Blessed is the man Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, Nor stands in the path of sinners, Nor sits in the seat of the scornful;
But his delight is in the law of the Lord, And in His law he meditates day and night.
He shall be like a tree Planted by the rivers of water, That brings forth its fruit in its season, Whose leaf also shall not wither; And whatever he does shall prosper.
The ungodly are not so, But are like the chaff which the wind drives away.
Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, Nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous. For the Lord knows the way of the righteous, But the way of the ungodly shall perish. Psalms 1:1-6

I like this Psalm because it describes our walk with God and compares the fate of the righteous with the unrighteous. It compares us to a tree. It tells us that if we follow God through all the seasons of life, we will find plenty and ultimately, stand in his assembly of righteous men. The ungodly are not so because they will be blown by the wind, they will suffer and perish. What more? It tells that a tree changes along with the season. Seasons tell us that a tree does not always remain the same as it was last summer.
A tree has to shed its leaves once the autumn winds and cold nights come. When winter comes, it will not totally blight the whole tree because sap is preserved within its wood, although the crown is lost, life is hidden in its sap, in its wood. Because the tree has hidden its food, in its sap, the winter period is not really a disappointment for a tree but actually a period of rest. Like trees, people undergo seasons or stages. We don’t always remain as we are. We change along with the season of our lives.

One time we were like helpless children, then as a toddler, then a grown kid, teenager and then as an adult. As adult we also age and with aging come bodily weaknesses. What is hidden from us however is our spiritual lives which from the time of conception until its activation in our hearts when we begin to call on God is really a mystery to most of us. If we know all about our spiritual life, all about God and all about His Word, we will not have faith. But because faith sees beyond what can be seen, and God has so designed this life to be lived with faith, those who believed in God are never truly lost. They just sleep. They just graduate to eternity.

As Paul has spoken of running his race, so every one of us now are also running the race that God has appointed for us. Some run as to obtain the price of their hard work, but some also run, only to falter. They get confused, they doubt and then they forget all about God when the hardships and trials come. My lola Meding or Inocencia Vda. Wayet Macusi run her race and placed all her faith in God. I could tell everyone without mincing words that my lola has imparted her faith not only to her children but even to her grandchildren and especially to me. Her life was both filled with struggles, conflicts but she always came out victorious and triumphant. I remember her speaking about being the janitor of the UCCP church so that she can actually send most of her children to school. And until now we actually wonder how a single mom with six kids could be able to put all her children to school.

That would have been very easy here in Germany because if you are a German citizen, or even if not, but if your kid was born here, she must still go to school. It will be a free one---no need for tuition fee for the indigent. All children that are born here are given a kindergeld or an allowance by the government for their proper clothing, food and toys. But this was in the Philippines and to think about, it happened in the 80s and what more, most of her children have to do it in Manila.

Today we are happy for all our uncles and aunties, for their own shares of achievements as well as the continuing saga of living their own race. What I am proud of my lola is that her faith may not have been polished by her schooling, but she firmly believed that all children must walk in God’s light. They got to have their education and training. Naniniwala ang lola ko na ang taong marunong ay lumilingon sa Diyos kung saan nanggagaling ang kanyang talino at lakas. It is true that she may not have stored up earthly wealth and riches, of  glittering jewelleries or vast tracts of land but she stored up for herself wealth that does not perish and no moth can eat. The Bible tells it this way,

“Don’t hoard treasure down here where it gets eaten by moths and corroded by rust or—worse!—stolen by burglars. Stockpile treasure in heaven, where it’s safe from moth and rust and burglars. It’s obvious, isn’t it? The place where your treasure is, is the place you will most want to be, and end up being. Matthew 6:19-21(TMSG)

I could say that I am closer to my lola than most of my siblings or most of her other grandchildren because I slept at her house and had a room for myself in her old house. It is having lived there that I knew first hand that she reads her Bible and sings songs of praises to God whenever she could. Her faith in God was imparted to me accidentally. It may not have been intentional but it happened. As my siblings arrived in numbers at our small house and there were too many to care, one night I had to stay with my lola and had to sleep in her bedroom. Before we slept, we would have to kneel down and then say our prayers to God. It was like that every night, and this taught me how to personally access God through prayer.

I know that my knowledge then was unproductive and it was all rote memory, but the day I was born again or had a personal revelation of who God is and what He did for me through the cross, I understood all. In the past, all that I could think of was that church was boring and no place for fun. I have judged it as irrelevant to the times. But now that I have grown up and continue to see the hands of God at work, I find that there is a place for both the old churches and the new ones too. Just as in a forest there are old trees as well as new ones that shoot their branches up, we both need the old ones and the new ones too. What more? I discovered too that faith begins at home.

Now that I have my own children, I am still thankful that my lola and my father would go to church every Sunday and try to bring us to the Sunday school. I think, I gained my foundation of what righteousness is from those few hours of Bible stories. What I did not know was that these experiences would one day be useful for my own growth and perspective of Christ. For example, current findings tell us that even though parents maybe religious and they bring their children to Sunday school and to church camps, few of their children are turning out to be disciples when they grow up. Most of them view church attendance as an appendage to life instead of a way of life or culture.

With the first sight of freedom during college, they easily jump next door to the fence of their death. They go to fraternities, clubs, alcohols and drugs. All because they did not really experienced what true faith is at home. Faith is a matter of the church and their parents rarely talked to them about their faith or even pray together. This produced little results. Church cannot replace real fathers and mothers as nurturers and incubators of faith. Without the parents patiently taking time to impart their faith and talk to their children about Jesus Christ, they will have shallow foundations. Today I am thankful for the sacrifices my lola had done because without her efforts, faith too may have just been an appendage to me.

Lola may not have been the perfect woman and who thinks they could present one? She had her own shares of weaknesses, downs, and struggles but she often strengthened herself in the Lord. She confessed her hardships to God and confides that without the Lord, she could not have done well. She is a very prayerful woman and a very diligent worker. She had her eyes on Jesus. Jesus became her light. Education is shining God’s light and we put value on education because we understand that by equipping ourselves, we can change our destiny. We can overcome poverty because we understand that is a temporary status that can be obliterated by good education.  Like good Jewish parents, putting your kids to the best schools you know is the best legacy you can leave for them. My lola did just that.

If I have to sum it all, lola Meding may have closed her eyes and slept on this earth but only to open her eyes in heaven. This must be joy beyond control! It is a rest from all her labors. She has graduated triumphantly, telling us that in our journey of faith, there may be ups and downs but if we keep faithful, if we keep close to God, there is no trial and no struggle that won’t end up as victory. When everything has been laid down at the feet of Christ, the Victor Himself is there to fight for us and cover our shame and nakedness. Like the tree firmly planted by streams of living water, her lot in this life may have had the shares of valleys filled with tears, trials and sufferings but through it all, our Heavenly David was there to hold her through.

It was the Lord’s guidance that led her through paths of righteousness and that anointed her so that her cup, her joy overflowed. Now she is cheering us on that no amount of temptation or trials could toss us away from feasting in the Lord ’s Table. There may be many of us today, who like lola Meding had experienced difficulties, triumphs and tragedies, but if we hold on to Him, one day, He too will call us and speak to us, you are set free! Indeed she had been freed from her infirmity, freed from earthly burdens and her faith had overcome through it all. Today let the bells toll and speak to the mountains and valleys that an oak of righteousness has fallen. God comforts us with these words, the “perishable is enveloped by the imperishable; the mortal has put on immortality.”

For this perishable must put on the imperishable, and this mortal must put on immortality.
But when this perishable will have put on the imperishable, and this mortal will have put on immortality, then will come about the saying that is written, “Death is swallowed up in victory.
“O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?”
The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law;
but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord. 1 Corinthians 15:53-58(NASB)