Sunday, December 05, 2004
*.* The Body of Christ *.*
I was at mass today, when the second reading struck me. Throughout the whole week, I was thinking about my Dec Camp Committee. Yes, I haven't gotten over the camp planning and all that.. I really wished Dec Camp is not yet over and we are still having the normal meetings and prayer meets. Ha.. for the first time in 2 months, I no longer had to stay back on a Sunday for meetings. And it felt a bit strange.. like something is missing.
Yeaps, Jeri is away in Canada and I miss her so much. That's why I keep in touch with her by smsing her the going ons of RCIY. And 3 days later, Ber is going off to army... RCIY will be different without him. Aaron is still as constant as ever.. being a good source of support for one another...And ken ken is so busy with his event management, which is a good thing cos he is earning money. Hee hee..
Anyway, back to the 2nd reading... I felt that this phrase was really appropriate to describe us.
"Now the God of perseverance and encouragement give you all the same purpose, following the example of Christ Jesus, so that you may together give glory to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ with one heart."
Romans 15:5-6
Honestly, I never did care about the outcome of the camp. Cos I know for sure, the outcome will be good and successful and that the catechumens will bring something back home. I always worked with this logic that as long as we give our best shot and hearts to God in service, "all things work for good for those who love God."
Perhaps that was one of the reasons why we had our Dec Camp celebration dinner before Dec Camp started.
But rather, when I took on the role of the i/c, I was more concerned about the growth of each one of us and the rciy sponfrienders committee. Each one of us was given opportunities to learn new things, to grow and to share.
For myself, I have learnt many things (which I will type in my next blog) but definitely, I wouldn't have grown without this group of people working with me. For a long time, I felt that I wasn't growing spiritually and psychologicially in RCIY. I felt I was more giving than receiving. But working in this committee has given me the opportunities to give as well as to receive plentifold.
The Dec Camp Committee didn't work on a bed of roses. We weren't very close to one another but rather, we came together because individually, we wanted to contribute to the Dec Camp planning with the purpose of fulfiling our "hidden purpose". Some of us wanted to become i/cs. Some of us wanted to do prayer. Some of us wanted to do treasury, etc.
But at the end of the day, irrespective of the roles we finally had, we were working together as a committee. So closely were we working with one another that I dare say we know at least 70% of what each other was doing.
Along the way, we were pissed with one another. We disagreed, we voiced our arguments, we flared up... but no matter how we may disagree, at the end of the day, we will find time in those cafes, coffeeclubs, MOS burger, void decks, etc to talk it out. Sometimes, we will talk for about 3-6 hours, all lasting into the wee hours of the morning. But honestly, much as I hate these talks, I have grown to like them cos through all these talking out, we have begun to understand one another and it brought our friendship to another level.
It is very encouraging to see my members working so untirelessly for the Dec Camp. Many times, I found it too dififcult to go on cos I was stressed, tired, and emotionally very drained. I was desperately looking for support that I couldn't easily find... or rather, this support comes and go. So most often, when I am at my lowest pits, when I am already super drained, I cannot move anymore. I had to resort telling God to move me instead. But this committee carried me... it was when I saw them giving themselves so untirelessly to the planning, that I had that extra boost of energy to give some more. Somehow, no matter how much I said I cannot give anymmore, I will still have some more to give at the end of the day.
I know that I was not the only one tired with the numerous meetings and background planning, discussion and executions. But no matter what, even if we cannot make it for the meetings, we will still hurry down after finishing our appointments or at best, meet up for the post-meeting chill out. This is the kind of commitment that I thank God for. And that continuously spurred me on to tahan and to give more. In a way, much as I wanted to be a mother hen for each one of us, the foursome carried me instead. And for this, I thank God for blessing me with these four.
"Now the God of perseverance and encouragement give you all the same purpose, following the example of Christ Jesus, so that you may together give glory to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ with one heart."
Romans 15:5-6
Though at times, we threw our hands up in exasperation and said "up to you!", "whatever!", "I give up!", the ironical thing was that we would be back in action after a short while. Our giving up was not giving up... our giving up was a temporary bus stop to refuel... and for this, God has been giving us the perseverance to tahan, to give our best shot even though sometimes we felt we were not emotionally equipped to do so. And when we fall, when we feel despondent, we gave each other that shoulder to cry on, that listening ear. It is through this encouragement, through this constant tender loving care and concern, that gave us that extra boost and affirmation to let go of that burden and move on.
Through all our prayer meets and sharing, through all the talks, through all the constant encouragement, affirmation and support we had for one another, we drifted away from our individual purpose and became common in one purpose - to make sure that the Dec Camp will be a good one ---> one that best benefits the catechumens.
We threw away our pre-conceived notion that I should be going this or that to "WE" should be doing this or that. When one person falls, there will be one of us, carrying that person and helping that person pick him/herself up.
To the Dec Camp Committee:
I am indeed very touched by each one of you. On the day we saw Jeri fly off, I was very touched when Jeri affirmed each one of us as family. Previously, when Kenny said that we are more like family (before the camp), I wasn't fully convinced. But now, I am convinced... cos we have grown to become comfortable with one another. We have shared openly with one another and we understand what we mean.. perhaps that was why we had good working relationships with one another during the camp.
I'm sure you have thanked God for his blessings and guidance over the past 2 months. Yeaps, I thank God tremendously cos indeed, we have grown individually in different ways. But no matter how different we may have grown, this growth has merged to one single growth - bringing us closer to God. Perhaps, that was why we were all fixed on serving with that ONE purpose - to serve God and to glorify Him. So that by glorifying Him, we may enable other people to share in His glory.
Yes... you are like family to me. For the first time in my many years serving in ministries, this is the first time I have experienced a family. And really, I thank God for giving us whatever we need, to continuously give, share and to love and forgive. We wouldn't have come so far without Him watching over us... we wouldn't have come so far if we let go of our pride and be focused on the ONE purpose - serve God.
Dec Camp has come to a close but as we get down to the other RCIY events and to the hassle and bussle of our lives, let us continue to share this familyness with one another. I always had a vision to see a ministry working as a "Body of Christ". Each one supporting, carrying and loving one another. So with this committee, the Body of Christ has been formed... let us extend this Body out to other people so that we may share the joy, peace and happiness of serving our Lord without any stint.
Thank you all of you for touching my life in small or big ways. I love each one of you! *huggies!*
A Child of God blogged @ | 5:02 pm
