Two
months ago, I have written whether if life does really
Honestly,
I am not really fond of celebrating my birthdays. Especially when I became
conscious of my fear of getting into geriatric age. So I just let them passed
like any ordinary day. However, the Lord has His ways that any man could not
stop, including the birthday celebrator himself.
My
family and friends spent some time and effort in the past to remember and
celebrate it in simple ways. Mostly, I planned to spend this time with family
and just stay at home. This year, I chose to be in Bohol and have decided to
lead the facilitation of a three-day “Channels of Hope” workshop. The day I
thought would pass off like any workshop days I have done previously did not
happen. Something I was not expecting took place to my surprise!
At
the end of the workshop during the closing ceremony, my dear friend and
co-facilitator surprised me with the very thing I exactly instructed her not to
do. With the help of the event coordinators, she announced that it was a
special day for it was my birthday! Together with the participants, they sang
the Happy Birthday song and prayed for me with the chocolate cake on my hands.
Truly and sincerely, I was surprised! My plan of lamenting over reaching the
age of forty did not materialize. It was exactly the opposite. I was and still
overjoyed! Well, it is not every birthday I turned forty and far away from
home. Thus, I must say God has made it special somehow and I am grateful for
that.
It
was not the kind of celebration I have dreamt of a few years before on my
fortieth. Only if I have enough finances, I would love to do a mini concert of
my own. Accompanied by a full live band, with simple food and drinks, I have
imagined myself performing in front of my friends and family in an intimate
venue. Oh well, perhaps this could happen in the future. Nevertheless, my
turning forty remains special. Like I said earlier, I have lived more than I
have expected so praise the Lord for the gift of life!
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Arriving
on another decade is something to look forward to and get excited for the rest
of what God has in stores for us. In fact, I am thrilled to see how this year
would unfold with the prophetic prayers I received early this year. I would
share it on my next post. Shalom!
6 comments:
Good day, Sir. I have been reading your blog for days now and I am truly inspired by your strength and determination. Let me tell you that I have been tested HIV positive a few days ago and I am such a mess. I am in the legal profession, 29 years of age, and still at the cusp of pursuing my dreams. I contracted HIV becahse of that one single incident and I am now regretting it. It was my first. Sadly, things didn't go as I planned them to be. I haven't told anyone of my predicamrnt just yet as I am still in shock. The recent events have made me appreciate the Lord even more. I plan to be re-born and seek the Lord's guidance. I wish though that the people I will meet in praise and worship will accept me for.who I am. Can you refer me to a support system that can help me in this "lenely" journey?
Leo
Dear Leo,
Thanks for reading my blog and I am glad you are inspired. I really appreciate you sharing your HIV status and I can say that I understand what you are going through. By the way, just a thought...I think that a journey could be only lonely if you are alone. But if you journey with other pilgrims on earth it would be great. Based on your desire, which is to be born again and seek the Lord, the support you need is a church. You have a few choices. One is in CCF or Christ Commission Fellowship in Ortigas. Look for a representative of what they call a HEALING GRACE Ministry. It's the big building before Tiendesitas. You can go to our church in Gateway Mall Cubao. However, we do not have a support group like Healing Grace. Or if you are looking for a support group for people living with HIV, try calling or messaging through Facebook PLHIV Response Center and look for Pinoy Plus. Send me an email through my blog you can find it there. I hope this helps. God bless you Leo.
Thank you Sir. I am worried about my status. I engaged in unprotected sexual activity ten days prior to getting HIV symptoms - fever, flu, rash, intense dandruff, fatigue, headache. I had myself tested a few weeks later due to the insistence of my dermatologist. Does that mean I am in the later stage of HIV even if I detected the symptoms earlier? Based on your blog, asymptomatic cases are more common. Can the progression rate of the disease be that fast? Am I already in the AIDS stage? Help me. I'm getting agitated as I didn't expect all of this.
Leo
Hello Leo. You are on the third stage of the illness because of the symptoms you have mentioned. HIV lately progresses faster than before according to the doctors. You better go to San Lazaro H4 ward, PGH or RITM with your confirmatory to start the treatment process. Many people in the third and AIDS stage recover fully once they got the treatment after some time.
Hello sir, good day to you. Like others im also reading your blog. And also looking forward if there is a new entry for the day. Like you im slso into chatting in chat tv before and in yahoo chatrooms like callboy haven before if you ever stumble on that chatroom wayback 2003 to 2008. I also had sex with other guys but only with sraight guys. Fortunately i ddnt contacted any disease. I made myself not to be as promiscous as i could be. I also want to follow your fb account. Can i know it? ..rexbob
Thanks Rexbob for reading my blog I am just too busy writing an entry here. Besides, there's nothing significant much worth-writing. However, I will write a short entry soon. I intend to write an entry once a month or every other month. As for the FB account...sorry that I have to decline. It's quite private and the friends I got there are friends I actually met and got to know personally. I hope you understand. God bless you.
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