Tribute to the pope

Believe
Ryan Magtibay

And the story started with a man who never really valued Him that much. A man who had a faith so vulnerable that a slight touch is enough to make it tumble and disappear completely. He thought it was enough. Until, the storms came.

It made him doubt. It made him lose inch by inch his so-called faith. It drove him to the point where he was all alone in the dark. It placed him on a situation that was full of questions, questions that seemed endless and unanswerable. He reached the point where he finally asked Him: “Why is my life miserable? Why is my life very different from those people who are very happy right now? Why do I have to be so different? Am I not deserving of their life?


I have a classmate who I idolize for his being God-fearing and for his incredible faith in God. And once more, I pitied myself. If only my life could have been like his, I would probably have a strong faith in God to. But I was wrong.

I went to their house one time. And he was able to introduce me to some of his relatives who live there. He was only able to introduce me to his mom, though. Why? His dad wasn’t there because of the simple reason that his mom and dad broke up years ago. And both of them have different families now. He belongs to a broken family.

And I do not. I have a family that remained strong through the years that passed. I know what it feels like sitting on the dinner table with every member of your family. And he doesn’t.

I realized that even though God took away from him the privilege of having his family intact, he still has faith in God. He accepted it. And only because it is His will. This made me feel ashamed. I realized God gave me an intact family and never even thanked Him for it.


Then there was the pope. I was able to watch the life story of Pope John Paul II. And it occurred to me: The pope went through a lot of hard times in his life, but his faith remained unscathed. He lost the last member of his family, his father, when he was twenty. He went through the World War II. Yet, he accepted everything and kept on following God’s will. He appreciated the good things God gave him and accepted those that are bad.



And then he realized God was with him all the time. All he needed to do was to look beside him and there He was. God didn’t make his life miserable; he made it look as if it is. All he needed to do was to appreciate the life given to him by God because all this time, he was invisible to himself.

“I’d rather be invisible to others than be invisible to myself.”

“God is with you. Just look.”