Today is a reminder that God will always come through for his children, no matter what the situation or circumstance may be. He will NEVER leave our side, even if we are disobedient or just plain stubborn. He will always guide us to the right path and will never fail us.  How do I know this for sure? Because today, I almost died.

This weekend, my ever so fearless friend and hali love—Macy, invited me to drive up to Baler with her and her officemate Cha Faye. Not thinking about the travel time or the hassle it would be to drive under this kind of weather, we pushed through with our trip.

So after our fun-filled weekend, Mace and I decided to drive back to Manila by ourselves. Though our friends were telling us to stay til Monday, we didn’t really have much of a choice since it is Father’s Day and Mace wanted to make it in time for dinner. Although a tiny part of us were worried about driving alone (we weren’t really familiar with the directions and all), we didn’t mind because Cha Faye lent us her EVER SO TRUSTY GPS, so pretty much, we’d be safe——we were proven wrong. Apparently, the GPS device calculated the shortest distance from Baler to Cabanatuan. Sounds good? Think again. It DID show us the shortest route…… but it also led us to the ROAD LESS TRAVELED. Literally speaking, the road was not travel-friendly as it was a long and winding road of nothing but mud, rocks, running water, and never-ending cliffs. We were stuck in Sierra Madre for about 4 hours but it seriously felt as if we were lost and hopeless for 4 days.

  Just to give you a scenario of what we went through: 

 We passed by a zig-zag road filled with mud due to the recent landslide. Mind you, the road was really narrow and one wrong turn or even the slightest miscalculation could cause your car to plunge in to the cliff. Since we weren’t panicking yet, we did take a couple of photos, just to remind ourselves of one small thing: “WAG MATIGAS ANG ULO”.

 Mud, anyone? Okay, but kidding aside, the photos are nothing compared to the real thing. That was just the start of our hell-of-an-adventure. Towards the middle of the road, we found ourselves stuck in thick clay-like mud. The car would no longer move and we were already revving towards the side of the road and off to the cliff. Good thing a truck appeared from behind us and two strangers offered to push our car to safety. After that major road block, we were relieved to see that the car was already moving on its own. We were wrong. 

We were then greeted by what seemed to be a never-ending road filled with ginormous rocks and other whathaveyou’s. We must have spent about an hour on that rocky road, and although we heard nothing but bumps and cracking noises, we didn’t really mind as we were too focused on making it out of there—ALIVE. 

Next, we had the pleasure (insert sarcasm here) of meeting a motorcyclist who was kind enough to warn us about the bridge up ahead, saying things like “Ingat kayo, marami ng namamatay at nahuhulog na kotse duon sa kahoy na tulay na yun. Makitid kasi”. Mace and I got somewhat pissed at the guy for making things worse, but we tried not to take it out on him. Hindi nga naman makakatulong kung magkakapikunan o mag-pa-panic pa kami, so we just thanked him and moved along.

A few minutes after, VIOLA! There it was, the wooden bridge that looked very old and unstable. I went down to check whether the car would make it or not, but Mace refused to drive across the bridge. A thousand thoughts were already going through my head but I had to stay calm…. until she stepped out of the car, CRYING. That’s when I started to cry, too. We were like two lost girls, crying in the middle of nowhere, trying to comfort one another. Whatiz maalaala mo kaya moment?  :| Anyhoo, good thing another truck appeared from behind us and offered to drive the car across the bridge. They even offered to stay behind us, just in case something would happen. Surely, we met a couple of living-angels that afternoon. Thank you for sending them to us, Lord.

So to cut it short, it took us about 4 hours to get to Cabanatuan.  We could’ve passed by the safe route (see picture below), but instead, we took the f*cked up route (pardon my french, I can’t help it.)

Look what Sierra Madre did to Macy’s car :( Malinis-linis na yan sa lagay na yan kasi umulan na. Kahit sa bubong and side mirrors, whatthehey?!

So there, when we got to Cabanatuan, that’s when it really hit us. God was with us all along. How?

While passing through that rocky road (after being slightly submerged on thick mud), we started praying the rosary. It was raining that time and we were starting to get worried for a possible landslide. We prayed hard for the rain to stop and guess what? IT DID.

After praying, Mace and I were ranting about how worried and tired we both were. Much to our surprise, her ipod started playing Bob Marley’s “Three Little Birds”. In case you are not familiar with that song, it is quite famous for the line “Don’t worry about a thing, ‘Cause every little thing gonna be all right.”  Could be plain coincidence, but I seriously got goosebumps.

On our way home, we did nothing but talk about our realizations in life. We were reminded of how important faith is, because really, only that can save you, and guess what? IT SAVED US.

So when I got home, I hugged Macy reaaal tight and told her how thankful I am for the trip. Sure it was fun (the surf part, that is) and hella scary, but it did remind me of one important lesson. It gave me a whole new perspective on life and faith during times of trial and adversity. Seriously, it was a traumatizing experience, but I wouldn’t wanna have it any other way. I guess he really wanted to knock some sense into my head (much like that surfboard did when it hit me right smack on my head).

Lastly, when I got home, I called up my friend Nerry, told her about the whole thing, and cried the entire time. She told me to get some rest and to pray really, really hard, and so I did. I opened the bible randomly and guess what I read?

Jeremiah 31:16 – Restrain your voice from weeping and your eyes from tears; 17- there is hope for your future; 18- you disciplined me like an unruly calf, restore me and I will return; 21- Set up the road signs, put up guide posts, take note of the highway, the road that you take. Return, O Virgin Israel!; 22- How long will you wander, o unfaithful daughter?; 25- I will refresh the weary and satisfy the faint.

 You see, I’ve been struggling through my personal battle, and he spoke to me through the bible. He told me not to be weary, and to remain faithful, esp. in times of crisis.  Seriously Lord, how can I not be moved by this? By YOU?  I’m sorry for doubting you. I’m sorry for making it hard for you to always love me. I’m sorry for being careless of my words and actions.  Araw mo ‘to, pero ako pa binigyan mo ng regalo,

So why am I blogging about this very personal experience? I want to share it with you, so you too, would be inspired to keep the faith burning, just as he inspired me.

He is indeed a loving father. Happy Father’s Day, Lord. I love you.