Staying Joyful

Happy New Year! I know, I know my greeting is three weeks late. It wasn’t my intention not to post for a long time. I was actually targeting to finish several posts before the previous year ended but life threw a curveball on our family.

During our one-week vacation in Negros, our little Queen B fell ill. Instead of having time to write as J’s family were excited to be spending a lot of time with our little Queen B, I can’t even leave her side without a cryfest on her part. She won’t let anyone except me touch her so I had to say good-bye to my writing plans. She suffered from roseola infantum (commonly known in Filipino as tigdas hangin) which is characterized by high fever for several days followed by a red rash that is, thankfully, not itchy and only lasts for 1-2 days. Unfortunately, she also developed a mild case of pneumonia at the same time. We also discovered that she have Primary Complex which requires six months of continuous medication. All our plans during our Negros vacation were scraped due to this incident.

When we got back home, I became busy for the holiday celebration’s preparations. I also did a side-business of selling blondies and brownies. I was juggling a lot of things that my body gave up on me on Christmas day itself. I spent two whole days mostly in bed as I battle a bad case of the flu. It was only after the New Year that I was able to fully recover. Even J fell ill but he has a stronger immune system so he recovered immediately.

Despite of what had happened, I am still joyful and thankful. I am thankful that we get to spend precious time with our loved ones especially Mama Bebe (J’s mom) who celebrated her 65^th birthday while we were in Negros. I am grateful that we find out about our little Queen B’s Primary Complex as it is a factor on why she is not gaining weight as fast as her contemporaries. As the infection clears, her weight and height gain rate may now speed up. I am also thankful for the lesson J and I learned about the importance of good health. We are now taking steps to make 2017 a year of a much better health condition for the two of us. I am happy that I get to slow down these past weeks which my body, mind, and heart needed to start the new year refreshed and with a clearer purpose and goals.

One of the many lessons 2016 taught me is the power of perspective. I could wallow in sadness because of the many unfortunate events that had happened but I choose to see the positive. I must admit seeing the positive in a difficult situation is not an easy thing to do. It is much easier to complain and find fault in everything.

When I started to be continuously hopeful in life, it was as if a heavy weight was lifted from me. I noticed that I am much happier and content nowadays. I realized that it doesn’t take much for me to be happy. It doesn’t mean I would not take steps to improve a not-so-good situation or I would not aim for higher things in my life but it means being grateful for every small and big blessing that come my way. As the Bible says in Philippians 4:8:

Image from www.missionalmotherhood.com. 

I am very hopeful that this year, 2017, will be another wonderful year for our family. J and I have several goals and dreams that we want to actively pursue this year. We also would like to continue the spiritual growth we experienced last year. It is our hope and prayer that we stay rooted in prayer, service, and His Word.

May we all have a fruitful and blessed year ahead of us!

#xoxo