RICARDO NAVALTA -- 88 1/2 Earth-Years

Uncle Ric isn't even my Dad -- so WHY am i mourning over his death MORE than i did over my own father's death?

On Sunday, April 17, uncle Ric was rushed to Sharp's E.R. He was in ICU for three days, then Comfort Care until he passed away, Saturday, April 23. But prior to this, Uncle Ric was in and out of hospital- and rehab-stays, due to a bad fall late January. i saw Mom's faithfulness first hand as she visited him every day, even staying overnight during the last two nights before Uncle died.

When i finally visited Uncle at the last rehab facility, he was almost comatose and was driven into Sharp's ER, where he was stabilized and hospitalized a couple weeks and then back to the same rehab facility. Visiting Uncle more often -- giving him massages and helping out with his occupational therapy (playing blackjack with him...LOL!), i got to see the stage of life when we become SO dependent, SO helpless, SO fragile. i saw Uncle at his weakest... and it wrenched at my heart.

At Sharp's ER, in a private room, i sang "HE's got the whole world in His hands" over and over. And all throughout the week, i sang this song to Uncle -- also telling him of JESUS' love for him and that there's no need to fear when he has CHRIST at his side. i shared with him Biblical truths about heaven -- that "GOD Himself will wipe away every tear from his eyes; there'll be no more death, or sorrow, or crying. There'll be no more pain. ALL these things are gone forever." (Revelation 21:4)

Many were praying for Uncle's recovery... even for a miracle. On Tuesday, April 19, this flower bloomed in the backyard garden that Mom and Uncle tended together. GOD spoke to me through His creation -- how fearfully and wonderfully made is each soul! And yet how brief is our time on earth... "Our days on earth are like grass; like wildflowers, we bloom and die. The wind blows, and we are gone--as though we had never been here." (Psalm 103:15-16) For a brief time, on this Tuesday, uncle Ric "bloomed" -- became conscious of his surroundings -- of family and friends who came to visit him. He was himself, though but a weak shadow, about to fade away...

The days of our lives are seventy years;
and if by reason of strength they are eighty years,
Yet their boast is only labor and sorrow;
for it is soon cut off and we fly away.
(Psalm 90:10)

ALL flesh is grass. 

And all its loveliness is like the flower of the field.

The grass withers, the flower fades,

Because the breath of the LORD blows upon it;

Surely the people are grass.

The grass withers, the flower fades,

But the Word of our GOD stands forever.

(Isaiah 40:6-8)

By GOD's grace, i shared the Good News with Uncle -- that he can receive peace with GOD through CHRIST JESUS, the Son of GOD. JESUS Himself said, "I AM the Way, and the Truth, and the Life. No one can come to the FATHER except through Me." (John 14:6) And it is written: "ALL have turned away; ALL have become corrupt. No one does good, not a single one!" (Psalm 14:3) EVERYone has sinned -- we ALL fall short of GOD's glorious standard." (Romans 3:23)

Keeping it very simple, i explained to Uncle that we ALL have done wrong things in our lives, and we need to be forgiven by GOD through JESUS' death on the cross... that He takes away our sins by dying for us, that he rose from the grave and is now in heaven. i told Uncle not to be afraid, that all he has to do is to call out, even if it's just in his mind -- "JESUS, help me!"

Uncle Ric was able to say, "GOD, forgive me..."

During this week of watching Uncle slowly fade away, i read to him Psalm 23 and Psalm 139. Though he was unable to speak, i prayed that GOD would allow Uncle to hear and understand and be reassured that the LORD JESUS is the Good Shepherd who will walk with him through this valley of the shadow of death... that He will make him to lie down in green pastures and lead him beside still waters... that He will restore His soul!

May GOD have allowed uncle Ric to also hear and to understand Psalm 139 as i read this Word of TRUTH:

"O LORD, you have examined my heart and know EVERYthing about me. You KNOW when i sit down or stand up. You KNOW my thoughts even when i'm far away. You see me when i travel and when i rest at home. You KNOW EVERYthing i do.

You know what i am going to say even before i say it, LORD. You go before me and follow me. You place Your hand of blessing on my head. Such knowledge is TOO wonderful for me, TOO great for to understand!

i can NEVER escape from Your SPIRIT! i can NEVER get away from Your presence! If i go up to heaven, You are there; if i go down to the grave, You are there. If i ride the wings of the morning, if i dwell by the farthest oceans, even there Your hand will guide me, and Your strength will support me.

i could ask the darkness to hide me and the light around me to become night -- but even in darkness i cannot hide from You. To You the night shines as bright as day. Darkness and light are the same to You.

You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother's womb. Thank You for making me SO wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous -- how well i know it. You watched me as i was being formed in utter seclusion, as i was woven together in the dark of the womb. You saw me BEFORE i was born. EVERY day of my life was recorded in Your book. EVERY moment was laid out before a single day had passed.

How precious to me are Your thoughts, O GOD. They cannot be numbered! i can't even count them; they outnumber the grains of sand! And when i wake up, You are STILL with me!

Search me, O GOD, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. Point out ANYthing in me that offends You, and lead me along the path of everlasting life."

My dad Romeo is gone... so is uncle Ric. Yet Uncle's passing has touched me more deeply. When JESUS experienced the dying of His earthly father Joseph, how much MORE was the pain in His heart! When the apostle John watched His Beloved Teacher and LORD gasping for breath as He agonized on the cross -- how much MORE the apostle's pain! When Mary, the mother of JESUS, watched her Son die that excruciating death on the cross -- how much MORE a mother's pain! 

When GOD the FATHER watched His Only Begotten Son -- the Lamb of GOD, CHRIST JESUS -- being crucified as atonement for our sins, how much MORE... how unfathomable the pain in His heart! "For GOD loved the world SO much that He GAVE His One and ONLY Son, so that EVERYone who believes in Him -- CHRIST JESUS -- will NOT perish but have ETERNAL LIFE." (John 3:16)

For it is written: "My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts," says the LORD.  "And My ways are far beyond anything you can imagine. For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so My ways are higher than your ways and My thoughts higher than your thoughts." (Isaiah 55:8-9)

So teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom!
(Psalm 90:12)

GOD who is LOVE and who is ALL-Wise... He has the whole world in His hands!

Now may the GOD of Hope
fill you with all JOY and PEACE in BELIEVING,
that you may abound in HOPE
by the POWER of the Holy SPIRIT.
(Romans 15:13)

PSALM 103 -- Bless The LORD, O My Soul!

Bless the LORD, O my soul;
and all that is within me, bless His holy name!
Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits.

Bless the LORD, O my soul! for this post on Facebook: "i'm so grateful to know GOD answering my prayers is not because of what i say, how i say it or how "spiritual" i feel or even how mature i am in Him. His answering prayer is all about His Holy SPIRIT taking my poor, pitiful prayers and using them to bring Honor and Glory to our Father in Heaven. If answered prayer was dependent on my being mature enough, saying the right words, or pleading correctly... my prayers would never be answered! It's all about Him... amen?" (Pray Without Ceasing) -- an answer to prayer and reassuring confirmation that GOD hears my poor, pitiful prayers.

Bless the LORD, O my soul! for this banner from The ShoppE at Rose's which reminds me daily in my new home in Naselesele Village that indeed to everything there is a season, a time for every purpose.

Bless the LORD, O my soul! for this miracle-of-a-baby (born at one pound, nine ounces), now a grown woman who is my lovely daughter and sister in CHRIST. Bless the LORD for redeeming this life from destruction!

Bless the LORD, O my soul! for this young sister-in-law who is indeed a Proverbs 31 lady, for she has a husband, four children, a grandmother, a brother (and me) to cook for -- usually with firewood. Ana is an expert at line and net fishing; she helps to weave large floor mats, including the harvesting, trimming, cooking, drying and smoothing out the voi-voi leaves used; she does the laundry for her entire family; cooks and even brings the children's lunches to the village school; she husks coconuts, guts the fish she has caught, makes her own coconut oil and wields her machete like a man (almost). She gets up while dawn is barely breaking to put on the tea kettle... and she is a godly, Bible-reading Ephesians 5:22 wife -- a loving Herculean help-meet for her husband. GOD is teaching me through her example!

Bless the LORD for his lovingkindness and tender mercies...

Bless the LORD, O my soul! for the hospitable and compassionate folks at Bibi's Hideaway -- whom GOD, in His Providence, allowed in my life as i weathered through storms and traversed deep valleys for a time of testing in Taveuni. Our faithful Good Shepherd provided this fruit-filled haven as this near-sighted sheep stumbled and fell along the way.

Bless the LORD for He is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in mercy.

Bless the LORD, O my soul! for providing me with shade and food from visiting missionaries as i painted this mural at Ocean View's cafeteria wall during the hot summer months of 2009. GOD bless the SPIRIT for helping me paint this project...literally.

Bless the LORD, O my soul! for gifting me with friends who sharpen as iron sharpens iron, who flavor my life with their differing personalities, who fervently pray for those in need...like me.

Bless the LORD, O my soul! for gifting me with this new family who believes in GOD as the Father, Son and Spirit; who prays before each meal and chides me laughingly when i forget; who lets the kidz watch only Bible Songs (sing-along), worship music with the Gaithers or Tom & Jerry videos; who allows me to choose and comment on Bible verses before our nightly masu (prayers); who forgives my personal imperfections and overlooks my idiosyncracies and kavalagi (foreign) ways.

Bless the LORD, O my soul! for this simple house that is loud with much laughter and children crying-- which GOD is using as the current environment to prune and burn up selfish baggage that still clings. He affirms through daily life lessons that i am not a Filipino-American immersed in Fijian culture, but a child of GOD whose true citizenship is in Heaven. My true identity is in CHRIST.

Bless the LORD, O my soul! for this house which provides shelter when i'm in this part of the world. Thank you, Father, for the lady of the house -- the mother you've given me, who is generous and kind, who allows me to live here freely as i come and go between two countries.

Bless the LORD, O my soul! for these watery pets -- which give Mom much pleasure as they decorate her backyard. Thank you, Father, for creating such colorful fish!

Bless the LORD, O my soul! for the fish that you allow to be caught into Seru's and Ana's nets, so that we may feast on them fried or in bele soup vakalolo. Thank you, Father, for giving us more than enough so that we may also sell some to provide for our necessities.

Bless the LORD, O my soul! for Pastor Pauliasi who shepherds the Assembly of GOD Church in Matei, Taveuni -- the barefoot preacher who is passionate about CHRIST and whose messages magnify and glorify the Person of JESUS as GOD the Son.

Bless the LORD, O my soul! for Pastor Boschen -- whose passion for CHRIST is undeniably evident; whose countenance reflects brightly the Light of the Son and whose many good works mark him as righteous in the sight of GOD. Thank you, Father, for using this true shepherd to guide the many whom you've placed in his path.

Bless the LORD, O my soul! for these San Diego-bought mangoes -- a welcome sight and a reminder of Taveuni that is fast becoming home. Thank you, Father, for providing this tasty blessing -- indeed, you know me to the very core... even to the minutest of details.

Bless the LORD for He satisfies with good things so that our youth is renewed like the eagle's.

Bless the LORD, O my soul! for this mango tree, just beside our house in the village. Indeed You provide every good thing -- in CHRIST, i lack nothing!

Bless the LORD, O my soul;
and all that is within me, bless His holy name!
Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits:
Who forgives all your iniquities,
Who heals all your diseases,
Who redeems your life from destruction,
Who crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies,
Who satisfies your mouth with good things,
so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's.

(Psalm 103:1-5)

GOD Is BeautiFUL In ALL Ways, Always!

"Naked i came from my mother's womb, And naked shall i return there. The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD." (Job 1:21)

"Shall we indeed accept good from GOD, and shall we not accept adversity?" In all this Job did not sin with his lips. (Job 2:10)

...they saw JESUS walking on the sea and drawing near the boat; and they were afraid. But He said to them, "It is I; do not be afraid." (John 6:19-20)

For You are my lamp, O LORD; The LORD shall enlighten my darkness. (2 Samuel 22:29)

He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters. (Psalm 23:2)

Bless the LORD, O my soul! All that is within me, bless His holy name! Bless the LORD, O my soul! And forget not all His benefits... Who redeems my life from destruction... (Psalm 103)

As a father pities his children, so the LORD pities those who fear Him. (Psalm 103:13)

And we know that GOD causes everything to work together for the good of those who love GOD and are called according to His purpose for them. (Romans 8:28)

Cast your burden on the LORD, and He shall sustain you. (Psalm 55:22)

The young lions lack and suffer hunger; but those who seek the LORD shall not lack any good thing. (Psalm 34:10)

...though i walk through the valley of the shadow of death, i will fear no evil; for You are with me... (Psalm 23:4)

Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. (John 15:2)

Does not the potter have power over the clay, from the same lump to make one vessel for honor and another for dishonor? (Romans 9:21)

i know that You can do everything, and that no purpose of Yours can be withheld from You. (Job 42:2)

My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. (James 1:2-3)

The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly. (John 10:10)

If i take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there Your hand shall lead me, and Your right hand shall hold me. (Psalm 139:9-10)

Where can i go from Your Spirit? Or where can i flee from Your presence? (Psalm 139:7)

(GOD's creation expressed beautifully in Matei and Naselesele area -- Taveuni, FIJI)