After Ondoy...

We have been (some of us are still going) through the longest weekend so far. The typhoon 'Ondoy' came quietly to clueless Philippines and caught the entire Metro Manila ill-prepared. The damage and impact is something awfully historic, probably just as bad as or much worse than typhoon 'Frank' which swept Iloilo and nearby areas in 2008.

It seemed like another rainy weekend when I came home last Friday night, except that my lights were out; but the strange thing was that only mine was out in the entire line of apartment rooms of the ground floor (I rent a space in Pitogo, Makati). While this seemed like a perfect trigger that could have ruined my mood and turned me into an irate tenant, I felt grateful that I took that in stride and dealt with it like a test for patience (as what my Mom labelled it then, when I relayed it to her). And indeed, it turned out to be a blessing in disguise. Looking back makes me see how that saved my life. This "isolated blackout incident" forced me to wake up early that Saturday and iron out the confusion with my landlady, which in turn prepared me for that sudden rise of waters later to flood the entire ground floor. Had it been my typical no-fuss Saturday (as I've described in my previous posts), I would have been sleeping (like a baby) till past noon --- the time when the floodwaters rushed to its peak --- and who knows my chance of meeting a fate much worse than a soaked smelly dirt mud-laden room.

I will forever be grateful for the calm that God gave me for those split seconds that I was able to think logically and compose my second-floor exit strategy. Those very brief but life-saving moments showed me that the really important things are no more than a bag load of basics, memories of your loved ones, and faith in Him.

I remember looking down from the third floor with zero attachment to anything left below. Zero, and that felt soo easy because of His grace. The same grace which guided me through when I went down after the waters subsided and began the post-flood cleanup. It was more than a general cleaning of the mess visible to the naked eye. I believe it was God's way of "cleaning" us all from within. He was very kind to save some things way more than what I expected (even including those which I have assigned to the non-essential category). Or perhaps, I was more resigned to accepting that I may be left with nothing at all.

I have thrown trash loads of stuff away (I lost count, or did not count at all) and have cleaned up, probably five times the effort of a 'real' physical general cleaning (considering that I live by myself). Up till now, I'm still cleaning up, trying to bring back the normalcy in my room (I have asked the help of my landlady to help me in my laundry as my hand's skin condition has recurred, possibly due to the post-flood cleanup, too)and waiting for tons of the salvaged stuff to dry. Considering the size of my room, my drill seems so much trivial compared to the less fortunate ones in Marikina and Pasig, who lost their homes and loved ones. And all the more that I look back at the scheme and sequence of things that Friday night onwards, I feel more blessed than ever.

I pray that we, Filipinos, may see through all the material and physical losses sustained, and feel the very core of this life's lesson. Life is not easy (who said it will be?), and oftentimes unfair. Yet, we climb on and rise again. It does not matter how many times we die through all these cycles of pain and failures. As long as we are graced by God's resurrection, these deaths will reborn us into better souls.

God is good indeed. All the time. And with no fail.