First: God is like an experienced miner: He understands that in order to bring out the ‘purest gold’ in us, He has to dig deep into our bowels in order to haul tons and tons of raw dirt to be able to mine tiny bits of glistening, still unpolished pieces.
Once the pile of earth is done and the impure bits of gem is gathered, He subjects them all to the burning furnace of divine tempests so that from the fiery heat, the surest glitter will then shine the brightest, this time tempered by fire and water like a mighty sword.
Second: God is like a sculptor: Inch by inch, piece by piece He chisels away our thorny rough edges until our final form is thus helmed and shaped. The process, of course is deeply painful: He chops here then He sculpts there, removing what does not belong to His fine idea of creation until our very destined character is built for all the world to see the wonder of His unsurpassed magnificence.
Third: Man must wear a pair of discerning eyes tempered with the capacity to see through the illusory darkness and a heart able to penetrate deep into the very heart and nexus of reality.
Fourth: Truth is like the sun:The sun will continue to shine no matter what the weather is.
Fifth: My greatest writings were born in the midst of chaos, turbulence, trials, tempests and travails. Yet these troubling disturbances make every line authentic, lending credence to each and every shared narrative.
Yet conversely, there too in the midst of utter silence, wrestling with my God, I usually find the answers to my many questions.
Sixth: Great is the man who takes the guillotine for another, for taking the painful fall and the bullet for a fellowman. He is great because he fearlessly faces the onslaught, reminding himself that many times in the past, this friend has also covered his back for his many mistakes.
Yet greater is the one who, despite being betrayed, chooses the ultimate sacrifice of bending backwards against the counsel of men of his confidence and forgives the truly repentant, contrite and grieving soul.
If you find such a man, treasure him forever: His worth is beyond measure and thus incomparable, heaven-sent, surely a one in a million God-given gift.
Seventh: When you lose the trust of a friend because of your sins and errors in judgment, learn to embrace the consequences. Learn to turn your back and walk away so that the distance will somehow relieve the pain. Some things are never meant to be but rest in the comfort of His promise that His grace will be sufficient for your succor. Dum spiro spero, dum spero amo, dum amo, vivo.
Eight: Many things in this life are unforeseen by the human eye: Hence, the need to cast our faith wide into the unseen but tried and tested faithfulness of a loving, forgiving and a merciful God.
Ninth: If He was able to part the Red Sea, if He saved the three Hebrew youth from the cauldron and sure death, if He calmed the mouth of the lions, He will surely do no less for me and you today and forever.
Tenth: When we reach our wit’s end and could no longer find our way back home, trust His heart of hearts, believe in His ordained process. Men may disappoint us, yet He alone is constant and unchanging.
Dios te bendiga, Dios siempre, solamente y permanente!
