There is something so peaceful and quiet about Manila during the Holy Week. Though it has been a while since I have spent it here at home, it was a reminder that it is really a time meant for reflection, prayer and reset. It is funny how life throws you lessons and moments for pondering when you least expect it. Whether it is a scroll through Instagram, or a moment during an event you otherwise would never associate with a lesson, life never fails to remind you that it is truly the small things that matter the most.

I was scrolling aimlessly on Instagram during good Friday and all of a sudden, this popped up on my feed: “Judas is a reminder that betrayals often come from people who have eaten at your table, and heard your prayers.” I took many moments and paused to reflect upon it because it just truly resonated with me, and my feelings about certain events that have transpired, and people who have come and go; those who have been in my life so prominently and then do something shocking. Perhaps this was God’s way of speaking to me, and finally explaining in no uncertain terms scenarios that seem to have no explanation. This was Him answering my lifelong question of “why?” The saying is true – those who know you best, and that you let yourself be vulnerable around also hold the capacity to hurt you the most. After all, they matter. Perhaps this was also God’s reminder to me to discern – quietly, but properly. To be friendly and cordial to all, but to choose who to truly allow access to, and let into my life. More importantly, not to take lightly the trust that people give me – to listen without judgment, to be truthful to those closest to me, and to embrace tightly and wholeheartedly those who have proven, and continue to prove themselves, and their place in my life time, and again. After all, Easter signifies new beginnings, and with all starts comes endings. Here is to leaving the murky past behind; to forgiving, but not forgetting, and to seek clarity going forward – in fostering relationships and forging friendships.

Last Easter Sunday, my toddler joined his first Easter egg hunt. To see the joy, excitement and happiness in his eyes was worth the early morning wake up call and scorching heat. He filled his basket, and got quite a number of eggs. I suddenly see him walking toward another kid who seemed to have much less, and before I knew it, he gave an egg to the other kid who looked in shock, but delighted. I did not realize how much impact that moment would have on me. As a mom who worries about him being an only child, and sometimes not wanting to share, I realized then that innately, he is a good kid with a very kind heart. He is emotionally attuned to others, and without prodding, seems to do the right thing. It was the validation

I did not know I needed, but that affirmed so much to me as a mother of a toddler where everyday can be a new day.

We tend to glance over the small things, and focus on the big picture. But at the end of the day, there is a reason they say that “the devil is in the details.” There would be no big picture without the small elements that put it together. Let us never take the small things for granted.