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Insights from Bagyong Ondoy

  • Sumo

Last Saturday, September 26, 2009, the entire metropolis felt the subtle anger of Typhoon Ondoy. Though the wind could not almost be felt but the amount of rain it dumped all over NCR and nearby provinces in just few hours was equivalent to a month of rainfall. Even our house was affected but it was just a pinched compared to others, very negligible.

I was monitoring the news the whole day of Saturday because my husband asked me to wait if there would be any announcement about the LET the next day.  The TV stations were only able to air  some video footages late afternoon. Even their field reporters and cameramen were trapped in congested traffic  and flooded streets.

While the rain was pouring and while I was watching the news,  here are some of the things that entered into my mind.

The power of Jesus over nature
I remembered how Jesus commanded the storm to be still when He and His disciple were on a boat crossing the sea. He simply commanded the boisterous wind and roaring sea to stop and be still and it was so. Nature obeys His word. So when I prayed last Saturday, I claimed His power manifested in this event. I trust God’s power to to stop the rain.

Safety is the Lord(Proverbs 21:31)
While the rain was pouring very hard last Saturday, my mother sent me an SMS. She informed me that the river near their place was swelling and the water reached the first phases of the village where they live. Two more phases and the water would already reached their place. She also informed me that they no longer have electricity and water supply and my father was not yet home.

Earlier that day, my father decided to go out and drive his jeepney thinking that the rain would eventually stop. Unfortunately, the rain didn’t stopped. I saw on TV that the roads included in my father’s route were mostly flooded. I was thinking of my father’s situation. He must already be very wet if ever he was stranded on the flood and traffic.

In that situation where my father was still out and my mother was alone with my younger brother who is a special child, I was lost how I could help them if the situation didn’t get better. There was nothing that I can do for them. I admitted my limitations and uttered short prayers from time to time. I plead God to keep my family safe because only Him can do it.

Early evening, my mother informed me that my father was home already. According to my father’s story, he was already near the main gate of the villages at around 3pm but he could not pass through on the bridge because of the swelling river and flood. He waited the water to subside. I thank God for His goodness to my family.

Only treasures laid up in heaven are incorruptible and indestructible (Matthew 16:19-20)
Billions worth of properties were destroyed by Typhoon Ondoy. Properties like houses, cars, appliances, furnitures were destructed in just a matter of hours. For sure, these properties were not acquired in just few hours. Probably, those who own these properties took some months or even years saving some money for these things. And it will take them another months or years before they would be able to set-up the things they lost.

These is really saddening. Here in the Philippines, it is very hard to acquire properties because they are very expensive. Ordinary workers like me would really need so much time to save some money just to buy a new television set or a new refrigerator. But this is the really of life. Anything we invested here on earth is temporal. We don’t know until when it will last but it will end definitely. This is the reason why God encouraged His children to laid up their treasures in heaven where neither moth nor rust can corrupt nor thieves can break through to steal. For those who manage their wealth wisely and gave back what is due unto the Lord, they may lost everything that they have here on earth, but rest assured that what they have in heaven will still be there. They will enjoy them in time. And our God who owns every single thing in this world, is able to give them back what they have lost, more abundantly.

So how about you, what are the precious things you learned from Typhoon Ondoy?

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2 thoughts on “Insights from Bagyong Ondoy

  1. hi. i don’t have a blogroll. but i do have the “followers” i was looking for it in your site but didn’t find one. i usually visit those who comments and those on my “followers” list.

    thank God you are also safe.

  2. Thank God your family is ok. Mahirap talaga ang mag-alala. Bigla kong naalala may uncle pa pala akong di natsi-check kung okay sila sa Muntinlupa malapit sila sa Laguna Lake eh. will call him after this.

    Lam mo gaya mo may konting problema din dito sa bahay, butas na bubong pero nakakahiyang magreklamo kumpara sa dinanas ng mga kababayan natin. Si God lang talaga ang refuge natin kahit sa anong oras sa lahat ng pagkakataon ano.

    Mommy, ano ang pangalan ng church mo?

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