God speaks to you, everywhere you go.
Written by Alex Marcano | Feb 12th, 2021
While travelling in the northern island of Luzon in the Philippines, my husband and I were on a bus on our way to Batad, a small town of 1500 people without any public services such as electricity, cell service, paved roads or even cars, but the best place to view the beautiful Ifugao rice terraces, a UNESCO World Heritage site.
Suddenly, on our way through the mountains, there were some very big rockslides, which prevented our passage.
So we were isolated for about 5 hours on a dangerous road.
This incident, thank God, did not cause any injuries, but forced us to change our itinerary, and sleep that night in the neighbouring Banaue; a village a bit bigger than Batad.
While waiting for the road to be cleared out, I started to detail everything around me. The raindrops, the little houses in the mountain, the lush green of nature, the people buying fruit from the vendors, the curious details of that old bus, that had travelled that same route a million times before.
Filipinos are very fervent Christians, and it is common for them to have bible verses painted everywhere. Our old bus was no exception.
Above the door was painted the Psalm 121: 'The Lord shall preserve your going out and coming in from this time forth and forevermore.'
I thought it was so beautiful.
Sometimes when travelling, as in life, there are unforeseen events, so it is normal to have to adjust, forget and keep going.
However, that day something happened that we will never forget.
I had my little bible with me, and my husband took it to read a little.
What are the chances? There are over 30 thousand verses in the Bible!
We were both amazed and stared at each other with big opened eyes.
I should have been happy, but I don't know why, inside me, I had a bad feeling in my heart, and wondered why was I having that feeling.
We finally arrived at Banaue and found a nice hostel with all the modern facilities like hot water and wifi, and the lady running the place was very nice and kind, She helped us planning our trip and gave us advice for the 'jeepney', the popular mean of transportation, to Batad for the next day.
Just remembering that moment, brings tears to my eyes.
While having dinner, my sister sent us a message.
My Dad was very ill with metastatic cancer back in Venezuela and I was so far away, over 16 thousand kilometres, at the other side of the world.
We changed our flights, but while we were in the USA on our way to Venezuela, I received an email from my uncle telling me that my Dad passed away... and I couldn't hold him one last time.
To my mind came the last time I saw his smile when he took us to the airport in Tenerife, a few months before.
So I keep remembering that day when God told me He will preserve my coming and going. I don't have my dad with me anymore, but surely, I have someone bigger than everything watching for me.
We must put all our trust in Him, secure in the knowledge that He can protect us.
Sometimes there are obstacles on the road that won't allow us reaching our destination, but we must keep the faith as we don't know why these events happen. But God does.
If we would have arrived that day at Batad, where there was no wifi or mobile coverage, we would have stayed days there without knowing about my father, and I wouldn't have been able to call him and say good-bye.
Today, almost 8 years later, when I'm sad because I cannot feel his arm over my shoulder or listen to his smart advices anymore, I keep remembering that God told me He was with me that day on the bus, and He is with me every day and every moment on this journey called life. And that makes me so happy I'm having an advance of heaven here on earth.
Thank you, Lord. I cannot express in words my gratitude for your love.
Thank you Alex for sharing your lovely story.
For our Lord everything is possible and He speaks to us in many different ways.
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