My 23rd birthday

At the beginning of 2017, I wrote in the first page of my planner "Claiming that this year will be a year of bounty". Days went by and my life is filled with petty and huge blessings, though there are frustrations, failures, problems, and hardships. Fast forward to today, it's kinda overwhelming that I am blessed beyond what I prayed for. The year will soon be over. Pero October pa lang, ang breakthroughs, back to back to back na! My 23rd birthday is one of those breakthroughs that I will always be thankful to the Lord.

You won't hear any whining here about getting a year older. I am embracing 23 with open arms and am grateful for each day on this world. I don't fear or mind getting older, probably in large part, because I know that there are more ahead beyond this life. I thank God for the joy and lessons that God puts in my life in the meanwhile.

Not having been able to think of any concrete plans to celebrate my 23rd birthday, my church buddies organized a party five days before my birthday. I'm not gonna lie and say I'm 100% clueless. But, yeah, you can really never be ready for a surprise. Hehe. This is how the first celebration of my birthday started.

October 13, 2017, Friday, Audit Team's Strategic Planning and my 23rd birthday. Swerte ng mga katrabaho ko kasi sila ang pinakamatagal na nakasama ko sa mismong araw ng birthday ko. It was a sunny Friday and the universe is favoring my birthday! HAHA.  Our strategic planning was scheduled in Tagaytay that day. So we have two things to do: to plan and to celebrate. Yay!

My team had a little surprise for me (may pa-cake si Mayor!) They've been keeping the cake and their gifts hidden inside the car for me to not notice. Their surprise went well. Di lang obvious pero ang saya ko talaga. Haha. Making a surprise instead of just giving gifts is actually 10x more remarkable.

Few hours before my birthday ends, we got stuck in the traffic... it's raining cats and dogs... we ran out of gas... we're all tired and sleepy... the curse of "friday the 13th" just came out. Haha. Kaya para di ako ma-stress, natulog na lang ako on our way home. There are a lot of beautiful things that has happened, anyway. I was able to go home by 11PM.

Third and last celebration is with my family at home. Simple yet happy. We just went to church and eat at home together. Time is precious when you are with the people closest to your heart. Indeed, family is everything! No more cheesy lines. But oh, wala kaming pictures. lol

One of the things I learned in life is that we need people. We need friends. We need somebody. But unfortunately, as we age, people in our lives get lesser and lesser. But there's a good thing about this: those that remain are the genuine ones. At this point in my life, I think I am with those genuine people. Looking at all these grand gestures of friendship, kindness, and love makes me really wonder what I ever did to deserve all these. I've always thank the Lord for making these people a part of my life.

I'm blessed, indeed! When you have something good, don't go looking around for something better. Have an attitude of gratitude, always.

With all the happiness that I am feeling right now, I would like to express my sincere gratitude and thanks to everyone who remembered my birthday and spare a little of their time and effort to greet me (not just those featured in this blog). Love y'all with the love of the Lord.

xoxo,

Lou ♥