I was a witness to a weekend of miracles, involving three ladies.
Friday was the birthday of Vida. We feted her with a birthday breakfast. I call Vida the Great Connector. He is very good at connecting and putting people together. I have gained new friends because of her great gift of relating people. And she does it in very special and unique ways – by staging and coordinating events/activities where people can discover themselves and also gain new friends. I have hiked Pico de Loro with her. We got lost but we built strong friendships. We have gone on a cultural trek to the ateliers of artists in Angono and Anabelle went home with a prized painting. We braved the foothills of Mount Banahaw to experience a culinary adventure like no other. Now, I am looking forward to roughing it out in Anawangin in another adventure for next year. Her miracle is her vibrancy and endless patience in gathering us her friends. It is like herding cats. But I guess we each have a role and she has embraced hers like Mary did at the Annunciation. Huh, where did that come from? Read on.
Saturday was the wedding of Gren and Benny. Gren is a strong and career-oriented lady, one who would easily intimidate would-be suitors. She had been hoping for a man but she has been waiting for so long she ended up being married to her career. Benny is our friend and a widower. Following his children’s advice/request/command, he remained single and devotedly took care of them. Both were resigned to what they thought was their lifetime roles. If ever the thought of marriage crossed their minds, they soon banished it with the question, “How can it be possible?” But with God nothing is ever impossible. so, one afternoon, Benny asked Gren to coffee. And – would you believe it? – it led them to the alter last Saturday and exchanged their vows: “May it be done unto us according to thy word.”
Sunday we dropped by the Discovery Weekend Marriage Preparation Retreat to see Lily and her fiancé, Steve. I have known Lily since she was a little girl, her mom being a colleague and a friend from work. Both of them are warriors schooled in the art of war, she being a captain in the Philippine Navy and he being a US Marine. And yet, here they were brought together by the power of love and peace. Theirs is a story worth telling over long nights and many bottles of wine. But to make the story short, God makes everything beautiful in his time.
Today, we celebrate the Feast of the Immaculate Conception. These event over the weekend are probably mere coincidences. They were planned many months ago by different people. By serendipitous synchronicity, they just happened one after another over a weekend. But seeing them unfold as they did, I couldn’t help but see, with the eyes of Faith, God’s hands in these events. God was showering us with his graces. Yes, I was a witness to a weekend of miracles.