Surving Long-Distance Relationships

According to Wikipedia

” A long-distance relationship (LDR) is typically an intimate relationship that takes place when the partners are separated by a considerable distance.”.

Ahem. Ahem.

Raising both hands, presently I’m in it but not forever.  🙂

How to survive an LDR?

Being across thousand of miles  is never and will never be an easy task.

Those of us who’ve tried, still trying and still on the same situation,

know how diiiiiffffffffficcccuuuuuuuuullllllllllllllltttttttttt  it is.

So for those of you who are on the on the brink of trying your hands into it remember…

It needs LOTS of EFFORT , TIME, PATIENCE, UNDERSTANDING, TRUST

AND MOST OF ALL LOVE

and PRAYERS.

Building a happy and peaceful ambiance in a relationship will need a lot of those factors written above in order to maintain and nurture the relationship.

There are moments wherein long-distance situations are sometimes unavoidable, so I don’t have a blanket opinion that waiting is a bad idea.

Well like the famous saying goes…

” Absence really does make the heart grow fonder.” .

Been reading some articles online and had a good encounter from  -columbia.edu , click on this to go to the site.

” To consider the future of your relationship, it might be helpful to take a few steps back and evaluate your own feelings.

Do you still care deeply for him or her, or have your feelings waned after six months apart?

Is your relationship still fulfilling, or would you be happier on your own?

Depending on how you feel, it may provide clues to a future direction.

Despite how hard it is be far away from someone you care about, distance can be a blessing in disguise.

Proximity can lead us to take people for granted, whereas being apart allows us to know someone in a truly different way. The extra effort you both make to keep in touch, whether through phone calls, email, or snail-mail, can foster a special intimacy. In the end, you may learn more about each other’s personalities, values, ideas, and dreams than folks who spend time together every day. Face-to-face relationships can grow stale and filled with superficial conversations and few, if any, meaningful heart-to-hearts.

Have you considered talking with your partner about how you’re feeling? Maybe s/he is wondering about the same things you’re considering in the future. If both of you want to be together, then you can begin to strategize about ways to make this happen, to make things possible.

• Will you need to wait until you achieve your individual goals?
• Can one of you transfer locations? Or change jobs? Also leave the possibility open that you may continue in this long-distance arrangement for a while, and that would be okay, too.

Before being in a long-distance relationship, take time to think about your feelings and ways to make the most out of being apart. There are many “right” ways to be involved in a loving relationship, and only time will tell if yours will last.

 Ours did and with God’s help I’m hoping it will stay strong and stand  the test of time.  We have a joyful ending  but not the so called fairy tale finale love story “wherein the characters lived happily ever after ending.”.

 But I can say we feel happy and blessed.

 It’s not perfect we’ve been through trials, ups and downs but we stayed solid together having faith in GOD that our relationship will be a work in progress.

Both of you should  be willing to make a commitment to help your partner work through the things going on in his or her life.  In any relationship it’s a two-way thing, it takes two to tango but it takes three to work it out to have the best  relationship, why three?  

you, God and your partner.

The happiness I feel  when I and my partner pray together is the best feeling, encouragement and expression of love I ever experienced and will always love experiencing.

 It is still and always be God who decides on our future.

He will not just  give you someone who’s good nor better,

He will bless you the BEST. If you only let HIS perfect will be done in your life.

So have faith in Him and seek our Father even in our relationships no matter how across the miles it is.

Yes, Long-distance relationships do survive,

with a grateful heart ours did.

Stay happy and blessed.  Remember this, it’s between…

you, God and your partner.

You and I with GOD

Mama, in loving memory of you.

Looking back, I had written this post for my dear Mama last year for Mother’s Day. I love and I miss her so much, this time I have to face my greatest fear of losing her. Now that she’s peacefully with our Almighty Father,  I want to share this to remind myself, our family and all the people who loved her of the beautiful memories she left us.

Mama, this is in loving memory of you.

It  is virtually impossible, describing a mother’s love.

It is a feeling that can only truly be understood by those that experience it.

I can’t imagine, Where would I be without Mama?

 I once have all these worries when I almost lost my Mom but with God’s never ending grace to us, to me He always saved my Mom. I thank GOD for everything, God knows that my Mom is one of my sources of strength, I already lost my father and I know I can’t afford to loose my Mom, I’ve been pleading to HIM not now, not yet, bless us with more days with her, happier days. I treasure my Mom so much because I’ve seen and experienced for quite a number of times how her life was put into a test, due to illness, she had heart attacked several times, she had stroke for almost ten times, the  amazing thing of all our good LORD always saved her, always lengthen her days, her life and I will be forever grateful for that.

Looking back, I am always reminded of the fighting spirit that she always showed to us. The smile, the tears, the laughter, the sadness that we shared together. Being the eldest in the family, I and my Mom often have our heart to heart talk about our lives, decisions to  be made, arguments,so many memories together, we are magkatuwang in almost everything. I’ve seen how much she had tried her very best to provide us a good life, her being the mother and the father in the family, it’s not easy. I remember all those nights that I would wait for her to come home sometimes late at night and I could see the tiredness in her eyes to earn a living for us, I silently uttered a prayer always for God to give her more strength and seeing this situation, it has continuously inspired me to do better in things that I do so that one day I can help her. I’ve told myself one day I could give her the best in life and I thank GOD for allowing me to do so.

 As I am writing this post I started to cry because once again I am being reminded how deeply blessed I am, we are for having Mama. And I would not want to miss this chance to once again let her know how much love I have for her. I had written several poems, stories about and because of her.

 I have so many memorable days with Mama and up to now we are counting and adding more memories, but there’s one of the many that’s so memorable to me it was a day before my birthday, a day before she had a major stroke and we have to rush her to the hospital. But not all people knew that night before, the last thing she even thought of was the preparation for my birthday. Mama knocked on my room and asked me ” What dishes will we have for your birthday, tomorrow? What preparations we have to make?”. We talked and then went back to our bedroom, calling it a  night. But then again a few minutes later, my sister was banging the door of my room,” “Ate, Mama’s having an attack” and so the story goes…On that day, my birthday we were at the hospital, at the Heart Center and I’m still in my pajamas but I don’t care anymore how I look as I am trying to hold back my tears, asking for strength, I just care for her nothing else. She’s in coma, I can’t bear seeing her in that condition, especially being the eldest I have to show courage but deep inside I am slowly tearing apart. I knew my Mom was also counting on me.

 When I saw her lying on bed, I just held her hands and prayed. My mother was barely able to let the words escape her lips. An ineffable fear and pain came over me. My mother and I both held each other and shed tears of pain and the unexpected. On that moment,  I saw strength in Mama, though she’s in a coma I know she could hear me,  my eyes filled with tears I whispered to her, ” we will get through this, just be strong, we got to be strong for each other, God is good everything will be fine with God’s help, don’t worry, you’ll be okay, don’t give up.”  I will never forget that moment. The main force that kept me with a positive attitude was the love, and support from family, friends and most of all my faith in GOD.

 Throughout the most trying time in her life, she remained solid as a rock. Thankfully, she is a “survivor” with God’s help.

 Through the years, the more I realized that she’s really a woman of true strength, her courage and determination has withstood the test of time and these things has a great influence on me on how I view life. Honestly, I have never seen anyone overcome a hurdle quite like these with such abundant grace from GOD considering how many times she’s been in and out of the hospital.

 The more I realized it’s really the wonderful works and  miracles of GOD. He’s in control of everything, our life, my Mama’s life. God has taken this astonishing victory in our lives, I know it’s all because of HIM.

 Our  hardships and experiences together  have given me strength, determination, and character. I now see the value of life and all that it has to offer. I awake every morning considering each day a blessing from above and a true gift, knowing Mama is with us, alive and well.

 The Almighty blesses us the greatest mom in the entire world for a number of reasons. It is simply not possible to express my love and admiration for Mama,  not only is she the most compassionate woman I know, but she is the strongest, most understanding mother and my best friend. She would do anything for anyone, never expecting a thing in return. She has a heart that one can only love, and a drive for life to inspire.

 Mama,  We love you so much…

I LOVE YOU, I’ve been deeply blessed because I have you. 

Thank you for everything.

 Quoting these words:

 “And more than anything, a Mother is God’s wonderful gift,  she is the one person in the whole, wide world you can always come back to. No matter what you’ve done. Because wherever she is – is home. “

The purest and deepest love comes from a mother’s heart. The bond between mother an   child is stronger than anything on this earth. The seeds planted by a mother’s love, remain in her child’s heart for a lifetime.“

 I pray the love of God will touch the lives of  all the mothers, everyday.

Life is a MIST.

To be in silence, slow pace of life is needed to contemplate if you’re still living a “life”.

There are times I just want to be in silence, serene, just in tune with my inner-self with GOD and this is one of those days. I remembered the words in scripture that “Everything is vain, all these things will pass.”.

There are times I told myself I think too much, thinking deep thoughts,

and I ended up writing my thoughts  once again.

“A lot of people asked “what’s life purpose?”. One definite answer is to live for GOD, your Creator no more, no less. Unless you find this truth you’ll keep on searching and going on different pointless directions. Live for HIM and everything else will fall into its place ’cause He’ll do everything to bless you and give meaning into your life. :)”

I just posted these words in my FB status because basically first thing in the morning I thought of this.

Life is just a mist.

Life here is temporary.

Life will soon pass.

Life needs purpose.

Most of us had made ourselves believed that we found our purpose and we’re living it. But still if we’ll look around us we’ll see so many living their lives with no direction eventhough they thought of that they already living their purpose.

Souls roaming around , having a good time with everything that they have worked hard for.

Partying.Shopping.Eating.Drinking.Traveling.Sleeping.Chatting. Facebooking.Blogging. Twittering.Working.etc.

Acquiring fame,wealth,power,knowledge,position,love from others,pride.

and so the list goes for all the “-ing”- form of the verbs.

But are these enough?

Will it satisfy the longings of one’s deeper soul?

Will it really gives true joy, happiness?

Is this everything life has to offer?

There must be something more profound, meaningful beyond all of these.

Maybe some will say who are you to judge what brings happiness to someone’s life.

Well, I know I’m not in the position. It’s hard to say and I don’t want to sound judgmental.

But how many have ask themselves this question ” What’s my purpose in life?”.

Soon, I’ll be thirty-three and I may have lived almost half of my life span, only my Creator knows.

There are times this question still hits me…Have I really lived my purpose?

It’s hard to tell especially when you feel that there’s still something you can do,

something best that you can give not for ones’ self nor for others but for GOD.

“Oh yeah here she goes again, trying to sound holy, religious, righteous.”

(maybe a few will think in this way ).

Should I say I don’t care what others think, well I’ll be a hypocrite if I’ll say that.

I care more on what my Abba Father will say.

But I can’t help it, my life has changed ever since He found me, I’m living my life for HIM.

Yes, still there are struggles, setbacks, failures, disappointments.

But now my life has direction.

I’m truly happy.

Not just because of all the material blessings or things that this world consider precious and essential.

But because I come to know the Almighty.

The Giver of  Life.

The Great Provider.

The Source of Everything.

The Creator.

The creation has came to know personally her Creator.

I thank GOD, He found me.

As I stare around and keenly observing people’s lifestyle around me.

As I read stories, watch news about the world.

Still there are so many who are lost and keep on searching.

We can draw ourselves to what we thought will make us happy.

Maybe on what others advice us of what will make us happy.

The reality, the only truth is unless we live our lives for our Creator, that’s the only time that we can truly say

“I’ve known and lived my purpose.”

It’s a life changing experience.

Really the truth, one definite answer is to live for GOD, your Creator no more, no less.

Unless you find this truth you’ll keep on searching and going on different pointless directions.

Live for HIM and everything else will fall into its place.

He’ll do everything to bless you and give meaning into your life.

It assure us that this life journey has a clear ending.

and that is to be with HIM in eternity.

Everything shall pass but the journey knowing the true living GOD will never come to an end.

I hope and sincerely pray , Thy will be done in mankind.

That though life is just like  a mist, this mist should only find its way going to one direction,towards the Almighty.

For only in HIS presence one’s life purpose is fully, completely fulfilled.

♥ ♥ STORY of US ♥ ♥

 

A new beginning for us

Forgiveness, giving chances

We both realized what’s between us

It’s love and not pride

Now it’s like boarding to a new yet familiar ship

Exciting, new things

to enjoy and explore

Two walking together

Through a new open door

The pain of the past

needn’t make us quit

In life, sometimes we get it wrong

At other times, we find a bond so strong

Hold on tight, don’t lose a grip

Let go of the past and move on

Bask in the presence of love

That we have for each other,

through the years…

I was once afraid of giving chances

Couldn’t get myself to forget

Waiting for something to go wrong any minute

And then I could justify leaving it

So, we both pray so hard about us

and for a while we thought we could let go of our love

But it’s love that makes us hold on to each other

We couldn’t last pretending

‘Cause we both knew we’re just fooling ourselves

So here we are to stay once again

To make things right

and having faith in GOD

This time our love will stay stronger

With hope and prayers it’ll be until forever

Giving it a chance to bloom and grow

Thank you for not giving up

On times that I’ve almost given up

Step by step, through time,

Through our ups and downs

Our lives lead us to Love’s blissful path…