Chapter 37 The Universe and God

Here is a sneak peek to one of the chapters for the nonfiction book I am working on: (and no those photos will not be in the book, it's just for the blog)

"So I was watching one of Amy Schumer’s sketch the other day. It was mocking Caucasian women always relating the smallest coincidences in life to hints from the universe. As I laughed at how absurd it sounded, I also reflected on how much I was the same. As you all read my chapter on the pink balloon. For a split second I did want to believe it meant something. Even if logically speaking it was not the universe telling me that there is still hope in love, I just wanted to believe that. I needed to believe that.

And reflecting on my religious beliefs, I only came to be more pious two years ago, and started to go to church every Sunday (or as many Sundays as I can, it’s dedication man, and if you were out with your girls on a Saturday night, it takes a lot more conviction to wake up, not to mention slaving away studying). But the reason I still believe in God or the universe, is not because I think my mere steadfastness or my prayers will easily heal all my problems. But contrarily, my belief is in a way a reflection system I have in my brain about my life. Bible passages and homilies are things that remind me of what kind of life I wish to live, and how to live it. It is the fuel to my belief system that humanity has a purpose.

When people see that I have a photo frame that has the words “Believe” arched over three photos propped on my desk, I always wish I can tell them in a sentence what it really means, rather than saying “It encompasses a lot of things, believing in myself, believing in God, in my dreams, in my values” I wish I could tell them that it is part of my simple belief system that pushes me day in and out to be a better person.

So when I tell myself everything happens for a reason like the so-called white girls say, or when I say I believe in God’s grand plans, I am not saying I believe in small coincidences, but rather I am saying that I believe that my wisdom can never be compared to His wisdom. I recently found a blogger worth my attention called Jen Glantz, and as I read her blog about graduating from college and the things she went through these five years, I couldn’t help but share her sentiment. More importantly she pointed out a very important lesson I learnt as well: once life gets comfortable, it will have a way of reminding you, that’s not what life is about, that life is about challenges and being resilient.

The reason I am bringing this up in this context is that even though you think you are the driver in the car of your life, you are not the one who is steering, because God may frown upon you texting and decide you need a little lesson, and give you a pothole to wake you up or a road bump to slow you down. He does not talk to us, but he will have his ways in showing us the true meaning of life. Whether that comes in the form of small coincidences or in my case realizing why bad things have happened to me in life to make me a better person. God’s plans are beyond our understanding and power to change. We may be able to work harder at our 9-5 job and get a raise, but the economy can change any minute, a family member can be gone at a split of a second. If we do not value the things that should be valued in life, it can be taken away from us in seconds. The only constancy in life is love.  Trust me on this one."