Commandment #2: BE BETTER, NOT BITTER.

Last Saturday Night, I was unexpectedly asked to host a certain beauty pageant somewhere in Cagayan de Oro. It was an honor for me to wear an apparel designed by one of the best designers here in the City, Mr. Mark Christopher Yaranon, who is at the same time, the creative stylist for Iconic Fashion. These are some of the pictures last night:

thanks to Steph Balabat for my hair and make-up:)

My hair and make-up was slightly inspired by this photo:

Charots carrots.  harhar.

But at this very moment, I felt very tired and lazy because of last night (BUT i still attended a mass earlier with my nephew, Sea-j) This is how I look like today:

Not presentable ae? HAHAHA.

MEANWHILE, 

I want to share to you guys my SECOND COMMANDMENT, Be Better, Not Bitter.  There are a couple (okay, many) situations in my life that haven't gone how I thought they should. (Example: boys, school, finances, etc.) Obviously God has other plans for me, but the hurt and disappointment is still there and moving on is often easier said than done. My head tries to reconcile with my heart, but my heart doesn't always want to listen. I am not the best at letting go, honestly.

I am learning (the hard way) that I have two choices: I can allow the hurt to turn into bitterness and let it consume me OR I can turn those situations into learning experiences, grow from them and become a better person. From now on I ALWAYS want to choose the latter. Holding onto the bitterness is such a heavy burden. I'm tired of living in the past and hoping for a different outcome. (It's like when I watch Titanic and pray that this time it won't sink. Every. Time.) It has already happened, so it is time to move forward. 

I want to turn the difficult parts of life around and use them for GOOD and for God's glory. Life is hard enough without allowing the bad to consume you. We CANNOT control what happens to us, but we ALWAYS have a CHOICE in how we respond. This will always be a conscious and intentional choice that I will have to make. In the moment it might be difficult to keep the bitterness at bay, but with a little effort and some perspective I bet it will become easier over time. So from here on out I CHOOSE better over bitter. 

“Am I bitter? No, I’m better. I’m a better person because of the experience, for…
through the pain I learned compassion,
through the doubts I learned to trust,
through the fear I learned faith,
through the rejection I saw God’s amazing hand of protection,
and through the darkness, I saw the Light.”
-excerpt from Wildnerness Skills for Women.