Category: Short Stories

Friendship, Inspiration, Life, love, Short Stories

Unconditional Love

California, August 17, 2019 – Massachusetts, August 17, 2024

Yesterday, I attended the last night of a mental health series talk in Providence, RI. The topic was “Love.” One of the questions asked was “are you willing to die for someone you love?” Because essentially that will prove that you love that person unconditionally. This act of love is written in John 15:13: Greater love has no man than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends. This is perhaps one of the most beautiful love acts written by John, whose friend ‘Jesus’ died to save him, and all of us. John experienced receiving unconditional love firsthand.

Love is what we yearn for, and desire to give, but really struggle with.
I remember questioning at a young age, how can two people like each other? and what is the possibility that this person finds that person at this specific time, and they like each other, it just can’t be that easy. I was probably 6 or 7, and at such young age I was already questioning the possibility of likeness and love, impossible I thought! There has to be something more! Well, thank God I grew up, and experienced the impossible scenario of attraction, it was real! The first time I was introduced to a guy that wanted to meet me, I froze. Then I understood why he always seemed to randomly appear. It is a great feeling to be liked, but it is the easiest stage of what could develop into love. Liking someone doesn’t mean much unless there is commitment.

Unconditional love is supernatural, as much as we think we “love,” we are very incapable to perfectly or unconditionally love. Last night’s summary was that love can only come from above because “God is love.” But that is just being aware of it, because in order to have unconditional love you must first experience it yourself, so said John. There was a time when I believed heartedly that I had experienced unconditional love, I had prayed that God will take years from my life so that this one friend would use them in case he needed them (I really thought he needed the extra years). The following year I was fearful to even talk to other guys, because I thought that my life was going to be cut short, literally. Now you may laugh about this, I find it comical myself, but what I was truly experiencing after that prayer was fear. Fear is completely contrary to love!

There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love (1 John 4:18). I understand unconditional love today, but because I am loved, not because I have loved unconditionally. I have experienced it by understanding who God is – knowing and feeling his presence emotionally, physically, spiritually, and mentally. Just today, at the turning of my 5th baptism year, as I walked and talked with Jesus, a goose landed on the lawn nearby, so I asked Him, can “she” see you? He said, oh yes! So, I stopped to wait for Him and imaged Him running to the goose and petting it. Later he said, everywhere you look (nature), you can see me, I’ve never left you, and I’m here, I will always be here. Now that, that is not romantic cheap love, those are the most beautiful words you can hear from a friend. Friendships require time and dedication, the more time you spend with God, the freer you will be to learn how to love unconditionally, it is a lifetime commitment.

Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content. I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me (Philippians 4:11-13).

Your friend that loves you,
Melody

PS. Thank you for helping me understand love, in the purest of form, it is true: “what a beautiful name it is, the name of Jesus Christ my King!
He didn’t want heaven without us, so Jesus, you brought heaven down… my sin was great, your love was greater, so what can separate us now?”

Inspiration, Life, love, Music, Short Stories, Work

Gratitude

There is a beautiful song, called “Gratitude,” that simply and faithfully describes that one has nothing to offer to God “except for a heart singing halleluiah.” So simple an act, yet sometimes our life is filled with work and activities that we miss out on thanking God for faithfully guiding us through it all. Missing out is rather harmful to us, research shows that the more grateful one is the healthier, resilient, and happy we are. “A merry heart doeth good like medicine…” indeed!

A few weeks ago, it felt like work and activities were piling up all through the week. On Sunday, I purposed to finish drafting a sermon and get a head start on work. It was around 8:30 in the evening, and I had drafted the sermon and had enough bible verses and quotes, so I switch computers and started to work for only an hour or two. I left the office and felt the New England cold air, turned on the car and waited for it to warm so that the frozen windshield could melt. It was cold but I felt so happy, the window looked pretty with ice crystals and light shining through from the light post.
There is great joy when we think and believe in the goodness of God. As I was writing earlier, I felt so encouraged to do, and keep going, and continue doing. The bible truly gives life, strength, and even time. I had prayed that morning for strength for the week ahead, and God gave strength and peace. I thanked God for helping me, for making a way light and enjoyable.

That week I worked 53 hours, including a long Wednesday with departure of 12:15 am …twas cold. On Friday the entire set plotted smoothly with a completion time of 2:15 pm. I was so thankful, what at first seemed hard to complete on time, was done, the week had run smoothly. There was a lot of work to do but it wasn’t burdensome. I left the office and went to pick up groceries from the store, prepared something to eat at home, and continued studying for the sermon. Upon my parents’ arrival, my dad mentioned that if I wanted, I could give the sermon in English. I told him that I had already prepared it in Spanish and that it would be ok to deliver it in Spanish. The last time I had ”preached” in Spanish was 13 years ago, so I was concerned about the outcome, and my sister shared the concern with my parents. After fellowship with them I continued studying and again went to sleep around midnight. The following morning as I stood up, the popular line “it is time” ran in my head. “Father, it is time for you to speak.” I had been asking people to please pray for me, especially because I had to deliver the message in Spanish. Near the end, I was so moved that tears ran down my face. I had to catch my breath, I could see people also wiping their eyes, my mom especially. The Holy Spirit touched my heart so deeply, that I sensed such need to receive, and give a double fold of the joy that Christ gave me.

What a blessing to share the love of God, the mission of Jesus Christ, and the work of the Holy Spirit with believers. The message, based on 2 Timothy 2:4, has been ringing in my ears since March 2022, and I have grown to love and desire to dedicate my life as such, that nothing will separate me from the father and that all my decisions are made to please Him. “El Soldado del Futuro” or The Soldier of the Future is indeed the Jesus Christ in us and through us. The passion to serve can only come from above.
As we pulled out of the Hispanic church in Brockton, MA that Sabbath afternoon, I turned to my sister and said, now unto “The Lord’s Prayer,” we both laughed.

Two weeks before that Sunday, one of the sisters from our church asked me to sing at a wedding. Me? I said in my mind, at a wedding!?
Oh sure, I said – do you have a specific song that you would like me to sing? The Lord’s Prayer, she said… Oh! …That’s a beautiful song that I’ve dreamed about one day singing but I don’t really have the voice for it, I told her. She was kind with her feedback, and went on to say, but if you think of any other song just let me know. Well, the day arrived, and I had barely practiced the song, at 3:45 pm I was getting ready when I get a call. Melody, where are you? Hello, I’m getting ready will be heading out soon, are you already at church? Yes, we are waiting for you because you are first in the program after the pastor prays. Yes, I said, is the program starting at 4:30? I asked. No, it’s at 4 o’clock and it’s very short so we can’t start without you, she said.
Oh! Well, let me get out quickly. Arriving at 4:07, the sister told me that I almost gave her a heart attack, thankfully she didn’t get one. I walked up to the front and waited for my turn. The wedding began, oh I wanted to be at peace and enjoy it, but it was hard. The pastor introduced me, I stood and waited for the track to play. I really couldn’t believe that I was about to butcher such a beautiful song. I finished singing and sat down. The nephew of the bride, who walked her down the isle, was crying while I was singing “The Lord’s Prayer. It was so warm to see him react to it, deep feelings of joy warmed my heart. God is good, this is all I can say, and I really believe, that God tunes people’s ears to hear of his true beauty, it just can’t be our voices.

Gratitude coats the heart with pure joy, elevates our spirits like birds freely flying in the sky, molds and builds our characters to cherish the love of God. You too can experience freedom and joy, test and see that the Lord is good, for His mercy endures forever…. I am so grateful for what God has done, is doing, and will continue to do in my life. All that we live through has a lesson, whether it is suffering or joy, God uses it all to show us the way, the truth, and the life. Thank you for being the most wonderful Father, best friend, and savior of all time, in the name of Jesus thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

“So come on, my soul
Oh, don’t you get shy on me
Lift up your song
‘Cause you’ve got a lion inside of those lungs
Get up and praise the Lord“
…
“And I know it’s not much
But I’ve nothing else fit for a King
Except for a heart singing hallelujah“

Life, Short Stories

Living in Crisis with Hope Intro

This is a three-part series of a message I shared at church in the month of October 2023.

The goal of our message today is to understand the magnitude of our suffering and how through Jesus Christ we will be more than conquerors.

Intro

Have you ever been asked to be the judge of a situation in which you were completely unaware of what happened? This story is called “Two boys, at the river, skipping rocks.”

It was a beautiful sunny day, a little cold, and off we went to our favorite place, “Forest Falls.” On the way, back and forth talking escalated to screaming in the back of the car, and too quickly turning into punches and kicking. I pulled over and asked the boys to apologize to each other… silence. Repeating the same statement, I reminded them that without an apology we would not continue the trip. Again, silence. Trying it from a different approach, I continued, “we are wasting each other’s time here if you don’t say sorry.” But he started it, said the oldest. “At this point you both need to apologize for punching each other.” Quickly, the youngest said, ok, ok, sorry! Turning to the older one I said, is your turn. “No, it was his fault.”  After a few more attempts, the older would not apologize.  With frustration the younger one said, “just say sorry, we’re going to be here all day, ahh.” “No!” A few more complaints happened and finally, the angry boy gave up and said “sorry!” …Alright, let’s go! Not too long passed, and friends at last the brothers ran from the car down the slope to the river. Searching for rocks, splashing the water, skipping rocks, seeking “shelter” and loosing track of time. What a pretty sight, this is what they were made for, to enjoy life with zero worrying or distress. Off they went, getting lost through branches and bushes, laughing and playing games, building forts, and then… the scream “aaaaahhh.” I turned around and ran to find the oldest brother laying on the ground, angry and sobbing, he screamed “I hate you, get away from me!” to his brother. His brother ran and hid himself.

Are you ok? I asked. I think I broke my foot! He replied and kept screaming. Let me see, “no, no, don’t touch it, it hurts.” What happened? I asked. “It was his fault, it always is. I never want to see him again!”

“I think you are ok,” I said but he replied “no I broke my foot!”
“Believe me if it was broken, you would be in so much more pain.”

At the distance his brother slowly started to approach, “are you ok?”

Come back Jake, I said. Peter your brother is sorry for what happened, can you please say sorry to Peter, Jake? “I’m sorry, Peter.” “No, he’s not sorry, it’s always his fault! He hurt me.” “But he didn’t mean to, you guys were playing together. Please, forgive your brother, he didn’t mean to hurt you.”

“No, he doesn’t need to be forgiven, everyone else can except for Jake. It’s his fault, it’s always his fault, he always gets the toys, I never get anything, “Opa” always gives him everything. I won’t ever forgive him; he doesn’t deserve it. Everyone else can, but not him, he doesn’t deserve him!”  

Inspiration, Life, Short Stories

With Love, Brittany

2020 felt like a roller coaster for most of us. There was repeated joy followed by sadness and mixed emotions in between. “We” wish we could count it all joy but it was hard to at times.

January 2020 was partially a delightful month, I was able to work remotely in Boston, MA and stayed with my sister, it had been about 17 years since we were roommates.

Once in California, the weekends continued to be full of laughter as our friends gathered to play games and eat pop-corn. On January 22, while driving back from work, I received a message telling us that our beloved friend had been diagnosed with cancer. I began to sob uncontrollably, at that moment hope and faith became foreign after receiving the news. The Bible speaks of “counting it all joy” when we are tempted, nevertheless, at a time like this some of us may realize how weak our faith can turn.

Out of all the women I’ve known, the one I picture and desired to see raising children was Brittany. Brittany and her husband were my oldest niece’s adult best friends. I used to tell Brittany that she would be a wonderful mother, to which she would say, “I don’t think we’re ready” and smiled.

The same week after receiving the news about Brittany, I visited her. My mind was strengthened from praying so much and I chose to believe that Brittany would recover. I packed boiled beets, and sang all the way to Reno, it was Friday after 6pm. On the way, I missed a few speed limit signs and got pulled over for driving over the speed limit. The police officer asked if there was an emergency, so I mentioned that my friend was sick. He followed to say he was sorry and asked where I was driving from and heading to, “Irvine to Reno.” He was kind and asked me to be cautious as the speed limit signs changed rapidly in that section of the town I was driving through. He also said, “I will pray for your friend.” This was like an encounter with God himself… for his forgiveness and for caring for someone he didn’t even know. It was around 2 am when Brittany’s dad welcomed me at Brittany’s and told me where I would be staying. It was on that day where hoping for a miracle was the only answer to our prayers. Brittany’s diagnosis was seating on the desk where I was staying and I read it. It was stage-4 cancer, I looked up the rest of the medical description and laid to sleep, crying. Emotionally, I could hardly imagine the pain that each one of her family members had. If this had been such a painful time for me as a friend, how much more would her family suffer. On Tuesday afternoon, Brittany walked around the neighborhood without any help. She would begin chemotherapy and fight for her life.

Brittany made people feel special. She loved to have fun and laugh. On one occasion, after watching a musical and eating cucumber sandwiches at my school, rain started to pour on us, so we started to ran and laugh so loud in the parking lot. It was a rain party! On Friday, April 17 2020, Brittany called me from the hospital. She called me to wish me “Happy Birthday, Melo!” she sounded lovely as usual. Her family and friends had been visiting and staying at her house every weekend since the news of her diagnosis. On Sunday April 26, a few friends and I drove up to see Brittany. We played music by her bedside and prayed. On one of those days as I walked into the room, she asked her mom for her hat. I told her, “you look beautiful Brittz,” to which her husband agreed and went on to kiss her forehead. She did look beautiful, even without her hair. Brittany remained pretty even after her body had lost most of her body mass. During that visit, I witnessed (like the old days in the east coast) the deep love that she and her husband shared with each other.

In May, we drove up to Reno to see Brittany again, this time I joined her dad, brother and brother’s wife. It was May 15, a Friday, at this point Brittany’s pain had gotten worse. The pain was unbearable and we would constantly hear her screaming with pain. On May 18, she was taken to the hospital screaming from pain in her lower back. That was the last time I saw Brittz. Brittany had surgery the following day. Her body was too weak to take chemo, so she had to wait to recover from surgery before receiving more chemo. She had grown tired of the pain, and as she mentioned getting hospice care, I said, “you won’t need it Brittz!” I truly believed that she would recover. Brittz had a successful surgery and was recovering from it, “she ate all your beans,” her husband said after returning from the hospital, it was Wednesday.

I left Reno on Thursday, May 21. The surgery was successful but recovery would take time. I believe that every one of us who suffered seeing Brittany experience so much pain tried to the best of our abilities to remain positive that she would recover. Our prayers never seized, “may your will be done, but please take her pain away.” Even if that meant rescuing her from suffering so much. And God answered, as her pain was removed on Sunday morning, June 7. She laid to rest surrounded by her family, and the love of her life. Brittany’s love for David never changed, she loved him dearly. She looked up to him from the moment they met. She never gave him any hints of her interest for him before dating, but she always prayed for him as her one. She mentioned to me, “I cried for David even while dating a person after him.” She made a mistake, she said, but inside she always had the slightest hope to reunite with David. And they did, they married and lived together for the last 10 years of her life!

Love suffereth long and is kind… One of the best lessons Brittany demonstrated to me was this “love suffereth long and is kind.” Her and David’s love story are inspiring because neither of them gave up for each other. Her love for her husband taught me that waiting, even when there seems to be no hope, is worth it. David loved Brittany so much as well, they were the best for each other.

This past holiday season while reading through the cards she wrote, I relived the experiences and lovely memories she leaves behind. Her encouragement and thoughtful words re-assure that she loved me and cared for our friendship, as she signed “With love, Brittany.” It was a blessing to have her in my life, as a sister-friend, as an advisor and teacher, and as a mentor in the quest for Love. Loving others is living for God, and living for God is living fully!

Education, Inspiration, Life, Short Stories

To Be Inspired

The wisest man on earth, Solomon, wrote these lines: What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun (Ecclesiastes 1:9). Looking back at the years of my intellectual quest, I attest that education had a complete turn in my life when I finally understood Solomon’s awakening line “there is nothing new under the sun.”

Freedom obtained from above is not just knowing that God loves you; the implication of understanding that God loves you is knowing that there is nothing better than God loving you. Similarly, there is nothing better than loving God.

The gaps within my Christian conversion tie to education, and the inability to feel free. I was captive to human theory and self-exaltation or what could be referred to as Luciferian traits. As a child I understood that awards were only given to the “brightest children” or to the ones with good grades, so life was already complicated. I aspired to one day be amongst the brightest minds. School was my top priority but I didn’t get good grades by being the class-clown nor falling asleep while studying. I remember dreaming of having a photographic memory while walking on the streets of Lima. My mom was holding my hand while crossing the street and as I looked up to a road bridge I thought, “if I could only picture everything I read… I could ace a test; dear God ‘Diosito,’ could you please give me just that?” My dream expanded to the idea that one day I could read an entire book and quote each line by memory. Sadly, my dream was turning into a nightmare as I still couldn’t read properly at age thirteen! In order to avoid mistakes while reading in public, I counted the number of people in the circle before it got to my turn to practice the lines that I had to read. Apparently this technique helped, and people began to comment that I read very fast. In my mind reading out-loud was cruel and summarizing paragraphs was a waste of time of an already wasted time.

Moving forward to my early twenties, as I began attending college and taking classes I understood that “there is nothing new under the sun.” That history repeated itself, and that humanity was very self-destructive. I came across bored and empty intellectuals. Being somewhat heart broken from this illusion, I started to get closer to God and understand His love. Soon enough, my slavery to the intellectual quest turned into a passive search for truth and joy. Even though solving an equation brought joy to my life, the truth of “what is life?” gave deep meaning to my life as a servant, or as a Christian.

I can vividly remember the enlighten day. I was reading, and then everything stopped. My internal voice said, “you don’t have to be smart to enter the kingdom of God, that’s not a requirement, as a matter of fact, you don’t have to be anything to enter.” I felt quit ludicrous afterwards. This realization brought so much relief and joy that I started laughing and going up and down the stairs celebrating that “there is nothing new under the sun.”

From that day forward I understood that God wanted us to prepare intellectually to serve others fully. I also understood that all talents or skills that we have are His not ours, and that if He entrusted us with any talents, they were to be used for the missionary field that we live in.

The text below gives great instruction/aid for our struggling human minds:

As through Christ every human being has life, so also through Him every soul receives some ray of divine light. Not only intellectual but spiritual power, a perception of right, a desire for goodness, exists in every heart. But against these principles there is struggling an antagonistic power. The result of the eating of the tree of knowledge of good and evil is manifest in every man’s experience. There is in his nature a bent to evil, a force which, unaided, he cannot resist. To withstand this force, to attain that ideal which in his inmost soul he accepts as alone worthy, he can find help in but one power. That power is Christ. Co-operation with that power is man’s greatest need. – E. White, Education, p.29.

The insecurities in each of our lives can be overcome by giving our lives to Christ. The quest for love is its understanding and the only reason of why we exist. We were created to love and be loved by the only God and creator of life. May God bring joy to you today as you ask Him to enlighten your days with the freedom found through His son! For God so loved you that He gave His only begotten son that by believing in Him, you would not perish but have everlasting life! (modified from John 3:16).

Life, Short Stories, Work

Endless Time Promise

Sometimes it seems easy to think that we are running out of time, when in reality when we accept Christ we have everlasting time.

A few days ago God reminded me of the simple message He has given us to understand: accept Jesus in your heart, become like Him, and you will love fully and live happy.

Loving God as the text says involves no fear: There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment, he who fears has not been made perfect in love. 1 John 4:18. Understanding God’s love makes as free from fearing our past, present, and future. It also helps us to cope with the reality that no human being is perfect, that we are all equally sinners in the same battle to conquer love against evil. So sharing God’s love becomes our desire when we fully understand His love and grace for us. And it goes even deeper. God gives us rewards even when we “don’t deserve them.” Nevertheless, this blessing comes with true repentance.

Last month, October 2020, I was about to give up on self-employment and start applying to jobs in the east coast. So I asked God to guide me on this decision; it was Monday. By Friday of the same week I would be applying to job listings on the east coast. I began updating my resume and portfolio, and somehow came across a job listing in the area with an appealing job description. On Tuesday I finished my resume and cover letter, went on a long afternoon hike, and pour out my heart to God. On the same day I also called a client to ask whether she still wanted landscape design for her residence, she said yes but to get back to her in a month. On Wednesday I applied to the Monday job search listing. On Thursday I remember feeling peace, contacted another client, and he also said to get back to him in a month. Friday morning as I was about to start east coast job applications I received an email from my job application requesting an interview. I had the interview on Monday and received a job offer the same afternoon, starting date January 2021. On Wednesday Morning I signed the offer.

What happened? Within days of pouring out my heart to God I had been relieved and “hired”! And the sense of knowing that this was the right thing to do was the blessing I had doubted for. You see, God does not hold grudges against us for not believing in His power to spare us. The devil is the one whispering to us “you don’t deserve anything from God,” or “God won’t bless you now that you have sinned/doubted.” The truth is, God is waiting to bless us. The fact that He can’t interfere with our bad decisions doesn’t mean that He forgets us.

When we truly ask God to guide us, He’s ready to positively impact our lives. The atmosphere of peace surrounds us, like a shield that destroys the cares of this world. God is merciful to forgive and give more than what we can imagine. “He will again have compassion on us; he will tread our iniquities underfoot. You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea.” Micah 7:19

If you don’t know or understand how to pour out your heart to God, think of Him as a long lost caring friend who you are catching up with. He knows you since the day you were conceived, He has plans for you, and his endless time promise is for you to live a life of love. May your day be filled with His peace as you seek out to him in prayer.

Landscape Architecture, Life, Short Stories, Work

Surrender All

As the months went by my heart began to feel the desire to have a regular schedule. The schedule that is monitored by human minds, the schedule that one studies for. The schedule that at times comes with a lack of sleep and insufficient nourishment. I found myself disturbed at the idea that I had lost such schedule. But I wondered why?

During the month of May, the numbers of people being laid-off at our office continued to increased due to COVID-19. Prior to me being laid-off along with two awesome co-workers, I worried that the following call would be directed to me. I didn’t want to give it a thought, but I prayed “Father, whenever my time in this place ends, I will be ok, because you are with me.”

So months later, I was annoyed at the idea that I missed having a regular schedule. It came with frustration after having a fantastic summer! I began to get discouraged that self-employment may not be the right decision. I felt guilty taking vacation, I was living in a vacation.

And then it clicked! I really missed working 40+ hours a week. I missed talking to team members and solving problems, I missed being part of a collaborative team. I missed thinking extra hard. God showed me the beauty of consistent work and need to do more than what our brains can handle.

But there was something more, I wanted control of my situation, which is probably what gave me frustration after returning to California from a wonderful vacation with my family. I realized that my frustration was doubting the power of God when it came to trusting my work to Him. I felt embarrassed yet not wanting to admit that it was affecting me spiritually. Why?

Every single job that I had received had been led by Him, so as I was walking back from gardening a thought came to me, who is in control? “You are,” I said. And there was silence. All this time, I had not fully addressed that being laid-off had affected me. I cried. On the day that it happened I shed a few tears and really took it as an opportunity to travel. My circumstances had changed, I shared an schedule with friends, and family. So there was no time to address this issue again with God. I didn’t think I needed it, I was very happy just picking up bags and visiting places and people.

Until reality hit, work with clients wasn’t promising. Studying for my license had being delayed and frustration began to fill my heart. I prayed as I walked, “just give me one more no and I’ll stop trying to be self-employed.” That same day I dialed a client with the idea that her “no” was about to change my path very soon. She didn’t say no.

I went hiking that day with the image of a bird staring at me, saying, “what’s wrong with you?” The same pigeon that looked at me a bit confused when I cried asking God, why He had taken me away from my family back in 2018. I laughed, I just couldn’t believe, I have it easy, really! God had blessed me so much and yet I felt discouraged from not having control of my work? I don’t need control, I don’t need control of my life, it is actually very harmful to want to control your life. God knows how to heal me, He never forced me to come to Him with my issues, but as I write this, I understand the need to surrender all aspects of our lives to Him.

There will be days when we feel discouraged and frustrated, and even embarrassed of what we lack. But remember, He says, “These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.” John 16:33

God loves each one of us dearly and He wants the best for you. It is my prayer today, that you may come to Him with your struggles, with your lack of faith, and tell Him how frustrated you feel, how sad and how much you miss what you may currently lack. He is greater to take the burden off your shoulders, pick you up, and teach you how to walk with Him again or for the very first time. Amen,

Life, Short Stories

To Die in Christ is to Live Fully

Writing about the importance of life was Christ’s passion! While on this earth He not only preached it, He also lived it, and not just lived it but pronounce life to the sick and most vulnerable. When others covered their eyes to avoid the degradation of humanity, and burying their sins escaped from Jesus’s words to help the needy, He revealed to us the necessity to love, to act, to heal the broken hearted. Jesus not only lived fully, He suffered fully, He loved fully, and He died for love for each one of us.

That life was chosen by Brittany. She loved fully.

Brittany a beloved friend, advisor, listener, caregiver, doctor, daughter, sister, and loving wife fought the fight of faith and finished the race!

One of her best attributes was her laughter. I loved to hear her laugh, it was enjoyable and contagious. She became one of my best friends and role models, especially when we all lived in the East Coast. It was also through her that I was blessed to connect to her parents when I moved to California. They welcome me into their home away from home weekend after weekend, and that is where Brittany developed her gift for hospitality. It was a beautiful reminder of when she and her husband would come for lunch and games at my parents home in Massachusetts.

The Bible tells us to be strong and to encourage one another! To live fully, to love fully! God blessed us with a beautiful person and she will continue to inspire me (and others) with the wonderful memories she leaves behind. When we see Brittany again, she will be pain free, and she will be smiling beautifully as she always has. And her voice, the soothing, perfect tone, pronunciation and emphasis… she had “a way” to read the Bible, the voice of a prayer warrior! The voice that carried, wisdom, knowledge, and most importantly deep love for all of us who crossed her path.

I can picture Brittany read in the words of the servant of Christ, Paul:

I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.

2 Timothy 4:7-8

See you soon, Brittz!

Life, Short Stories

We Carried You

I can hear us say, “how can we love so much someone that we haven’t even met?” Or perhaps why do we long so deeply to meet you? Deep is our wound because once we get it, it never goes away. It is an honor to carry, because it bears all of our pain. Honorable is his name, and Valiant is her name.

No one would ever fully comprehend the magnitude of love a parent gives to their children in the purest of form. The Father not only created a garden for his children to live on, but also gave them the gift to bear their own ‘The Miracle of Birth.’

As the youngest of my siblings, I wished for another baby at home. I wanted someone to care for, to dress, to play with, someone to teach, someone little to love. Since he wasn’t in my parents’ plans I had calculated that if I married by 25 I could bear all of my three children by 30, just like my mom. So I picked their genders and even their names.

It’s amazing how much a woman can desire to have children. The wound ‘desired birth’ can be in a woman’s life from childhood. I learned that we can see perfection in our child’s eyes. I learned that a mother won’t give up on her child even when the child gives up on her. The desire to bear children only exaggerates with time. I am 31 now but not hopeless, I still dream that someday I may carry my own children and play with them, and teach them of their Heavenly Father. And if I don’t carry any of my own, I will still consider that God can bring someone else for me to raise, be it here or in heaven!

This text is dedicated to my mom, Olivia, who has passed down her love for children to me and now enjoys three more bundles of joy from my brother, her three funny, cute grandchildren!

Happy Mother’s Day, May God bless your mom, the mother of your children, or whichever mom you may be associated with. I praise God for making us women, and giving us the desire to love unconditionally! And praise God for the men who have or will fight for an everlasting joy with us, the love of our dear Father!

Landscape Architecture, Life, Short Stories, Travel, Work

Pure Michigan I

During the summer of 2016, I received an assistantship to help with research about water conservation. I was happy to stay working at the university. Around that time my advisor had shared with me a contact name of a medical doctor who was also a practicing landscape architect in the state of Michigan. I wrote to her asking if I could shadow her research on therapeutic garden design. She gave me a better offer. On her email, she asked, “would you be interested to help in the design for a hospice therapeutic garden in Marquette, MI?” I went on to respond that it would be a great opportunity and accepted her invitation right away.

Up to the conclusion of the semester in the spring, my dissertation research had been on mental illness. Unfortunately the topic was so broad that I was struggling to narrow it to one mental illness. The year before, a few friends had suffered with seasonal depression so I chose to study the benefits of nature to battle depression. The hospice project was going to be the perfect opportunity to elaborate both research and design methods for patients and caregivers suffering with depression!

On August of 2016, I arrived at the Cherry Capital Airport in Traverse City, Michigan. I fell in love with the area. The turquoise water, the cherry farms, the hilly roads, and fantastic views were beautiful and full of life. Dr. Westphal picked me up, and brought me to a French restaurant to eat crepes. Later, she drove me around the city and finally to my new home for the next 19 days. We turned into a long dirt road ‘Blue Water Road’, drove through the cherry farms and tall grasses, and pulling up to park, we arrived at one of the most beautiful homes I’ve ever lived in. “We got it for free and have remodeled it,” Dr. Westphal explained. A friend phoned us knowing that we had moved a house before. We decided to take it and brought it here. They had turned it into a two story trailer home. “You’ll be staying here, you’re welcome to join us for dinner tonight,” she handed me the keys to the house and also to a Prius. Dr. Westphal’s house is located in the highest point of Traverse City, very close to where I was staying.

That summer I lived heavenly! It was a very beautiful experience. I had the time of my life with the best schedule. I did a lot of reading, drawing, cooking, cleaning, hiking, and plenty of swimming. I also got to jump off of a cliff for the first time, it only took me 45 min? I witnessed my advisor gracefully jump and show me how to get it done. She said, “this is how you do it” and jumped – straight in she went, into Lake Superior’s fresh water. We drove up from Traverse City to Marquette ‘the project site’ twice. We stayed at her friend’s cabin. A beautiful cabin. My mind was so in tune with the area, my imagination just burst, and joy really filled my heart.

So much happened in those 19 days. I met Norma, a wonderful lady from church, whose husband had built a round house. It literally looked like half of a giant white ball sunk on the ground. It was cute, she became my best friend at church, we even performed together, she played the piano very well but never wanted to do it in public. She also enjoyed poetry, and we exchanged a few of our poems with each other. She said, “Melody, friends come and go, you will have friends for a lifetime, you may have some for a few months, and there will even be the one friend that you get for a day, a few hours, it’s a part of life.” This is the hardest thing for me to grasp, I love having friends, the closest ones who you can talk about anything and laugh even when neither is funny, but just out of the joy we bring to each other. Life is too short to let those friends go, but we have to… let our love go in their hearts.

Back to the trailer – I loved the little house! Every morning my view were trees. In one occasion, there were three pileated woodpeckers eating away, they were so beautiful, magnificent. Every morning, I would go for a walk around the cherry farms and soak in the beauty. I worked researching and designing back to back. I would drive to the tip of the peninsula, swim, read some more, and then stop by the grocery store to make a warm meal. A taste of life, a taste of heaven, a taste of God’s love toward us. That was my experience, living on my own for the first time.

We humans really aren’t in need of much aside from God’s love. Everything lines up when we give him control. We may not live in vacation land, but we do have the choice to be happy, to live and love freely. Unfortunately, the world has a monetary system engraved in our minds. We work to live and vice versa. Shelter and food will one day be equal for all, not in our time but in God’s time. I’m a very passionate person but I have to remember to be patient and to trust in God’s time. We don’t stop working but we work trusting in the best for everyone, and believing this way we work harder, happier, and representing God’s image to others.

Let God’s love flow from you, you will be rejected, but don’t be discouraged, we give love without expecting anything in return. Wherever place has marked your heart – don’t stop dreaming about it. Live it out, share this place with others. Go back – maybe – and make new memories, there or somewhere else. Make love happen in your heart and before the eyes of God. Jesus said, freely you have receive, freely give. Live today as if it where the last day of your life!

May you cherish the opportunity to live, praise God from whom all blessings flow!