Where to?

As part of my daily routine, I logged on the net to check my mails, Facebook and my blog. I don’t watch the news often. Usually when you have Facebook you don’t really need to because you can get a blow-by-blow account of the headlines. Yesterday, Facebook was flooded by another sad story – the Makati bus blast that killed 5 people (as of writing).  



Photo not mine.

This morning,  people have swarmed the train stations; an expected outcome a day after a tragic bus incident. While watching, I remembered the Rizal Bombings just before Christmas of 2000 in LRT (Light Railway Transit), Plaza Ferguson, at a gasoline station and a bus station.  Some have sighed saying how lucky they are they don’t need to get on a bus to go to work. Then I remembered the jeepney accident that happened in Davao which killed 7 people including an eight-month fetus surgically removed from the mother.

These days, is it safe to just stay at home? Not really. My family was a victim of fire twice. In both instances, we slept the night before thinking that the next day is going be just another sunny morning. Ondoy poured its rain for only a few days last September 2009. At least 609,548 people were displaced by flood waters and had to stay in makeshift evacuation centers in schools and churches. 240 people, mostly from the National Capital Region, were killed. 319,881 families or 1,872,036 people were affected by the storm. In addition, damages to infrastructures and agriculture in Luzon amounted to more than P2 billion. (Wikipilipinas).

Will we be safe if we stay in high-rise condominiums? NO. We all know how much damage an earthquake can do. It does not even have to take an earthquake to destroy a building. Humans can do it to their fellow humans.

Should we ignore strangers? Block ourselves from the world outside and stay within our circle? Domestic crimes are very high everywhere. The numbers you will see only reflect the reported cases. Most families would choose not to surface to save the family’s reputation.

So has God forgotten our country that we experience all sorts of mishaps? Have Filipinos gone mad with what they do to their countrymen? Answer: Check international news and you’ll get your answer.

It is a scary thought to wake up one day and watch the news about a disaster or a crime and hear a familiar name. Just the thought of it could tear you apart. We can’t bring our kids or our loved ones to and from their destinations all the time. We’re going to have to leave them at one point or another and trust that we will still see them before the day ends.

Most Filipinos say “kung oras mo na, oras mo na” (if it’s your time to die, it’s your time to die). Is this our way of accepting fate? Is this really our way of accepting death? Or is this just our way of coping with fear? We don’t die just for the purpose of completing a lifetime. We don’t die just because it is our destiny. Death can be a beginning.

Man can do all that he can to make himself safe. He can put up walled houses, invent high-security cars and advanced tracking devices, train the best guards, and even take alternate routes to prevent accidents and mishaps. He can do everything he can but safety can only be found in one place - in God’s. There is nowhere else to go. I can be writing this now and not wake up when I peacefully hit the sack. But do I feel safe? Yes. Because I know that no matter what happens, whether I get to see the sun or the moon when I open my eyes or whether I wake up in one piece or many; I am in a safe place.

As I hit the sack after writing this I will say a prayer of safety for you, for myself, for the people you love and mine as we travel to and from our destinations every single day.

Psalm 121

I lift up my eyes to the hills— where does my help come from?

My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.

He will not let your foot slip— he who watches over you will not slumber;

indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.

The Lord watches over you— the Lord is your shade at your right hand;

the sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night.

The Lord will keep you from all harm— he will watch over your life;

the Lord will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore.