Pinoy Youth

After a full throttle leadership position with the Methodist Youth for the past two years, I figured that I probably need a vacation. Finally, I can be free of worries and anxieties in running a national organization.

By the end of June, I packed my bags. Bought a bus ticket. And off I went to Baguio City.

I enjoyed the mountains of Benguet and the Asin Hot Spring at town of Tuba. Little did I know that a very annoying virus was already creeping into my system on that fateful Saturday.

That night, I felt like I was swimming in the Jacuzzi of Asin hotspring. Too bad, it was only my fever. Good thing I had some medicines with me. The morning after, I noticed some weird-looking itchy little pimples all over my body. Dang! This could be none other than the most dreaded chickenpox! I had no choice but to go home right away. So much for my Baguio vacation, I couldn’t even buy Benguet brew coffee beans!

The dreaded chickenpox appeared all over my body, covering me like Venom’s dark alien suit. I felt bad. Weak and ill. And itchy all over. When I arrived home at Quezon City, the verdict came like a clanging metal door shutting me out of the civilized world. ISOLATION!

Itching all over, feeling eeky for not taking a bath for several days, and frustrated, too for not being able to move freely, I had to accept my fate with resignation.

Come to think of it, that was the first time I really stayed at home and rested that much! Since I didn’t have any choice, I tried to put my isolation to good use. I had a movie marathon. I read some of my books. I texted my friends. I stared out the window. Texted some more. And sighed a lot!

And yet…

I ran out of ideas on what to do. I ran out of movies to watch and even reading books became a bore. Then I began thinking of how I could make the most out of my isolation.

I thought about the past two years of leadership and how I lacked rest. How I flitted from meeting to meeting; activity to activity; one program after another; a concert here, a conference there and lots and lots of tedious thinking in between!

To get an attitude of solitude, I had to experience isolation. Isolation imposed on me because of my chickenpox. Without my illness, I would have continued my full throttle lifestyle. Such busy lifestyle steal away precious time of solitude for meditation, reflection and rest. I know I’ve been guilty in that. With my Baguio trip, I thought I could finally find solitude. I was wrong.

In the midst of isolation, chickenpox and frustration, there I found solitude… and when I began praying, I sensed God listening, patiently waiting…