A SPECIAL DEPARTMENT STORE

My column in Mindanao Daily, BusinessWeek Mindanao and Metro Cagayan Times

ONCE upon a time, I drifted back on my lifetime's way. My niece told me: that's a matter of aging. I smiled. Anyway, drifting back to old memories is not bad. That's sometimes really helpful.

During my journey back, I suddenly  saw a nameplate: Heavenly Department Store. I came closer. The door opened itself wider and wider. A swarm of angels gathered together. One of them presented a shopping basket to me. "Enjoy your shopping, but do it carefully!" Everything what a Christian needs, could be bought in this department store. If one couldn't carry everything home, one could be back next day, get the last bit and buy even more.

At first, I bought PATIENCE, the quality of enduring with calmness. LOVE, the human affection, was in the same shelve. A little bit deeper, I found SYMPATHY, the sharing of emotion, interest, and desire, and COMPREHENSION, the capacity of the mind to perceive and understand together with APPRECIATION, the setting of a valued one.

I added packages of WISDOM, the knowledge and the capacity to make use of it and additional bags of FAITH, the belief especially in a revealed religion. I relaxed a couple of minutes and then, I looked for STRENGTH, the important power or vigor and bravery and fearlessness. They should help me to continue my forward to future. I thought myself, that I shouldn't forget MERCY, the leniency shown to a guilty person, and REDEMPTION, the deliverance from sin.

My basket was already stuffed and I started looking for the cashier. One the way there, I found the PRAYER. I needed it to avoid running dead straight into a sin. An angel advised me also never to forget PEACE AND JOY, hymn of praise and chant.

Now it was really time to pay all those things. But the angel smiled and told me, "Take everything with you, where ever you may go." I asked, "What do I owe you?" The angel answered, "Nothing, somebody paid already your bills long time ago. His name was Jesus!"

I found this fabulous and wonderful fantastic story in my published documents from September 1988, during my time in Abra while writing a column for the mission oriented TINIG NG BAYAN - a magazine for Filipinos abroad. This here is a revised version, because my opinion is, that, no matter, where we are living on this globe especially noawdays in 2020, we should try to project this timeless legend on to our very personal daily life. You'll find out, that it helps to survive in our life struggles. It's important to realize that we must be able to administer wise our valuable treasure of vital life energy, instead of fritter away with it such as knick-knacks.

My dear readers: stay safe  - as always... .