We believe in sayings such as, “There is a rainbow after the rain,” and “After sunset, the sun will rise again in the morning”. In life, there are so many struggles we’ve been through. But we never lose hope. The life of Jesus and his resurrection inspire me that life, though complex and challenging, is still wonderful and has a future to offer.
A miracle can happen if we have hope. In my own experience, I can say that the biggest challenge for our family was the time when my younger brother got lost way back in 2012 when he was 20 years old. He was born a special child. He didn’t know to read or write. But we let him get along with other people, and he had the freedom to go anywhere.
This time, he went too far and got lost and could not go back to our place. I saw my parents crying every day, thinking about where he was and worried if he had something to eat, how he slept at night, or worst if someone harmed him. My sister posted his pictures on the streets and asked our neighbourhood about him. I could do nothing but only pray to God. God was the only one who could help us.
I also prayed to God to give me a sign if I needed to pursue work abroad. I had applied to work in Hong Kong and was waiting for my visa. But, I decided not to go if we could not find my brother.
A week after his disappearance, he came back home with the help of a neighbour working in a lumber company and had a delivery in the place where my brother was. My brother saw that man, recognised him and followed him. That night he brought my brother to our house, and I was so grateful to God because my brother was in good hands. He was taken care of by the person who found him.
There is hope even in the darkness. We only need to trust in Our Lord and have faith. This pandemic, which took too long, made it hard to continue to live a normal life. But we believe, like Jesus’ resurrection, the world will rise and start a new beginning.
Jacqueline Punggos
