OF NANNY MCPHEE AND ABBY

After meeting with Laurice and Alaine last night, I watched Nanny McPhee when I got home at midnight. It was a curious cute movie. I definitely enjoyed watching it. I even cried at the end of the movie. *blush* I admit it. I'm really a sappy person. But if I may be defensive (=P), there was a message for me at the end of the movie. I think that's why I cried. What that message is will remain between me and God. ;-)

Abby Agaton is flying in tonight from Las Vegas! It's great to see her again after 1 1/2 years. She'll be running the San Francisco Marathon on Sunday. I still have no itinerary for her, as she's since most of the tourist spots in San Francisco already. I'll pull something together later tonight. YAY! I'm excited.

I WANT A CMT

And I don't mean Country Music Television.

Ever since the car accident on Saturday ... yep, I got into an accident. Was rear-ended off of I-880 N ... I've been seeing a chiropractor because I feel pain on my left shoulder, lower back, and leg. And my treatment includes a 30 minute massage by a Certified Massage Therapist (CMT). And let me tell you, though it hurts when my sore muscles are touched, after the massage, I feel so much better. And I can't help but muse, as I'm being massaged (that sounds weird), how nice it would be to have a CMT for a husband. Then, you wouldn't need to go to a spa and pay for an hour massage. Hmm ...

WHY DEJA VU?

The month of July has seen the most deja vu's, thus far. It is really freaking, not only me, but my friends out. For example, around this time that year, my two friends and I had a karaoke night. My friend, let's call her A, sang many songs, but I specifically videotaped 3. My other friend, let's call her B, sang several songs, but I only videotaped 1. Friend A recently got a hold of a magic mic again and sang the THREE songs which I videotaped. And she asked our friend B to sing the song B sang when I videotaped her. We only realized it when we watched the videos on Sunday morning.

And then, around this time that year, A, B, and I (cute!) went to Macy's to buy sunglasses. After the shops closed, we ended up eating at Denny's. Last Saturday, we went to Macy's to buy sunglasses. Then we ran some errands. And we ended up eating at Denny's (because it was one of the few remaining open restaurants).

So, why all these deja vu's? There are several lines of thought that tries to explain why these are all happening:

1) God was answering my prayer. I asked to go through everything again, exactly as it happened, if given a chance. And He's given me my chance.

2) God is just showing me how funny and powerful He can be so I'll stop doubting in His power and might.

3) Everything God did ... He does again ... but in a FINAL and COMPLETE way. (So, I'll have an answer by March to the question I've been asking since that fateful year).

4) God made a mistake. He did not like how the "story" ended that year, so He's saying, "let's rewind. let's repeat that. let's go through it all again. and this time, get it right!" <-- I find this funny. To think that God made a mistake is a bit blasphemous. But it's a cute line of thought. B was the one who proposed this.

I want to make a modification to #4. I think it's more appropriate to say that I made a mistake. God did not like how the "story" ended that year, so He's saying, "let's rewind. let's repeat that. let's go through it all again. and this time, KATE, get it right!"

Thank God for second chances!

BAFFLED

I heard Mass this morning. Imagine my surprise when I heard the first reading. I did a reflection on that reading for my state-of-life discernment (whether I'm for single blessedness, marriage, or religious life) on July 16 of that fateful year. It's the exact same reading. It's so weird. I know that it's 5 days behind. But I can't help but notice that the "Not Worthy of Me" reading was also 5 days behind this year. So, I thought, maybe we're in the same Liturgical Year in the Catholic Church. The Church has 3 liturgical cycles (A, B, and C). And apparently, if you went to mass everyday for 3 straight years, you would have read most of the Bible. So, I don't understand why the readings are lining up again. I mean, the difference between that fateful year and 2006 is not 4 (1 = A, 2 = B, 3 = C, 4 = A) for the readings to line up. And so I did a research. I tried to look at the liturgical cycle for this year, it's B. And I looked at the liturgical cycle for that year and it's C. Go figure!

ANSWER TO CAN FRIENDS OF THE OPPOSITE SEX REMAIN JUST FRIENDS?

I asked this question 2 months ago, Can Friends of the Opposite Sex Remain Friends? after I got so frustrated with people giving meaning to the friendship I have with a guy. I got so tired of hearing people ask, "is something going on between them?" or commenting, "I wish you guys would end up together." Well, I have an answer for that question now: YES. Friends of the opposite sex CAN remain JUST FRIENDS. :-)

So much for the "ladder theory, Malou

FREAKED OUT BY DEJA VU'S

That fateful year (the one where I was beset with grief, suffering, and many sleepless, crying nights) I wrote a reflection about the passage on Matthew 10:37 -"Whoever loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me." And I wrote it on July 12th of that year. I just re-read this reflection of mine two days ago, when I tried looking for something in my journal because I had another deja vu experience three days ago.

So, imagine my surprise when I began to read Didache's reflection for the gospel for today, July 17th (arguably, it's 5 days later, but it's still pretty close!). The reflection was for the verse ... you guessed it ... Matthew 10:37. Here it is:

" whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.” – Matthew 10:37

My parents Johnny and Charo Magnaye of Looc, Romblon celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary last January 19, 2005. The best lessons my parents taught me are these:
a) Make the Lord number one in your life.
b) Defend and support the Catholic faith.
c) Don’t make your loved ones an excuse not to serve the Lord.
For better or for worse, my parents served the Lord. Even if our family faced the heaviest problem ever, still my Dad and Mom were there for the Church and for the less fortunate.
In sickness and in health, my parents spread the Good news. Even if Mom and Dad were sick or we their kids were sick, still they made creative ways to do what is expected of them as servants of God.
For richer or for poorer, my parents shared and cared for God’s glory. Rosanna M

Truly, God is a powerful God. I'm amazed.

*`*`*`*`*

What's even more amazing is this: I found an old chat transcript between my friend and I. It was dated July 15th of that fateful year. As I began reading through it, I was shocked to see the same topics we discussed while chatting on July 13th of this year. I found 18 similarities between the chat then and the chat this year. Grabe! Ang weird na nito!!!

EXPLAINING THE DEJA VU

Since this is still an on-going experience for me; since these deja vu experiences involve other people (who do not know they're part of my deja vus), I can't very well detail all that has happened. But if I may use a bit of an analogy, I'll try my best to describe what happened.

Several years ago (I don't want to give out the exact year), I went on a joy ride that lasted a whole year and three months, beginning in January and ending in March. I didn't see it or realize it then, but God was the driver of the 4x4 I was riding in. It was a thrilling and exciting new adventure for me then. I have never experienced anything like it before. But while it was fun at times, there were times when it was scary and nerve-wracking. On rare occasions, I feel like screaming, "Get me off this ride." I had been hurt many times during the course of the ride. I suppose there were times when I'd been too eager to plunge in the experience that I would unbuckle my seat belt and end up bumping a body part against the jeep. When the ride finally ended, I was in deep pain. I had been thrown off the Jeep. I had broken bones and was badly bruised.

It took me a while to heal, mainly because I was in denial that I needed any form of healing. But when I finally began to heal, I realized what a beautiful journey that was - the joy ride. I thanked God for arranging everything for me and for allowing me to go through everything I went through. I realized that though I had been hurt numerous times all throughout the year and 3 month period, it was still such a beautiful experience. That's when I told Him, I would go through it all again, if given a chance.

I didn't think God would answer that prayer, for it wasn't really a prayer. It wasn't even a request. I said it for rhetorical effect. I saw the beauty in the experience. It was so wonderful that I wouldn't mind to go through it all again, exactly as it happened, even if it meant I would get hurt again. By saying it that way, it felt like I really appreciated all that I've been through. But I really did not want to go through it all again.

The deja vu began on January. I was put on the same 4x4, headed out for the same trail, without my knowing it. It wasn't until 4 consecutive events (everything happened as it did that fateful year) flashed right before my very eyes and I ended up exclaiming "OH MY GOSH! I am re-living that year again." I was freaked out, naturally. And I ended up getting mad at God, screaming at Him, "I meant it in a rhetorical way." But thankfully, I ended up realizing that God was just showing me how funny He can be and how powerful He can be.

Though I'm still 8 months away from the end of the joy ride, I already saw a glimpse of how it's going to end. And it looks like it's going to end in the same way. Hopefully though, I won't get thrown off the Jeep as before.

This probably doesn't help, Malou, but as I mentioned in my comment in my last post, I'll tell you about it in more detail after your bar exams. Harbs, tell you about it after my speech class ends and after Abby goes back to New York. ;-)

THE END IS NEAR

Some of the readers of this blog know that I'm going through a deja vu experience this year (for reference, check out Trusting in a Powerful God, Whom I Don't Understand and Could This Be It. And while I still have 8 months before it formally ends, God has just given me a preview of how it's going to end. And I'm laughing right now because from what God has shown me, it will end in the exact same way as it did before.

But one thing I'm grateful for: though there had been many instances when I could've cried because of the circumstances and the events, I haven't cried yet. So, hopefully, when it ends the way it did before, I won't cry then.