No Regrets?

by Pastor Bong Gonzales

“Every choice you make has an end result.”  – Zig Ziglar

During our trip to Rome, my wife and I passed by Barcelona, Spain where we met a 'long lost friend'. As we listened to his story, his life of struggles and difficulties, there was an obvious expression of 'regret'. Regret is a word that many of us could not avoid but we can lessen in our life existence, if we are careful with our choices.

But many times, we decide on things when we are angry, frustrated, wounded or simply overcame by our pride.

Regret is as deadly as cancer, as painful as wounds and sometimes it blocks all other good things that have come in spite of the situation.

I remember he mentioned, "I was deceived by those who convinced me to resign".

After our short talk, it dawned on me how difficult it would be for someone who has been carried away by the thoughts and suggestions of others. At the end of the day we just find ourselves out of the way, out of peace and have lost all of which should have been our joy, blessings and fulfillment.

Here's what I resolved:

I will not sacrifice my conviction to satisfy my pride.

I will submit my arrogance by recognizing it is not a virtue but destruction.

I will treasure the trust given to me by those who are above me and live with equal regards to those who are under me.

My choice should be guided by my principle and of morals.

And lastly, I will choose to pause, repose and pray very hard when frustration, anger and pride is overwhelming until I find peace and seek counsel if a decision is needed to be done. For only when we are at peace, proper judgment and decision can be made.

Now, when I come to realized that I did a mistake, I will do everything to make it right. The pious call it ‘repentance’, others simply call it a ‘u-turn’. Then to the things I could not change my mistake, I'll move forward and learn from the past, hoping that I will not take the same path of regret again.

May we find ourselves doing the choices that would lessen our regrets in this life if we cannot fully avoid it. May we become careful in coming to a decision, especially when it will affect the lives of many people.

May we Jam In Life with less regret…if we can't live without it.

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A Life Of "Waiting": Make It Worthy

by Pastor Bong Gonzales 

In this life we have we spend reasonable time if not most of our time in waiting.

We wait for our turn to use the bathroom; we wait for a family member to be ready to ride with us in our car pool. Wait for our turn to see the green light for us to drive ahead. We wait for the elevator to open and wait again while it brings us to the floor we desire. We wait for our turn to talk to an employee or a superior. We wait for the time to start working and wait for the day to receive our paycheck. We wait for our time to reach a certain age, knowledge, position until we could do something when the time has come. The list will be endless on our waiting.

It’s part of life that most offices, both government and private, spend money to build what we call the “Receiving room”, “Waiting room”, “Fall in line here” among others.

But what does inspire us to wait? What makes life really worth living for?

The Holy Book said; “he that wait upon the Lord shall be renewed in your strength”

In verse Psalm 37:7, “Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; do not fret when men succeed in their ways…”(NIV)

Upon waiting and always after we take our turn, we consider it worth it when we succeed in doing, getting, gaining and finding whatever it might be.

What does it take to wait, then?

A passion for something – The foundation for which we say “I’ll wait”. Before you start spending time waiting, consider looking in you and see if what you’re waiting for deserves the precious time you will spend waiting. What is it for? Your passion is you, your time is borrowed, spend it to something worth it.

A vision for something – The motivation why we can wait to gain it. Whatever you are spending your time with, make your waiting count! Vision makes you focus and save time.

A character of patience – That will make us wait no matter how long it takes to achieve what we hope for, to gain, to reach, to receive and to become. It takes the virtue of patience to wait. Many lost their opportunity because they could not wait. Many regrets are not because of failure to do something, but the failure to wait to succeed after trying and waiting until we succeed.

So friends, wait for your turn. And while waiting, enjoy every moment while you Jam In Life with others!

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