The Greatest Gift of All

By: Nancy H. Abiera

 

I had one of the best times in my life with my family, friends and new acquaintances receiving the gift of being a recipient of the HOF (Hall of Fame) Gala, (Chicago Filipino Asian American Hall of Fame 2015) last month. There was a strong spirit of unity, love, joy, celebration, laughter and a great sense of accomplishments as well as purpose honoring and serving one another.

Praise God for Via Times and CPRTV leaders (led by Ms. Veronica Leighton and Joe Mauricio), and the staff as well as the HOF awardees for giving their best and making a difference in our community.

Allow me first to share my thoughts and translate HOF from “Hall of Fame” to “Honoring Outstanding Filipinos.” I would guess that some Filipinos would not see themselves as worthy of honor or even use the word outstanding without turning red.

Allow me to paint a picture of how I see my fellow Filipinos as gifted people with the following:

H. Heart of a Servant

Majority of Filipinos are giving the community overseas as lawyers, doctors, nurses, entertainers, caregivers, nannies, etc. HOF awardees and participants strongly confirmed this.

O Outstanding Talents

Filipinos are multi-gifted. We love to sing, dance, act and entertain ourselves with our God-given talents. Let us all continue to use all these talents for His glory giving thanks to the Lord always.

F Faith

Filipinos are people of faith. I have not met any Filipino claiming to be an atheist/agnostic. In fact, in the early years, we were the only Christian nation in the Far East. And, even now, Filipinos have missionary mindsets sending regular “Balikbayan” boxes and scholarship funds to help family while making sacrifices working overseas.

I am deeply honored to be a Filipino with the God-given gifts, qualities and characters that bring honor and glory to God. I believe we inherited gifts from God to bless and serve our family, friends and the greater community both here in the U. S. and the Philippines.

“Whatever you do, do it enthusiastically, as something done for the Lord and not for men, knowing that you will receive the reward of an inheritance from the Lord. You serve the Lord Christ.” Colossians 3:23-24

I learned early in life from my father to “Do your best and God will do the rest”. Fast-forwarding life to the now, it shifted my mindset to “Resting in God is to do the best”.

On the last note, let us all be reminded that “who we are is a gift from God. Who we become and how we use them is our gift to God.” Let us give our very best to our Savior Jesus Christ, who is the greatest gift we can ever receive.

Maligayang Pasko at Manigong Bagong Taon!!!!

I love you, readers, with the love of the Lord yet God loves you the most. Smile and be a blessing. . .