roman guevara

RISE UP
Inspirational Readings for Personal Growth

“People Leaving”

Scripture:

Deuteronomy 31:6c

⁶he will never leave you nor forsake you.”

I got a text from my cousin Abi yesterday morning.

She asked if i had any schedule the whole day.

I initially said none, but only because i had forgotten an appointment i have at 5pm sa Alabang.

I asked why, ano meron, what’s it about.

She texted back and said  “man, tuloy na kami bukas, alis na kami papuntang Vietnam, magkita na tayo before lunch.”

That was it. My closest cousin, married to one of my best friends, and their (2) beautiful kids, were off to Vietnam, to live there for a year, or possibly so much more.

And, it’s official, it’s the end of an era.

Let me give you a background about Abi.

Abi is my cousin. And because we are almost of the same age, we quickly became the closest among cousins.

We went to the same high school, the Philippine Pasay Chung Hua Academy, a chinese school in the Libertad, Pasay area. Later in our youth, pareho kaming naging active sa church at sa mga ministries nito. Eventually, nakabuo kami ng mga barkada sa church namin non, at dun umikot ang buhay namin, at least before any of us graduated from college.

One of my best friends in our church at that time was Noel.

I don’t know what came on to me, but one day, i just felt the urge na ireto si Noel ke Abi. Pareho silang single at that time, at somehow, feeling ko, bagay sila sa isat-isa. So i began my mission to make them fall in love.

Now i was very young myself at that time. Kaya yun ang excuse ko sa mga very weird things i did just to get them together. Kasi it wasn’t really easy.

First of all, hindi naman nila type ang isat-isa nung time na nagdecide akong ireto silang dalawa. It’s not that they didnt like each other. They just didnt have feelings or any form of attraction as i could recall. Second, bawal pa sa kanila na magboyfriend nung mga panahon na iyon. Pero siyempre naman, alam naman natin ang kabataan, noon, ngayon at magpakailanman. Walang bawal bawal.

I said “abi, kayo nalang kaya ni Noel ang magboyfriend? Tutal mukhang bagay naman kayo.”

And she just kept on saying “bakit ba si Noel?”

At kinulit ko siya ng kinulit. I remembered laying my hands on her heart, at sabi ko sa kanya “mai-in-love ka ke Noel, in Jesus name!”

I know it’s freaky, and to some baka heresy pa nga. But i was young and makulit. I had my weird moments. Im guilty as charged.

But you know what?

It worked.

Maraming nangyari through the years. Graduate nakami lahat ng college. Naging sila. Nag-ipon. Nagpakasal. Nagkaanak. And throughout that time, sa dami ng mga nangyari, sa buhay nila, at sa buhay ko narin, we stayed very good friends. We remained the closest among relatives.

I have a place of my own, and so did they. Pero yung mga parents namin, yung nanay niya, at yung nanay ko, magkapit bahay lang. Yung nanay niya, me grocery sa bahay, ang nanay ko naman, me mga paupahan. Kaya everytime i went to my mother’s house to visit my family, ayun si Abi, helping naman her nanay with the grocery business. Kaya even if ang dami ng nangyari sa buhay niya at sa buhay ko, marami na kaming ibang friends, still, we made it a point na mag update sa isat-isa, magkwentuhan, magtawanan, like the way we were, like i dont think id ever laugh with other people.

Abi and her husband Noel, are just my closest best friends in the whole wide world.

Now Noel always had good jobs in the Philippines. The truth is, nung youth pa kami, you would never predict that he would be as responsible and successful as he turned out to be. Not that he wasnt any good in school or that he was notorious in his younger days. Really, its not it. Ano lang kasi, masyado kaming bata pa siguro non, kaya, hindi mo masyado pinagiisip ang kahahantungan ng mga friends mo.

Sabi ko nga sa kanya the night before they left, “Noel, im very proud of you, ang galing ng nangyari sa buhay mo, and obviously, God’s favor is on you, every step of the way.”

At kung tutuusin, hindi naman sila interesado na magtrabaho at mabuhay sa ibang bansa, kasi, maayus naman sila dito. Noel always had good jobs here in the Philippines. Pero i remember telling them myself, sabi ko sa kanila one time “Abi, feeling ko, magma-migrate kayo ni Noel sa ibang bansa, i don’t know when, i don’t know where, pero feeling ko bagay kayo dun.”  Actually, parang ganyang ganyan yung sinabi ko ke Abi, nung una ko siyang rineto ke Noel!

And i know it’s not just Vietnam. I know they will go to many other countries pa. Yun nga lang, eto na ang umpisa. Eto na ang katotohanan. They are leaving.

Anyways, i got Abi’s text. Magkita na daw kami. They promised kasi to meet with me first before they left for abroad. Kaso marami silang naging last minute stuff to do, tapus ako din, me appointment pala ako sa Alabang ng 5pm. Kaya yung lunch date namin, e, umabot na ng gabi.

Miscommunication led me to 19east bar, sa service road Sucat. Malapit lang sa amin yun. Me magandang section kasi sila dun na overlooking Posadas village and Laguna De Bae. Masarap kako magkwentuhan doon. Kaso nga lang, nagtext ulit ang Abi, at sa iba na lang daw. I said sige.

Kaso, you know what?

Hindi ako agad umalis sa upuan ko.

I chose the best spot kasi sa 19east. Tapus, ang sarap pa ng breeze ng hangin. The view was breathtaking. Nagpakasenti lang muna ako saglit. Siguro mga 5 minutes din yun. And thinking about Abi and Noel, going to another country, be it just a plane ride away, still, made me feel a little bit sad. And i began to remember not just them, but many of our close friends na wala na rin dito. O nandito man sa Pilipinas, pero, wala na sa buhay ko. And i remembered it all.

Ganyan ata talaga ang buhay.

Yes, people come in, and people go out. They come and go. They always do.

And we move on with our lives.

Thank God for modern means of communication. Email, webcam, roaming, and many others. Di hamak na mas madali ng magcommunicate sa mga friends and relatives natin na nasa ibang bansa na, compared noon, na centuries ang bibilangin bago makarating ang mga sulat na pahirapan pa nating gawin noong araw.

And i’ll be visiting them in Vietnam. Noel said i have a room there na. They can’t wait to have me there too.

Life is about many things. And one of them, is to have friends.

But no matter how close we are to each other, still, life happens. People come in. People go out. Some with a graceful exit. While others, medyo dramatic at sadly sometimes, painful exits. Still, we cherish the times that we were together. And if we desire this friendship to continue even if malayo na tayo sa isat-isa, we will do everything we can to keep our bond strong, and we will hope to see each other again. We, visiting them. Them, visiting us.

Do you have friends who are no longer around?

Do you miss them?

Do miss the moments that you were together?

Do you miss your friends?

Reconnect with them. Find them somehow. Write them. Visit them.

But remember this, even if marami ng nawala sa mga friends mo, or mahal sa buhay, always, and always remember this.

There is one, who will never leave us.

PRAYER

Thank you Lord for this wonderful day. Thank you for your blessings. Even the blessing of friendship. Thank you for the people you have brought to my life. Help me Lord to keep good friendships. To sustain healthy relationships. Enable me to become a good friend myself. Teach me even to forgive people in my past, who have hurt me somehow. Let me move on with life and allow me to see the new and beautiful things that you have for me today and the rest of my life. Thank you because i know, you are the one. The one who will never leave. I pray all of these things today, in Jesus name, amen.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, October 22nd, 2008 at 6:05 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.