My Perpetual Helper

One Filipino trait that I am not keen on is "paggaganti".  "Gantihan mo ng ganito o ganoon" (Pay him back with this and that evil deed).

I want to turn it around and make it a good trait.  "Gantihan natin ang kabaitan ng iba!" (Let's pay him back with kindness!)

Let me start.  

"Gaganti ako sa aking mahal na ina."  (I am going to pay back my beloved mother.)

It is no longer May but I think it is even more appropriate to honor my mother because she never wanted to be honored for all the things she did.  She was kind, but she was strong.  She was strong but she was gentle.  She was gentle but she was not weak.  She was mostly quiet but she was powerful.  She is a daughter of Mary.

Since I could remember, I always wanted to be like my mother.  In fact I wanted to always be connected to her.  From a very young age, I always needed to sleep beside her and she would always find a leg of mine or a hand trying to be connected to her part of the bed.

I would always prefer lying down in a mat beside her in the bed because for much of my youth, she was the source of my joy.  She listened to me the most.  When my tummy was full of air, she would give me a soothing balm.  When I needed to go to the hospital, she would forego the joy of crafting to stay with me every day.  When I had a problem in school, she would be the first to make sure it got resolved. It would be impossible for me to honor her enough.


There was a day that I distinctly remember.  My friend was in need and I could not think, no matter how hard I tried - to resolve it.  I told my mother thinking that she would also get as anxious as I was.


My mother's name is Socorro, named after Our Lady of Perpetual Succour.  She truly lived up to her name.


My mother reassured me that day that she would help me.  Should could not think of a solution right then and there but the mere fact that she said she would help me helped cast out all anxiety from my mind.  She encouraged me in the true sense of the word.  She helped me to remove all fears from my mind and replaced all of these with COURAGE.


Eventually, with this newfound confidence, I was able to be clearheaded enough to think of a solution and my friend was all the better for it.  This catapulted me into a life of generosity but this I cannot claim to be my own.  It came from the heart of a GENEROUS MOTHER.


My mother is beautiful not because she was born that way.  It was because she had (and still has) the heart of a beautiful mother - like our Mother Mary.


This is why I said yes to my husband Pat, whose birthday month is June.  Gaganti din ako kay Pat kasi wala na siya sa Facebook!  Hehehe!  My husband Pat is like my mother.  He is the person who listens to me the most (a little too much sometimes) (to be continued).

Thank you Mommy!