Arnel Syjuco Oroceo
Arnel Syjuco Oroceo. Just like any other name: unknown and unfamiliar. In fact, it is very ordinary to draw the attention of many. However, the writer in me wants to break free and somehow through this blog, I can get a sense of fulfillment. It is an opportunity I would gladly grab as I unleash myself toward the far end of life.
I have been on a wheel chair for twenty-five arduous but fruitful years. To some, it may look as though destiny has robbed me of what could have been a beautiful future. If you are going to think about it, there could be some sense to that: failing to pursue a professional career like my peers; missing the opportunity to give my parents the honor of having a college degree and a high-paying job, and losing the chance to build a family of my own. Sometimes, it all seems unfair.
However, these are life-changing experiences that teach us lessons that no private school can offer. Along that line, I well up with knowledge. We do not have control over the things that could happen to our lives. In as much as we would like to avoid them, there are things that catch us unaware. We may hate these situations but we cannot change them anymore. We need to live with them. As a familiar maxim says, “It is better to light a candle than curse the darkness”.
It is not all gone, however for as long as you can still cry in pain, you are still alive and therefore you can do something to get yourself back on the road of life somehow. Instead of focusing on the things that you have lost and the ambitions that you have failed to reach, why not consider the things that you have and from there build a new road toward your goals? What you can matters more than what you cannot.
Well, I can say that I am in a situation where I can experience the sweetest triumph that I could have never known. It is just a matter of will and a matter of faith. By will, you can run unabated in pursuit of your dreams and by faith; you can experience the power and grace of God that sustains the weakest of the weak.
We do not know when and how our mortal lives will end. The time will come when all toiling will cease and we will face our Creator. Surely, the days are passing swiftly and we cannot stop them neither can we bring them back. In this journey, we have a purpose to fulfill both mortal and eternal.
Time is of the essence. We need to move with a sense of urgency about getting our part done. We need to gather each day and make them fruitful so that when the time of reckoning comes, we will reap the reward.
Go, therefore, now and share the gospel of Christ unto all nations…
