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Brokenness
I was part of one of the many catholic families in the Philippines. I grew up practicing the beliefs and traditions of a catholic including praising the statues that can be found inside their churches. I came from a broken family. My parents had already separated when I was still at a young age. My grandparents were the ones who raised and cherished me since then. Words are not enough to describe how much love they have given me. I know for myself that I have always loved my grandparents more than my parents.
Growing up without my parents was difficult. This led me to become rebellious. I made friends whom I learned with in drinking alcohol, in taking drugs and worst of all, in having relationships with the same gender. Every time I got drunk, I tend to pick fights with anyone that came in my way. When I got into college, I was still the same with all my actions. With that, my father decided to send me to Japan to my mother. He thought that it would made me change and be a better person. However, nothing changed. I met my wife here in Japan. We had our first daughter, Rain, and got married in year 2013. My relationship relationship with my wife was not good in the early years of our marriage. We always fought and there came a point that I wanted to leave her, but I could not do it because I love my daughter so dearly. I didn’t want her to grow up in a broken family. As years passed by, we had another two children, Jazz and Cavin, and our relationship got better.
My Saviour
I was proud showing my tattoos because I think they were cool. I pierced my ears and committed many sins against God. Despite all these sins, He showed compassion to me. My Christian friend visited us more often since he and his wife became Christians. They always tried to convince us to attend Sunday service at their church. I saw how God worked on the life of my friend. Because of that, if it is possible with him, that change can also happen to me. The 9th of July in 2017 was a memorable day for me and my wife as this was the day that we first attended a bible study. On that same day, me and my wife accepted Jesus Christ as our Saviour. Never did I imagine that someone like me would become one of the children of our Almighty God. My relationship with God eventually
became deeper than ever.
God’s Blessing
I learned a lot in listening to the messages of the pastor of the church we attended before and with the sharing of our brothers and sisters. One of these learnings is that we should not praise the statues of Jesus Christ, Mary and all the other saints. With that, we surrendered to the church all the statues we had at our house. Furthermore, I learned that we should not make any harm or dirt in our body. From the day I accepted Jesus Christ, I always hide my tattoos because they are something that you can’t be proud of. As for my drinking issues, it was a long process but God healed me. We are so much blessed by our God because at the young age of our children, they already have a deep knowledge and understanding on who truly God is. At this point of my life, I know that God is always at the center. His works are truly all-powerful.
Freedom, love, truth, contentment and hope are just some of the many blessings I received from God. I stopped wandering when I learned the right path to God. Now, we are a family of six, me, my wife, our three adorable children and most importantly, our one Almighty God.
For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God
Ephesians 2:8