Well, well, well. It’s past midnight once again, and I’m still up. Please forgive me, Tita Merc, but hey, it’s for a good cause. LOL. What cause? A blog-writing sort of cause? No not really. But you’ll see what that cause is when you attend the Elbi Sunday Service this weekend. A media girl’s gotta do what a media girl’s gotta do.
And a writer has to do what a writer has to do as well. That’s why I’m throwing this blog writing thing on the side.
Dreams, guitar strings and blistered fingertips. I had the opportunity to chat with one of my former SOC1 students a couple of hours ago. He asked me, “Kumusta naman kayo ni Lord?” (A kid’s following me up? Haha.) I answered, “Overwhelming. He’s teaching me a lot of things. I’m thinking about writing a blog entry about guitar strings, blistered fingertips, and dreams (pangarap). Speaking in riddles again.” Yeah. I’ve been meaning to write this entry since last Sunday but I guess I haven’t found to time to do so. But since I’m still on the process of rendering this video and since the caffeine that I drowned an hour ago is now starting to take effect – well, I guess I’ll just write away.
Dreams. Guitar strings. I remember one SOL3 class when we were asked to write about our purpose statement. Mine involved being up on a stage, standing in front of nations, leading in worship. Yeah, that was just a dream then. And yeah, right now I may simply be staying on top of a carpet, sitting with friends (but great men and women in the Lord, that’s for sure)…yet nonetheless, I’m leading in worship… and it’s a step closer towards that dream. And I’m having the time of my life as I press on towards that dream. I’m enjoying every strum on that guitar, enjoying every improvisation, enjoying every new song – enjoying everything.
Well, except maybe the blisters. But in a way, I’m also enjoying that.
Blistered fingertips. That’s what I get for practicing only once a week. But what else can I do? I only get to hold the guitar on weekends, so I make the most of my moments with it.
And I so end up with fingertips so sore, so pudpod, so… sad and dismal. But every time I let my sore fingertips press the strings onto the guitar fingerboard, I am reminded of the sweet pain that comes with soaring and reaching our dreams.
Sweet pain. For me and my guitar strings – it’s the blistered fingertips. For others and their dreams – it may be the sweet pain that comes with having to leave certain people behind for a certain period of time to fulfill a certain vision. Or it may be the ache accompanying the goodbyes uttered to old friends to pave the way for the hellos to be released to new ones. Or perhaps it could be the heartache felt in those moments of surrender when everything else is given up in exchange for the ultimate, one and only Everything.
Yeah, the pain is there. But right now, my blistered fingertips have started to heal and new skin has grown over the old.
In our lives, new things will always replace the old, if we’d just let them. Once we do, things become much easier. Because – in the same way that my fingertips aren’t hurting anymore – soon, we will no longer feel those sores which had been so raw once before.
scribbles and stories 