Encouraging Treats

My sister (Camille) and I, along with our two dogs, got locked out of the house last night after going for a walk. It was crazy! Hahaha. But, it was also my fault. Before we left the house, I told our mom that I would bring the key with me. At that time, I thought she knew that I was referring to the gate’s key. However, after walking the dogs, we went back to the house and we found out that mom and I had a misunderstanding. By then, our parents had already left the house and locked both the main door and the gate.

“No way. No way!!” This was our initial reaction. Haha. Of course! We were locked out of the house; our other family members were still outside; we didn’t have our phones; we didn’t have money; we only had the key to the gate; and we (including our fluffy dogs) were very thirsty.

But, despite the trouble, God gave us peace and this encouraged us to find joy in Him while experiencing the crazy and funny situation. After a few minutes, we then resolved to walk to our uncle’s house (where our grandmother and niece live) which was almost a kilometer away from our place, with the two dogs.

I remember telling my sister how interesting the experience was. For some reason, I wanted to watch a movie that night, but God had better plans for me; for us. Because we got locked out of the house, we were able to experience these blessings last night:

• Sibling bonding by walking in the village with our two dogs, Copper and Clue.
• Enjoyed our stay at our uncle’s house with our Lola, niece (Marielle), and cousin (kuya OB), while waiting for our house keys.
• Free dinner and dessert c/o Lola!
• Brisk walking at night! (2 kilometers, baby! Plus, occasional weight lifting. Hahaha. Clue was pretty heavy.)
• Enjoyed the awesome, cool weather.
• Protection while walking around.
• Privilege of trusting and hoping in God.

Thankfully, our lola had a duplicate set of house keys, so we borrowed hers and went home by 10 pm. Woohoo! And of course, because it was such a memorable evening, my sister and I documented it by taking photos of the door/gate’s lock and of ourselves with the furballs!

While I was taking photos of the gate’s lock, I noticed that the word “Faultless” was engraved on it. Somehow, God used it to encourage me because I remembered how it was my fault that my mom and I had a misunderstanding, which led to us being locked out of the house. But, instead of focusing on my past mistake and regretting about it, He encouraged me to learn from it, get back up again, and focus on His goodness and purpose for it.

“”My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength
of my heart and my portion forever.” [Psalm 73:26]

Before the day ends, I’d like to share this tune with you. It’s one of TobyMac’s songs called “Get Back Up”. I really get encouraged by this song, especially after experiencing failures/mistakes, because it reminds me of the hope that I have in Christ — the One who never fails.  :)

God bless you!