Living by F8 in 2008

That’s supposed to be read as Faith. If you write it in SMS text, the word Faith could be written as “F8,” right? Now while it is true that I could summarize 2008 as “living by faith,” the word F8 actually connotes more than that. Aside from Faith, I had 8 F-words that made this year truly remarkable.

First of all, let me give you a brief background. I have always had a fascination for words beginning with the letter F. I would understand why Studio 23 came up with a female-oriented show called “F” because there are really tons of fun F words that tickle the fancy of the female heart. F could stand for Fashion, Flicks, Film, Fiction, Feminism, Flair, Flirting… as well as cosmopolitan expressions such as Fabulous, Fantastic, Fantabulous, Fight (as popularized by Celine Lopez). There are also a lot of F words out there that are quite notoriously naughty and very popular to boot but I wouldn’t even dare write them down here. Hahaha. Anyway, I’m simply saying that I find the letter F lexically prolific.

And I think that I probably have this F-fetish embedded deep in my brain. I really had a trip laughing to myself when I realized, after writing my Year-Ender thanksgiving list to God, that all of the things I wrote down began with the letter F! Fascinating and Freaky at the same time! And here’s another thing… I was able to come up with 8 F-words. Hence I dubbed them “F8” – The 8 F things that I want to thank God this past year.

So without further ado and before we usher in 2009 here’s my F8 for 2008…

1) FAIRY TALE ENDING
I think everyone knows by now that I got married this year and not just to any man… I got married to the man of my dreams… MY FIRST LOVE… the Prince Charming in my own Fairy Tale. My wedding was a dream come true, God’s gift and a miracle all rolled into one. Just when I was about to throw the towel of love, God finally wrote the last chapter of my melodramatic maiden life and gave me a Happy Ending. As a writer, I have always fantasized my life as a movie. And true to form, our love story – from “When Joseph met Jill” until “My Big Fat Pinoy Wedding” – had all the elements of a romantic dramedy. Everyday I thank the Lord for the LOVE that he has given us. Every night in bed as I watch my husband go to sleep, I can’t believe that God granted my prayer to bring Joseph back to my life.


2) FAMILY
I have always been open about my family problems and how I used to ridiculously wish before that my future husband be an orphan so that I wouldn’t have to deal with in-laws. My logic was if I can’t even manage my own family, how much more somebody else’s? God obviously has a very good sense of humor because not only did He give me a husband with a very tight-knit brood, Joseph also has another BIGGER family that I have to marry – His church! However, I don’t think God would come out in the middle of everything and cry out “You’ve just been Punk’d Jill!” Putting me in this FAMILY is not a prank but His Good Plan, and I can’t thank God enough. Not only did He give me a new family to love and who will love me, God also screwed back on some loose nuts and bolts in my own family. My mom and I are in a more stable relationship now. I have reconciled with my sister. And I have buried the hatchet regarding some gripes that I’ve had with some of my aunts.

My mother-in-law & my Mom

3) FREEDOM
This year I thank God for giving me FREEDOM in my career and creativity. While it was painful getting fired from the TV show that I helped create and have grown to love, I thank God for that moment of Failure because I know with Him that could only mean Success is going to be next. And true enough, as I held onto Him during those times of disappointment, God delivered me from despair. I saw what God was doing in my career. He freed me from the clutches of that regular yet thankless job and blessed all my freelance endeavors with successes! I am overwhelmed with God’s generosity because He made all the Powerpoint and Video pitches I put together for this events company I am freelancing for win the project bids. While all I received was flack from my previous job, God showered me with affirmation – internationally renowned authors like Harold Sala and Neta Jackson leaving encouraging comments on my blog… big time directors like Rowell Santiago asking me to work for him… a silent vindication by making my previous TV show win an award for the season that I was still a part of. My freelance career in 2008 would have been a flop if not for God.

4) FINANCIAL PROVISION
One of my biggest worries after getting fired from my regular TV Show was the financial aspect of it. Knowing that at that point I could only rely on events which unfortunately don’t “normally” happen every week, I just surrendered the whole situation to God. And as always He never failed to amaze me with His openhandedness. I don’t know how God did it but He covered all our bills. He always gave me projects whenever we needed to pay for something. He even gave Joseph a wonderful promotion at work. He even provided for my hospital emergency. From our wedding to our new domestic life, God was our trustworthy financier. While the world’s economy was crashing down, good thing we didn’t invest in anything else except in God’s love. It’s the only stock that will never ever go down.

My Prayer Partners

5) F.R.I.E.N.D.S
Because I work from home, one of the disadvantages of this is the lessened encounter and contact with my friends. But thanks to broadband internet and cellular technology, being with friends and getting some encouragement from them doesn’t have to be at an arm’s length. I can actually summarize the significant friendship moments I had in 2008 by using the acrostic F.R.I.E.N.D.S. I thank God for the following…
F—Foes turned Friends. I won’t mention their names anymore but they know who they are. It is really God’s Grace that we were able to move on from whatever frictions we’ve had in the ancient and recent past. It is only by God’s love that we could now be amongst each other and truly care for each other like real old friends.
R—Readers of my Blog. Though I haven’t met most of them and only correspond to some through the comments box of my blog posts, and some through e-mail, I am so grateful to God for bringing these sweet strangers-no-more to my sphere. I feel blessed every time God uses my blog posts to minister to them. This is proof that sincerity cannot only come from old friends but also from faceless names that leave words of encouragement, wisdom and faith in my little corner in the World Wide Web. And of course, aside from the anonymous ones I thank God for my friends who tolerate my silliness and actually take the time to read my blog. Hahaha. There’s Lucy, Rich, Nonoy (who got inspired by my blog and decided to make one too, hehe)... Frances, and of course my Multiply Contacts. You know who you are (wink wink)
I—Intercessors. I would not have survived this year without prayers! I thank God for the people who interceded for my concerns and woes. My prayer partners Gracey, Anne, Bebbet, Arlyn, Mae, Queenie, Pam, Maca, Myrtle, Achi, Mich, Nice, PJ... Ladies thank you so much for always responding to my SOS’s.
E—Everybody who helped me… in the church ministry (the OMNI volunteer performers and the YAM)… in giving me projects (Direk Rich, Sir Mike, Sarah M, Perci, Tonyo, Sisa, Love, Gina, Direk Rowell and even Lucy for her referrals to QTV)… in my wedding (you know who you are, hehe!)
N—Neil Tan… wherever you are. He was my best gay friend for many years. The Stanford Blatch to my Carrie Bradshaw. So it was really tragic and up to now still unfathomable how and why he did that to our friendship. Neil, if you’re reading this I miss you and I am really praying that you’re alright, healthy and happy. I thank God for you despite what happened. The incident taught me a lot about forgiveness and forgetting.
D—Davao friends. My childhood friends always keep me grounded. Being with them always reminds me of where I came from thus humbling me in a lot of ways.
S—SSEAYP friends. Like my childhood friends, nobody else can give me the full monty on my foolishness than my best friends from SSEAYP. And just like my Davao friends, they’ve seen me fall in love, and fall off the cliff after every break-up, and finally seeing me begin my forever.

My Father

6) FATHER
Now this one is hard to tell without shedding a tiny tear. I thank our merciful God for my father’s life. Papa came to Manila on an emergency situation which I cannot expound more here. Bottom line is I am grateful that God protected his life and even planned out this opportunity for me to be able to mend my severed relationship with him. By God’s grace, Papa got to know Jesus while he stayed with us.

7) FERTILITY
And though this is a basically a trial, I thank God for this faith-stretching exercise. The entry of this fertility challenge in our married life is God’s way of saying “Let me run your marriage for you” Though there’s hurt, anxiety and bewilderment, the comfort of God’s promises swathes everything. It’s the kind of sorrow that brings joy because we know God is with us. We know He is in control. I am happy because I understand that God wouldn’t allow us to be complacent in our faith. He wants us to constantly need Him. This thorn in the flesh will definitely make us cry out for Him day in and day out.


8) FUTURE
All in all, I thank God’s faithfulness for this year would have really been a disaster if I had not sought His face. Every day, every hour, every minute and every second including the extra one that we will be having this 2008 is all God’s work. From the treats to the tests that I had this year – everything was from Him and therefore all of it was beautiful. If I had failed at a lot of certain points this year when it came to my intimate relationship with Him, the best thing about our God is that He can give us tomorrow. I thank God for the fantastic future He’s already set out for me in 2009.

Thank you, Lord Jesus... my shepherd... the lamp upon my feet...

"Shout for joy to the Lord; all the earth. Worship the Lord with gladness; come before Him with joyful songs. Know that the Lord is God. It is He who made us, and we are His; we are His people, the sheep of His pasture. Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise; give thanks to Him and praise His name. For the Lord is good and His love endures forever; His faithfulness continues through all generations." -- PSALM 100:1-5