So often we throw things away because it is not what we want, when we want it. Cherish what God gives you. The true gift may not be in sight immediately, just trust in God for revealing it..... in His time. (Nannette Moses)I was raised by a very loving and affectionate family where hugs and kisses were an essential part of our lives. Being the first girl of the family, everyone was very fond of me - I was their princess, and everyone wanted to give me the best, and the best - is and will always be, out of LOVE.
My parents taught me the importance of money at a very young age. My papa worked hard alongside with my mama who budgeted everything accordingly. Education was the topmost priority. I wasn't spoiled with gifts all the time, but whenever they did - they always made sure it was the best and the best need not be expensive. This is how I learned how to "wait", and also appreciate the value of everything given to me in whatever form it is.
According to my mother, I seldom ask them to buy me something when I was little, and when I find something I like in toy shops, I smile and point at it, but when they say "no" or "next time", I don't frown or nag or throw tantrums at them, and this is one thing my mama finds most touching. She'd rather buy dainty and modest clothes by the way, than toys, for the very obvious reason.
There's this one toy I remember though, that I really really wanted - a "cash register set". It was around 3,000-5,000 that time, would you believe? Yes, it's the whole set with a slider, a sort of "RFID", credit cards, coins, paper money, and groceries. That time, I already knew it was expensive (because anything 3 digits was classified as expensive, according to my dad) so I didn't ask them to buy it. It was a 'want', and not a 'need'. Also, I already had a little sister and I knew how expensive her milk and food was. And I had polly pockets and barbie dolls to play with anyway. For some odd reason, I really wanted the cash register that time so I wrote to Santa Claus instead. I even had my envelope sealed, with a kiss. The address? NORTH POLE OF COURSE, c/o his elves. I put my envelope in my sock, told my mom to have it sent to the Northpole when the mailman visits the following morning. Ridiculous, I know, but we all believed in Santa Claus, right?
I prayed, prayed really hard to Jesus, that my letter would reach the Northpole just in time. Well, I didn't receive my cash register on Christmas day. And that was the first and last time Santa Claus broke my heart, but I didn't know my letter also broke my mama's heart - this, I came to know when I grew older, of course. (Once I find my letter, I'll post it here). And yes, she badly wanted to buy me that cash register right away and give Santa credit, but it was all too much to spend at that time due to an unexpected crisis.
I was sad, but not for long, and that's the beauty of being childlike.
Whenever we went to toy shops, I always passed by the area where the cash register was, admired it, and played with it a little, along with my imagination. That made me very happy already. In between, all four grandmas of mine were taking turns in surprising me with presents from their trips to malls, tyange's, the US, and Divisoria. So I had a variety of toys - new barbie dolls, cooking sets, medical kits, play doh, a baby Olgan (with milk that disappears and cherry disappearing from the spoon when you feed her), jackstone, board games, paper money (tons of it), and etc. I got preoccupied and very much content with the beautiful toys I had that I soon forgot the cash register. More than a year passed, if I remember correctly. Little did I know that they were all preparing me for what I wanted, and something greater.
I was the flower girl assistant when my mom and aunt were coordinating a wedding, and the reception was held at Edsa Shang. Since it was all over after lunch, we had time to roam around. I visited my favorite spot after a long time, and played with the cash register again on the shelf. New versions, new upgrades, yet still what I wanted. Suddenly my mom said, "pick what you like best". I couldn't believe it, even after it was thrown in a plastic bag (in the later years of my life I found out that my mom tried her best to budget monthly expenses well just to have a few out of the planned savings, for my toy) but my story didn't end there -
I was able to play with my cash register "completely". I'd be mommy of my baby Olgan and I'd go shopping for groceries (the cash register had credit cards, but hey who needs those when you've got a lot of cash? Yep, I was very rich - I had all the paper money in the world thanks to my lolas). I used my cooking set to prepare meals from the groceries I just bought, and hey - play doh meant burgers, spaghetti, fries, pizza, cheese (again, thanks to my lolas). When my baby Olgan gets sick, I take her to the doctor, played by myself, (yes, I once dreamed of being a doctor) and buy the prescribed drugs at the pharmacy that again, needed the cash register.
The greatest part : I was able to share everything with my little sister. We took turns in playing mommy, doctor, cook, cashier, having barbie dolls as assistants.
This is only one of the many stories that make me realize how God's hand over my life is reflected. If you've been reading my posts for quite some time, I think I've mentioned these lines all too many times, and I'll mentioned it again :
"God's time is the best time.
His timing is perfect.
Timing is everything.
Everything is made beautiful in His time.
God's delays are never denials."
If I had the cash register when I wanted it, I'd be stuck with the very limited items that came along with it and I might have grown tired of it. I also had no one to play it with.
Everything came along just in time, and even more so - I have something greater than a cash register : the best time and experience playing with it, and one of the most valuable gifts unwrapped yet again : my mother.
