Series Of Events That I Am Grateful And Thankful For My Life

Every day is Thanksgiving Day for me. Here in the USA, they celebrate Thanksgiving Day on the last Thursday of November. Families gather together even from far away. People spend money on plane tickets or drive long distances to be with family on that day.

The typical menu is roast turkey, gravy, mashed potatoes, bread with butter, stuffing, apple pie and pumpkin pie, pumpkin rolls, and much more.

Series Of Events That I Am Grateful And Thankful For My Life

There are many things for which I am thankful.  I’m going to list the miracles that have happened in my life. These events made me grateful that God is always with us in all of our journeys. The events that happen in our lives He forms in us to make us who we are. Though I am hesitant to share these workings of God in my own life, I feel He wants me to.

We live in a world that emphasizes the natural — what our senses can see and prove. But the spiritual realm is just as real as the natural and I have had experiences in that unseen reality. Finally, I am ready to spill the beans about my experiences even if few people believe it.

My Dream

When I was 3 years old, I had a dream in the middle of the night that my father was going to commit suicide. I woke up crying and begged my mother to go see my father. (My father was in and out of our lives due to the tragedy of drugs ruining his mind and making it unsafe to stay with him.) I begged and begged mom to go now. I’m glad my mother and sister agreed to dress up and take the bus trip to my father’s place. It took three hours. When I came out of the bus, I ran to the backyard. Most of the neighbors were there begging my father to come down from the coconut tree. He was getting ready to hang himself. I ran towards the tree crying. Everyone moved out of my way. The neighbors told papa to stop because his daughters had come. I pleaded with my father to come down from the tree and he did. I’m glad I listened to my dream and I’m glad my mother believed me. It saved my father’s life.

Our Escape

When I was four years old, my mother, sister, and I had to run into the woods to escape from my father. We sheltered in a small house with a bamboo floor and a roof made with a nipa hat. After a few hours of being there, my father arrived with a big bolo or knife in my great grandparent’s Bahay Kubo. It is not their main house but a small house where they enjoy relaxing and having fresh air to unwind. Miraculously, he obeyed his old grandparents and didn’t even try to push the window or try to peek through the slats in the floor. He could have easily seen us inside of that small house or Bahay Kubo. We stayed there for seven days. From time to time, my father would roam around outside, but he never attempted to enter.

An Angel Came To Rescue Us

We moved to a town away from my father’s family. We didn’t know anyone in this town. Mama was new to her job as an Agriculturist in the town and the nearby surroundings. Sometimes her employer couldn’t pay her on time. She was having a hard time paying the rent for our house, and after three or four months, the owner of the house decided to kick us out.

My Legs Are Healed By Sister Cagets

When I was 9 years old, I complained to my mother that my legs hurt. The pain was so intense I cried every night. Mama heard about a  healing minister from Australia who was coming to the Philippines. Mama told me to pray. I was happy that the visiting minister was coming to our church where Mama, my sister, and I attended and went to Bible study. We arrived around 5:00 pm and the church was already packed with sick people. Lucky, we were able to get a seat.

Mama asked me again to pray so that we could make it to Sister Cagets. There were so many people she might get too tired to pray over everyone. We made it to her at 2:00 am! I was so tired and sleepy. The people in line for prayer kept moving forward slowly until we finally reached Sister Cagets. From the moment she prayed for me, the pain ceased and never returned. These many years later my legs are bothering me again, but that is another story.

Early Morning Surprise

One morning I rode a jeepney to school. It was final exam day. I was dressed up, and my broken cellphone was in my nice bag but aside from that nothing they can really get in there. My heart was beating faster, and I didn’t know why but a few meters away from my school, two guys came up, and the other one sat next to me with his knife pointing in my side. He told me, hold up and don’t move! I was shaking but pretended to stay calm. In my mind, I immediately prayed and said, Papa Jesus and Mama Mary protect and help me! After I said it on my mind, I talked to the hold upper as he is asking me to come down to a farther place than my school. I told him, big brother, it is my final test today, and if I wouldn’t come down here, I won’t be able to take my test. Can I please get down here?! He then replied, Ok, let us go down first, and you’ll get down last! Right after we talked, they both jumped out of the jeepney right in front of my school, and then I followed after them. They walked straight to the market right beside our school, and I walked directly to our school entrance.

I’m glad my simple fast prayers were answered immediately! These incidents happened twice in my life but in a different scenario and I ended up not harm even if they sat beside me and having the knife next to me.

Mama Mary Appeared In My Dreams Revealing A Sign If Nate Is The One

My First Born

I had a hard time giving birth to my firstborn as I could not have food ahead of my labor. Thankfully, the nurses let me have ice in my mouth while I was pushing Keira, so I had some water in my body even though I didn’t have any food. During Keira’s birth, I lost a lot of blood. I was bleeding for four hours. The next day, the doctor wanted to give me blood, but luckily I didn’t need it, and I was able to stand up and take care of myself alone with Keira. I consider that a miracle since I lost a lot of blood the night before.

My Second Born

Kyle’s due date was September 5th. I start my contraction on September 7th in the morning and the doctor told me around 1:00 pm that Kyle will be out at 1:00 am the next day September 8th. I asked for medicine to induce labor because my tummy was so painful and carrying Kyle any longer was making me weaker so Kyle was born on September 7th. He was a big baby! Nine and a half pounds — the biggest baby in the Rode family! Kyle got a fever on the day he was born and the hospital took him to ICU to monitor him.

The hospital had a strict policy for babies that gets a fever right after their born. So they have to bring Kyle to the ICU. For 24 hours being there in the hospital, everyone who took care of him; every shift, the name tag is Mary. My sister and I even asked them if they purposely signed in for duty there, and they said “No”. Their head nurse assigned them mostly, and one of them doesn’t even know or meet each other until that night. Kyle ended up born on September 7th at 3:00 pm here US time. Isn’t it a coincidence that more than four people are Mary? By the way, my sister is Mary too. There’s like 6-8 total of Mary taking care of him for the first 24 hours of his life.

My Uterus Prolapse

A few days after Kyle is born I got my uterus prolapse. Of course, I am too small and having a big baby is a candidate for a prolapse. We went home and I saw the bulge in my private part. I immediately told Nate and called the OB-Gyn number. The midwife who answered my call told me to simply grab it is just a blood clot.

My sister knew that I was so tired and hungry and wanted to take a rest. She immediately followed the instruction and just thinking that she wants it out so she can help me. Not knowing it is my uterus. I pushed longer than I delivered Kyle and it was 16 centimeters long. I beg Nate to check it out and then we ran to the emergency room. It took us two hours waiting there and when someone is ready to see me. They can’t find anything. We are all shocked and surprised that it went back inside on its own. Isn’t it surprising?

Anointed By The Priest

One morning, I woke up with a tummy ache. It was the most painful tummy ache I ever had during my college days. The medical report says it is appendicitis. It was the day of my final test in college and I was a graduating student at that time.

Aside from that Mama doesn’t have the money to pay for it and I don’t want my mother to be in more debt. I told my mother if we can try to get a priest to pray over for me first before we will proceed to the operation. After the priest prays over me the pain subsides and so we asked them to check me again.

They came back with a negative result. After I was released from the emergency room I went directly to my school and took my final exam as if nothing happens. I was very happy and relieved that I don’t need that operation as it can really ruin my school.

God’s Presence

God didn’t promise us an easy life but he promised to walk with us every step of the way. As long as we have faith in him and believed in him. In every struggle of our life always lean to God because he is always there to listen to us.

In marriage, God will give us a partner that will compliment us it’s not to make our life easier but for us to grow, change, and be mature in our faith in him.

Be Thankful Everyday

We don’t need to have all these miracles above in order to be thankful every day as everything surrounds us is enough for us to give thanks to God. He provided us all the things and people we needed in our life. It’s not to hurt us but for us to keep pushing hard and having a close relationship with him.

I just got this book and immediately read it. I always love the author she’s always full of wisdom. She mentioned some things that we don’t even think of thanking like trash cans, a water pipe, a peeling tree bark and so much more. These are some of the examples that there’s a lot of things to be thankful for if we simply noticed them and start to look around us.