*** A SHABU ADDICT IS HEALED
This story is inspired by a true event. Edgar was at the top in his class at Ateneo. Suddenly, he became a shabu addict. He started selling their home appliances to buy shabu. He had two sisters, Becky and Joann, who started hating him when he stole their jewelry. Suddenly, he failed three subjects. When he drew a knife on his mother for refusing to give him money, it was the last straw. She decided to bring him to Sr. Raquel, the healer. (Note – Sr. Raquel Reodica, RVM is too old to continue healing. She tells people, “Go direct to Jesus, the Healer. Your faith and prayer heal you. I am a mere bridge to Him”.)
eastwind journals, December 11, 2022 (archives tr324)
By Bernie V. Lopez, eastwindreplyctr@gmail.com
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They arrived a day before Christmas at the healing center. The three women blurted out all their ill feelings against Edgar, who stood meekly in silence. Sr. Raquel talked to him alone at the chapel. Then she knew what the problem was.
SR. RAQUEL – (returning to the 3 women) There is nothing wrong with Edgar. He says he started taking shabu when the family started ignoring him. He never felt loved.
BECKY – (running in tears to Edgar at the chapel and embracing him). I am sorry. We love you, Edgar. It’s just we take things for granted, you know, three women keeping to themselves.
The mother and Joann came next. They all embrace each other in a flood of tears. Their reconciliation was the greatest Christmas gift of the Lord to this family. But the story is not over. After a week, Edgar called Sr. Raquel.
EDGAR – Sister, you know it is hard to get rid of shabu if you are in advanced addiction. You need to go to a rehab center. 80% of the cases return to shabu after a year. I fear going into a rehab center, where you are treated without love. But, when I felt your hand on my shoulder, a felt Someone giving me a warm embrace. It is miracle, Sister. I do not need to go to rehab. My addiction is completely gone. Thank you, Sister.
SR. RAQUEL – Don’t thank me. Thanks Jesus. He healed you instantly.
*** THE CHILD SANTA KLAUS
‘Adventus’ in Latin means the ‘coming’ (of the Messiah, the Saviour). This Advent, we present Rebecca, a five-year-old Santa Klaus wanna-be. She has an eighty-year-old grandma.
GRANDMA – Rebecca, my child, what would like for Christmas? Anything in the world that will make you happy.
REBECCA – A cellphone?
GRANDMA – It won’t make you happy, believe me.
REBECCA – A cellphone will make me happy.
GRANDMA – What will make you really happy?
REBECCA – To make me happy? Okay, I wanna be a Santa Claus.
GRANDMA – That’s hard but it can be done. Go to the mall with your mom when she shops. Just smile at every sour face you see, and say ‘Merry Christmas’.
At the crowded mall, without hesitation, Rebecca smiled at sour faces, and greeted them with a Merry Christmas. She added a new gimmick. She offered a ‘give-me-five’ hand.
GRANDMA – So what happened?
REBECCA – So many sour faces, grandma. It is as if it is not Christmas.
GRANDMA – Christmas sometimes makes people more sad.
REBECCA – As soon as I smile, their sour faces light up. Wow, what a gift. To make them smile is my happiest moment. When I gave this old lady a violent ‘give-me-five’, wow, she almost fell from her wheelchair, but I felt so good, as if she had magic in her hand. Why are they so unhappy?
GRANDMA – They have forgotten to be happy, until they remembered when you smiled.
REBECCA – Thank you, grandma, for making me a mini-Santa. A smile is better than a cellphone.
She was at the mall every day for a week, obsessed with making people happy. She met many a second or third time. They all smiled at her and offered her a ‘give-me-five’. Then she met the old lady again. When Rebecca offered her hand, she backed away.
OLD LADY – I remember you. I have a gift for you because you made me so happy. (She gives Rebecca a cellphone.)
REBECCA – Oh no, I can’t accept that. Cellphones make me sad.
OLD LADY – What do I give you then?
REBECCA – No one gives Santa a gift. He is the giver. His gift is the happiness he gets from giving. I am a small Santa. But I’ll take the cellphone. Merry Christmas.
This pandemic Christmas, be like Rebecca. Be a Santa for sad and desperate people. They are all around you.
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MORE INSPIRATIONAL ARTICLES – eastwindjournals.com.
FOR THOSE WHO NEED HEALING, spiritual or physical (depression, anxiety, loneliness, terminal cancer, covid, diabetes, etc.) – say an online healing prayer with one or both healers below. Terminal patients have been healed in cyberspace –
1) Father Fernando Suarez – www.youtube.com/watch?v=8UP3LHBgtIc.
2) Sr. Raquel Reodica, RVM – www.youtube.com/watch?v=wAZcwNimBSg
Download free e-book ‘Healing Stories of Sr. Raquel’ at eastwindjournals.com/2021/08/13/healing-stories-of-sr-raquel-e-book-free-download/).
AUTHOR’S BOOK – Wings and Wanderlust – Discovering Your Inner Self. At age 26, the author hitchhiked 25,000 kilometers in Europe and North Africa for three straight years. In this book of his wild adventures, he learned deep insights that changed him totally, which he wants to share with readers. It is also a guidebook on how to plan your own adventure.
Available at Amazon or Philippine source at cheaper price, e-book or hard copy paperback. For paperbacks, if you are a Philippine resident, save on shipping cost by ordering by email at eastwindreplyctr@gmail.com. For Amazon e-books, if you have an IPAD, download the app ‘kindle’. For non-IPADS, buy a kindle device (check guidelines.) – https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09KS7QYWL.
Author’s Credentials. Blogger – ex-Columnist (Inquirer) – Healing Ministry – ex-Professor (Ateneo University) – Documentary Producer-Director (freelance, ex-ABS-CBN, ex-TVS Tokyo) – ex-Broadcaster (Radio Veritas) – Facebook “Bernie V. Lopez Eastwind” / Pages “Eastwind Journeys and Journals” and “Mary Queen of Peace”.
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