WHEN WILL I BE READY?

Nicole Shane G. Salmorin

Many years ago, Kenneth Johnson created a card game called “Phase 10”. The objective
of the game is to be the first person to complete all ten phases with the lowest score. This
made the game more interesting because some players can move to the next phase easily while
others are stuck at a certain phase.

In view of what happened in my life over the past several years, I thought my life was
like that game. You see, when life deals you a bad hand, you just have to play it and make the
most of it. As “they” say, that’s life.

As you surmise, I am one of those teenagers who became a mother at an early age.
Those were the time when I was blinded by what I thought was true love. Don’t get me wrong
here, it’s never a mistake to give your all when you love someone but always remember to
leave something for yourself, especially when it is not the right time yet.

The idea of “being ready” never came into my mind because I am always confident that I
will be able to handle it when something enticing comes around. Unfortunately, I didn’t. Just
like the game, I got stuck for a few years. Trying my best to provide for my kids and not being
able to achieve my ambitions.

When will I be ready? I never asked myself that question but experience taught me the
answer. This is one of the lessons I learned; you don’t have to experience something in order to
learn. Stumbling through enormous rocks and learning how to stand up again made me
resilient. Facing whatever life throws at me – on my own made me dauntless.

This article is written to remind my fellow youngsters to be patient. Great things take
time. You will appreciate it more when you achieve something after a long time of waiting. You
will learn to take good care of it more because you invested to fulfill it.

Love? The right person will come at the right time. Pray for it. Pray for him. For the
meantime, build your own kingdom. Set goals for you to achieve. Set your disposition in life so
you won’t get lost. Never let temptation to carry you away from a brighter future in store for
you.

Spend more time with God and He will never leave you. You will never be forsaken. You
will never go astray. I'm sure you know that many people do not know or understand God's
nature. He loves us and wants the best for us. In reality, how we handle adversity is the true
measure of our faith. Yes, when life deals us a bad hand, we just have to play it, but how we
play it is what makes the difference. As the late Pearl Bailey once said, "People see God every
day. They just don't recognize Him.