JOURNEY OF JOSELLE: Freedom

TGIF! As I write this post (5:00 pm), I just got FREE from the office and hurriedly segued to a Korean cafe and decided to bask myself into writing. It's raining incessantly these past few days and I thought of getting myself a warm cup of coffee with a slice of fluffy yet moist sponge cake. Well, to be honest, I am meeting a good old friend of mine for dinner tonight so I am making good use of a 2 hour FREE time.

In connection with the word FREE, yesterday, July 4th, was a federal holiday in commemoration of Independence Day, a day when the United States declared their FREEdom from Great Britain. I won't be giving details here on US history but as you can see, I did stress the word FREE in my intro because I would like to raise the subject on FREEDOM in general for my entry for today.

When I hear the word FREEDOM, the first thing that I picture are the teenagers who turn 18 and are happily getting the chance to finally move out from their parents! Or maybe the other way around? Parents who rejoice and cannot wait to kick their teenagers out of their nests. hehehe. But I'll try to dig deeper than that.

With the help of our very good friend Google, spotted are a few definition of the word FREEDOM.

The capacity to exercise choice; free will
The power or right to act, speak, or think as one wants without hindrance or restraint
Personal liberty, as opposed to bondage or slavery

Freedom is such a splendid gift which I am truly grateful for. I am free to live, free to love, free to laugh.

Free to live. I wake up each day fearlessly because I breathe in a safe and healthy environment. In retrospect of the lives of our lolos and lolas (grandparents) or our ancestors back from the time when they were held captive by hostile and prejudiced rulers, some could vividly tell you their sad stories of how they were so filled with fear of being mistreated or even killed for no reason at all. I am grateful that we're free of circumstances like that. I thank those people who heroically fought for our rights and our freedom here and all over the world. Up to this day, there are still some countries who are living in war, suffering from bondage, and are being robbed of a good and free life. I cannot wait for the day when they too can truly enjoy the luxury of liberty we are experiencing right now.

Free to love. I have been given the chance to choose my life long partner in life till the end, my hubby! There are some families with some strict cultures and traditions with which parents choose their spouses for their children. While it may be effective for some, for me, I cannot imagine being forced to marry someone that I don't have passionate feelings for and especially someone who I don't have a connection with. Love shouldn't be forced.

Free to laugh. I live to laugh freely and to enjoy the company of people that surround me. I thank God for allowing me to have a positive outlook in life, to be grateful of people, good or bad, to be mature enough to see past people's shortcomings, to easily forgive those who take advantage, and to brush off and laugh off inevitable torments in life.

On a lighter note, my sisters and I watched our most anticipated movie of the year. It's none other than "Despicable Me 2"! hehehe. Those little yellow banana looking creatures called Minions cracked me up, without fail. They're adorbs! Surprisingly, that movie not only de-stressed my life, they also made me realize a valuable lesson. Gru, one of the main characters used to be a villain (on the first movie.) However, since he met and adopted his three sweet and lovely girls, he became no longer despicable, but a better and happier person. In this second part of the movie, he's being offered to become a villain once again by "El Macho" who plots to destroy and conquer the world. Did he cave in to "El Macho's proposition? Sorry to spoil it for you a little bit, but I would like to say he didn't. (It's also obvious in the movie that he will unlikely become a villain again, so please don't get mad at me for being somewhat of a spoiler.hehe). He had the freedom to turn into an evil version of himself again, but he freely chose to do good and save the world and the people around him whom he truly loved and cared for. Good job Gru!

In connection to this, the big boss up there gave us free will. We were given the freedom to do good and to do otherwise. If we live our lives in accordance to His will and in righteousness, there would be true freedom and eternal peace. Life would be lived to the fullest cos we're free from all our worries, free from insecurities, free from pain, free from worldliness, free from fear of failures, free from fear of death, free from the thought of being alone, free from brokenness, etc. Ultimately, we would only gain nothing but total confidence in God and trust that He is the only one that can suffice the deepest desires of our hearts and could complete us.

Thank you Lord for the gift of freedom! Thank you for allowing me to see the light over darkness. Thank you for guiding me through in choosing to do what is rightfully pleasing to you. Thank you for making me understand true freedom and leading my heart to serenity. Help us to always to be responsible and wise of the freedom you lavishly bestow upon us.

God bless us all and may we always find joy in the freedom of worshipping our Lord!