CRAZY EVENING

Last Friday was perhaps one of the craziest and longest evenings of my dearly beloved life!But at the same time a MILESTONE for me. Fine...nakakahiya mang aminin, it was my first time to drive on my own...I learned how to drive right after High School but then fine, I've always feared it...my tendency is to have all sorts of bad images on my head that inhibits me from daring to drive on my own. But then last week, i just decided to take on that LEAP OF FAITH . HAHA! ANYWAY, so,what is the crazy evening all about? First, I drove to ICA...it was smooth..so that was a relief...then had to go to Ateneo right after at around 6:30pm. I was quite worried coz it was a bit raining already. But anyway, so dum dee dum dum *just driving* UNTIL SHIT! I missed the left turn before galleria! No choice but just to continue and figure out how to go back...! I thought I was on familiar grounds since I went to that area every single day of my life when I was in college. BUT change is constant you know? The turns that I knew could not be passed through anymore! Puro no left turn! hay...by that time I was getting tense already, not only could I not find my way out, but SUPER traffic and ang sikip ng daan! feeling ko parati di ako kakasya (i was driving an innova). I became desperate to find somewhere to just stop and park cause I felt SOOO TIRED of just driving around and tense at the same time!When I finally got to park in front of a Karaoke place along pioneer (the guard was kind enough to allow me to park :) )Er...i have a confession to make pa pala....uhmmm may tinalon pa ako na gutter sa ortigas...nakababa naman :) and mircles do happen! walang nangyari sa car at sa akin!I could have had a flat tire!At that point, I just wish someone could drive for me right there! So , anyway, I called my ACLC Guidees (the reason why i was going to Ateneo) if they could just meet me at that area . I got some directions from my friend BJ too just so I could at least go to CRC and meet them there....fine...I was able to follow his directions up to a certain point....and then lapse of judgment again! (I AM SORRY haha). wrong turn...then I saw an arrow pointing to St. Paul.. I knew that be a familiar spot for everyone...so, there I parked again and there i was SAVED by my dear aclc guidees! haha! From that point, mickee drove the car already. We just ate the evening away! A night of prayer turned to a night of eating! haha! Too tensed that I could just EAT!


Before I went to bed that evening, I did a consciousness examen... a spiritual exercise introduced by St. Ignatius where one reviews the events of the day and try to see where God was in the circumstances of the day. Especially with such a crazy day, where everything was going too fast, it seems to be quite hard to see graces...If I did not do a consciousness examen, my memory of that day would just be the crazy evening. I would have failed to realize that in the morning, a patient and kind driver also helped me out while trying to make a U-Turn...I just have to believe that he was sent...again not a coincidence....or I would have forgotten how my wish that my meeting be moved so I could go to ICA that day was granted the very last minute :) And of course, the fact that I am still alive and was able to surpass that evening is a reminder that first, we cannot always put everything in our own hands...sometimes you have to be humble enough to admit that you need help. Also, there's got to be Faith...the faith that will overpower one's fear...there is nothing certain in life...and there is no better place to find peace than in His arms :) and so we leave the uncertainty to Him...That night I took my fath another mile, I also discovered more about it. In driving, the more places you get to and the farther you go, the more is added to one's achievement list:) But of course, one has to help himself by driving safely too:) He is just our guide , but our freedom of choice is not within his control :) It is a TWO WAY ROAD :)...The CD that guided me through my examen ended with the phrase...Today is history...and so on...that was helpful because it got me out of what could have turned into a trauma. Instead, I was simply reminded that what happened should just serve as a learning experience. We learn from the past....and not be held hostaged by it :)