Searching for Greener Pastures?

It's the Holy Week already and with the Holy Week comes the holidays, where there is a mad scramble for people working away from home or abroad to go back home to spend quality time with their families...at least those who are fortunate enough to have the opportunity to do so.

For some, it is a time where their feeling of emptiness and loneliness is magnified, as there is no work to keep their mind from the fact that they are not able to be with their love ones or that there is work and its not a holiday abroad - this is the social cost they have to pay for greener pastures.

"The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence." so the cliche goes...

Given the number of people leaving the province for Manila or leaving the country for abroad everyday in search of better opportunities elsewhere, I am sometimes tempted to agree.

But then, I am unsure when I think about the cost that people have to pay in order to be able to have a brighter future. Sometimes, we gloss over the reality that our relationships with our family, our spouse, our kids, even our friends will suffer as a result of our decision to provide financially for our families. Is it really worth it? Do we really have to pay the cost relationally to reap financial gains?

Or more importantly, does a brighter financial future always equate to a better life? Does what we want (financial security) the same as what we need?

What do we need anyway?

A better life after all is more than just financial security for ourselves and our families.

While I do not claim to know and to understand why people leave the country in search for better opportunities. What I would like to do in this blog is to provide clarity on what we need...and hopefully provide you a change in mindset.

What if instead of searching for greener pastures away from home, we make our own pastures green? Now that's a thought! But wait, given the graft and corruption in our country, given the large gap between the rich and the poor, the earthquakes, the floods, el Nino, the power outages, the lack of basic necessities such as water, electricity and affordable mass transit, is it even possible, is there hope for us?

Friends, the answer is YES! In fact, all the problems we face in our country now are opportunities for us, opportunities to be pursued to make the pastures green.

But we need a better government, a better president, a better mayor, a better congressman...to make our lives better...that's what we need.

How about we take accountability for it, let's be responsible for it...by contributing to our communities, by making life better in our own communities.

You might ask how do we do it? The truth is that there is an infinite number of ways...but it all begins the Lord, He is what we need in our lives, first and foremost He is what we need.

Look at what the psalmist says in Psalm 23 which reads,
1 The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want.

2 He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads me beside quiet waters,

3 he restores my soul.
He guides me in paths of righteousness
for his name's sake.

4 Even though I walk
through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil,
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
they comfort me.

5 You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.

6 Surely goodness and love will follow me
all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the LORD
forever.

Is the Lord your shepherd? I hope that as we reflect on his death and resurrection this week, we make a decision to accept him as our shepherd, as our Lord, as one who will bring us to green pastures...wherever we are - here or abroad.

Lord, help us place our hope and trust in you to bring us to green pastures, we realize that we need you in our life today, so that we can start to make it better, not just financially, but relationally and spiritually.