Encouraging Treats

When I got home from work today, I started looking for an old photo of me and my younger brother, Gabriel. I did this because I wanted to post it on his Facebook since it’s his birthday in a few hours. Interestingly, as I was going through the photos, I was reminded of one of the memorable experiences that I had with him before. I think I was still in the second grade when this happened and Gabo was still in kindergarten.

At that time, my mom would occasionally ask me to get some medicines or tools from her clinic and bring them inside our house (which was actually connected to the clinic). This task involved the ff. steps: Going through a dark room, finding and switching on the lights, getting mom’s things, switching off the lights, and running back home alive. Haha. It was funny because I remember being afraid of the dark so much that I needed to “force” and/or plead my younger brother to come with me to the clinic. (Thank you, Gabo!)

After some time, my parents found out about my fear and encouraged me by saying: “Nicole, remember that Jesus is in you. Jesus is with you. You don’t have to be afraid of the dark.” And by God’s grace, after that, I gained the confidence and had the courage to go inside the clinic by myself as I communicated with Jesus. “I am not afraid because Jesus, You’re with me.”

I praise God because at a young age, He allowed me to experience His presence in my life. I also praise God for my parents who intentionally encouraged me to seek Him when I was tempted to be afraid.

Also, as I grew in my relationship with God, I realized that in this world, I will still encounter “scary”, discouraging, “seemingly impossible” and “hopeless” situations. But, God said in His word that He will never leave us nor forsake us (Hebrews 13:5) and I continue to hold on to this truth. I continue to dwell on who He is in my life and how He is so much greater than anything negative in our lives.

For this Thursday’s tune, I wanted to share with you a song that closely speaks to my heart. It has been a great source of encouragement to me as it reminds me of our Heavenly Father who is always with us. May this song encourage you as well! :)

♫ Our faith is sealed
Our hope is real
Come what may
We’re not afraid.

We can trust our God
He knows what He’s doing…  ♫