"This is your safe place", Rhiza said. And from there I just knew that finally found a place to belong.
I've
waited so long for this, and when I arrived all I could say was "FINALLY,
FINALLY. . . I'M HERE.".
Back in
2016, I chanced upon a photo that encapsulated my teenage daydreams - warm,
pretty lights; arms stretched high; letters and ___, and music. I stalked
further, and found out that PURSUIT MANILA, is a community of WOMEN, who share
the same faith. WOMEN, who are driven by that faith, to create and inspire and
just be. WOMEN, who love Christ above all things, and are sharing that love to
the world through their passion, abilities, and businesses. WOMEN, who worship
together, pray together and for each other, inspire and encourage one another.
I wanted
to be part of that.
I wanted
to belong to a community like that.
 |
This
pink rose brought a smile to my heart.
It's
as if Jesus himself is telling me that pretty things and
sweet
gestures like this need not come from a man.
|
It was
something I had been longing for since 2013 - the year I rediscovered my
relationship with Christ, the year I first finished the "Purpose Driven
Life", the year I made a commitment to be woman after His own heart. In my
journey, it was hard to be alone. Yes, I had my sister, I had church mates, but
there was still that missing piece of "belonging".
Fast
forward to this year, I still haven't seen any updates from their instagram
account about when the next gathering would be. But just last Friday, I
received a facebook group invite from Rhiza herself (Rhiza Oyos is the founder of Pursuit
Manila) and that to me was God Himself
moving! Perhaps my name
was familiar because of my Lettergram purchase? In any case, she invited me on a Friday, of all days! I was
having a terrible week, a heavy heart full of pain and resentment, and I was
crying when the facebook notification popped up! AMAZING GOD! The
wonders didn't just end there - I think they had only 2 slots left and I wasn't
sure I'd get one but I registered anyway. It didn't take long for Karen to send
a message about the event's reminders! WOW. Just wow!
My long
awaited moment finally came! All mixed feelings especially because I came in a
little late, but the timing couldn't have been more perfect because of where I
was seated. I was blessed to have met four ladies I could call my spiritual
sisters - Janna, Issa, Grace, and Gail. Everyone's story was a tug in the
heart, and what pulled strings was how they responded to mine. It was
definitely not by chance that I sat with them, and I really felt that God spoke
to my heart through them. Thank you.
It was an
afternoon of all things lovely - a beautiful welcome gift basket filled
with works of heart, a
long festive table with pots of flowers and passion cards, mood lifting lights,
decore with a scandi flare, an amazing dessert table, singing in praise and
learning from Joanna, romantic sax instrumentals, Madz' sharing, and of course
every woman in the room who is a living testimony of His grace.
Take
Aways :
"We cannot give what we don't
have".
 |
It's
a gift basket filled with wonder!
This
made my heart giddy <3
|
No matter
how many times I've heard it, it's still challenging to keep myself focused on
how He loves me, and how His love never runs out, how His love never fails. It
is indeed true, in its most literal sense. We
can't give someone a cupcake if we didn't even buy one, can we? But
His love, His love is free even if we don't deserve it. His love doesn't have
to be bought, or earned! Until we really,
really let Him love us, our love tanks will run empty.
But as
flawed as I am, I tend to love on my own strength and think it's
"EVERYTHING" I could give and then blame other people for falling
short of how they love me. I am still a work in progress, and I guess my
challenge is to completely allow God to love the people I love, THROUGH ME, and
ALLOW MYSELF TO BE LOVED BY THEM. "We cannot receive what we don't want". More about that in a different post.
One great
piece of advice that I kept so dear was to "communicate my love
language", and also listen to theirs. It made me see things in a different
light, and believe all the more that I shouldn't give up no matter how hard
things are. I won't. I won't.
Perhaps
this time, I will love not with my strength, but with God's.
I will
love not with my own version of love, but with the only true version of the
real source, who is love himself. I will love, because He first loved us.
Love,
TWH
SEE WHAT'S INSIDE THE BASKET!
<scroll through as you please>
I'm a
lover of all things handmade (and local!)
Especially
if they're made from the heart <3
