with their knees to the
tabernacle. With one last tear
from her eyes and whatever
energy still remained on her,
she decided to try literally,
the last thing in her priority
list and there she went,
towards the door of the
miraculous Redemptorist Church
of Baclaran. She can barely
hear over the thousands of
women in their tears asking
for the intercession of the
Blessed Mother to pray for
their needs. She then followed
the crowd, knelt, and started
to move towards the image of
Our Lady of Perpetual Help.
She felt better about it and
at the same time felt an urge
in her to talk to Jesus Christ
for forgiveness.

She rode a taxi to Quiapo
Church and again saw thousands
of Filipino faithful on their
knees. But this time, she did
it without hesitation and
never felt as sorry for her
sins, truly as ever in her
whole life. Then she asked
Jesus on the Crucifix if He
can still forgive her. To her
astonishment, she saw Jesus
with a smile on His face so
compelling, she felt like
floating in the air. She took
that positively and left the
Church. On her way home, she
passed by Manila Bay that
happened to be on a sunset.
She never appreciated that
beauty so much in her whole
life until that day, and she
started praying to the Lord
for guidance in her new
beginning, for strength to
regain the wisdom that her
parents taught her.

Temptations and booby traps
abound our society but it's
our duty to protect the gift
that God gave us. Life is not
just full of miseries. It's
filled with opposing forces,
good or bad and punishment or
reward. It's up to us to know
the difference then pick the
right one, the path to wisdom
that precedes a stronger faith
in God. St. Augustine reminds
us that, 'We must pray as if
everything depends on God and
work as if everything depends
on us.'

Photos are public domain from
Flickr and Wikipedia.

Category Autos & Vehicles

Tags Pagbabalik, Asin, Folk, Acoustic, Pinoy, rock, Mall, Asia, boracay, bohol, palawan