My Treasure Basket

A gift…

Everyone of us receives gifts every day. We sometimes do not know because we either did not expect it, we ignore it, we did not know that it is a gift, or we want something else. Truth is, we receive numerous gifts everyday. The air we breathe, the food we eat and the clothes we wear are some of the gifts that we receive everyday that we just sometimes ignore because we usually have it. However, there are more gifts that we receive that are really not obvious but have most of the times helped us through our life’s journey. One of these are the good decisions we make that help us avoid mistakes with a possible negative consequence in the future. We also receive gifts that we like and sometimes we don’t.

Today, I would like to share to you a gift that I not only like but treasure as long as I live. I would like to share to you a story about a gift from my brother…

Since our mother left to the US, we have to take care of ourselves. However, since I have my husband to watch over me, then that is not a problem. My sister has her own family now with a 3-month old baby to  look after. My brother although he is living with my sister has to take care of himself. He just graduated as a nursing student and is now taking review classes in preparation for the board exam. We seldom see each other because I already moved in with my husband to a different apartment. I never expected gifts from my brother , though I always know him as a thoughtful son and a loving brother. One of the most touching gifts that he has given me these past few months since I got married is his presence. Because I was so busy at work and most of the times went overtime and arrived home late, I could not drop by their apartment. On weekends, I would spend my time with my husband. However, it was my brother who took the step to come and visit me. Every time he does that, I am always surprise and I feel happy. The last time he visited me, he brought me a bracelet. There were 2 of them, one made of pearl and the other made from wood. He made me choose one and I selected the latter. He told me that he brought it from a place specifically in Carcar, Cebu when a priest who has healing powers visited there. It took time for me to realize that the bracelet is actually a short version of a rosary because it only has 10 beads for the 5 mysteries.

For me, aside from the visits I get from my brother, the bracelet is one of the most wonderful gifts I received because it gave me the need to go back and pray the rosary again. It has been a long time since I stopped praying the rosary. I could not even remember when I stopped. My brother has helped me realized that I need to begin and pray the rosary especially that I am starting a family of my own.