We face different seasons in life. We experience happiness and sorrow; freedom and frustration; times of need and abundance, among others. Scripture tells us that, “For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven… A time to weep, a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance.”
Challenges are part of life and no one is exempt from it. The story of Grace Benedicto paints us a beautiful picture of hope and perseverance. Recently recovering from a loss of a loved one, the Benedicto family tries to move on and overcome grief. In Max Lucado’s Traveling Light, he shares, “Sorrow is hard to beat. It’s heard to bear because not everyone understands your grief…Why won’t the sorrow leave you alone? Because you buried more than a person. You buried some of yourself. It’s because you are dealing with more than memories - you are dealing with unlived tomorrows. You’re not just battling sorrow - you’re battling disappointment. You’re also battling anger. Anger that takes the form of the three-letter question - Why? Why her? Why now? Why us? We can’t answer that question. Only God knows the reasons behind His actions. But here is a key truth on which we can stand - our God is a good God.” (emphasis mine)
No matter what happens in life, we have a good God. That truth remains no matter. Grace’s mom, Mommy Bing, realized that “Ganoon pala, ano? ‘Pag may oras ng lungkot, may oras din ng saya. May kapalit pala ang pinagdaanan namin.” Winning a brand new house is indeed an answered prayer!
Grace and Jimmy is in the business of distributing pre-loved books through OLX. We see faithful God is and how He provides for the needs of the Benedicto family. Grace joyfully exclaims, “‘Pag gipit na gipit na kami, pumapasok ang biyaya. Saktong-sakto lang kung kailan kailangan na namin.” Their life story inspires us to keep on hoping, to keep on dreaming, to keep on persevering and to keep on praying. In our life coaching sessions, we tackled how we can accept painful circumstances and to learn how to move on from them. At one point or another, we have to be able to muster up and face the music. We simply cannot keep on living in the past. In a Psalm written by Moses, he shares, “So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom.” Life is short and we have to be able to move on. I asked them, “Kung mayroon na lang po tayong sampung araw para mabuhay, ano po ang gagawin natin?” They wrote down their responses and shared them to one another. With tears, they all agreed that they needed to become closer to God and to love their family members more.
Marketing Guru Peter Drucker gives us wisdom by saying, “The aim of marketing is to know and understand the customer so well that product or service fits him and sells itself.” In our business brainstorming session, Jimmy and Grace mentioned that their regular customers were also looking for other books. We came up with strategies on how to cater to the needs of their customers further with the hope of expanding their business. The Benedicto family not only comes back to a new home, but also a new journey to achieve their dream. In a few years’ time, the family aims to be able to purchase their own car and hopes that their children will finish their schooling with flying colors. I believe that they have been equipped spiritually, physically, emotionally and mentally to be able to face and enjoy the different seasons of life. Grace joyfully shares, “Sir lage ko nga kayong binabanggit sa final interview namin eh kasi sobrang nainspired ako sa mga turo niyo.”