Twenty years since Angelica was left by her aunt to stay with us as a 5-month old infant, the sacrifices of nurturing and guiding her along the uninterrupted journey to academic attainment has now come to a glorious realization. The day has finally arrived when at an early age of 20, in May 2019, exactly the same month when she was left to our care, she had attained the heights of her academic goal---graduating from college. She had been conferred a degree of Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education (BSEd) from the Surigao State College of Technology.
She is best informed, however, that the pinnacle of success is yet afar off. Her present achievement is only a key to open any of the innumerable doors of opportunities which are for her reserved as she moves forward on her own. She is not in any way devoid of counsels and directions and coaching on how to run the race and win. Along the path of her journey to success there is always provided warning signs and encouraging motivations to step up and avoid the ever welcoming traffic of worldly amusements.
Her graduation from both Seminary and Institute program of the Church equipped her best with the underlying knowledge of the best principles of success. If she allows those gospel related principles into her quest for personal growth and development, both temporally and spiritually, she is sure to find and open the best door of opportunity to attain her personal goals.
As foster parents we give her the moral agency to lead her own life towards her eternal destination. There are yet many decisions for her to make, many obstacles to overcome and many more battles to fight. But she is best prepared for all these barriers along the road to the desired glorious accomplishments. Her eight years of gospel learning in the Seminary and Institute and her college degree are the best armor and shield as she enters the real competitive arena towards triumph and jubilation.
She is best informed, however, that the pinnacle of success is yet afar off. Her present achievement is only a key to open any of the innumerable doors of opportunities which are for her reserved as she moves forward on her own. She is not in any way devoid of counsels and directions and coaching on how to run the race and win. Along the path of her journey to success there is always provided warning signs and encouraging motivations to step up and avoid the ever welcoming traffic of worldly amusements.
Her graduation from both Seminary and Institute program of the Church equipped her best with the underlying knowledge of the best principles of success. If she allows those gospel related principles into her quest for personal growth and development, both temporally and spiritually, she is sure to find and open the best door of opportunity to attain her personal goals.
As foster parents we give her the moral agency to lead her own life towards her eternal destination. There are yet many decisions for her to make, many obstacles to overcome and many more battles to fight. But she is best prepared for all these barriers along the road to the desired glorious accomplishments. Her eight years of gospel learning in the Seminary and Institute and her college degree are the best armor and shield as she enters the real competitive arena towards triumph and jubilation.
A call to serve in God’s kingdom, licensure examination, employment, temple marriage, family and other future plans for advancement are choices of priority that may keep her life in balance between the spiritual and temporal pursuits. We are sure though that she understood best the measure of preeminence in each of life’s strivings.
Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf counseled: “Remember, we are only temporary travelers in this world. Let us not devote our God-given talents and energies solely to setting earthly anchors, but rather let us spend our days growing spiritual wings. For, as sons [and daughters] of the Most High God, we were created to soar unto new horizons...
`”If we devote ourselves to the pursuit of worldly wealth and the glitter of public recognition at the expense of our families and our spiritual growth, we will discover soon enough that we have made a fool’s bargain.” (Dieter F. Uchtdorf, Two Principles for Any Economy, General Conference, October 2009).
Along the path of her journey to success lies roadblocks and confusing crossroads. However, she is not without a sure guide. She is gifted with the Holy Ghost for her to call upon through sincere communion with Heavenly Father to help her know which way to go. Then as her choices are in accord with the inspiration she receives, there is no way she will be led off course or land to the wrong end. She will have her way to her goals lighted as for her to clearly see the grandeur of future achievement.
She needs to understand though that success is not always measured by worldly wealth. Success is representative of the satisfaction and ultimate fulfillment of life’s aspirations. It symbolizes the fruit of a hard and ambitious pursuit amidst the challenges and adversities of life. It is the joy and happiness of choosing the right thing in the face of pervasive alluring temptations to seemingly harmless evil-doings. It is a feeling of amazement for having placed a lifetime of sacred devotion to the work of the Lord and enduring obedience to His commandments. It is to have the feeling of assurance that after obeying the commandments of God and putting aside and walking away from the everyday encounters with the unwanted affairs of mortality and worldly conundrums, there awaits a place with the glory of God’s presence.
Angelica is no stranger to the Lord’s promises: “For verily I say unto you, blessed is he that keepeth my commandments, whether in life or in death; and he that is faithful in tribulation, the reward of the same is greater in the kingdom of heaven.
“Ye cannot behold with your natural eyes, for the present time, the design of your God concerning those things which shall come hereafter, and the glory which shall follow after much tribulation.
“For after much tribulation come the blessings. Wherefore the day cometh that ye shall be crowned with much glory; the hour is not yet, but is nigh at hand.” (D & C 58:2-4).
In her long study of the Gospel, she must have understood that both our spiritual and temporal pursuits are common undertakings of the sons and daughters of God, and it is governed by spiritual laws and commandments. Relevant to her quest for growth and development is her knowledge of the fact, “…that all things unto [God] are spiritual, and not at any time have [God] given unto [us] a law which was temporal…” (see D & C 29:34).
Therefore, her search for career advancement and progression will be subject to the law upon which her choices are governed. The Lord made it clear: “There is a law, irrevocably decreed in heaven before the foundations of this world, upon which all blessings are predicated—
“And when we obtain any blessing from God, it is by obedience to that law upon which it is predicated.” (D & C 130:20-21).
President Russel M. Nelson counseled: “If you really want a certain blessing, you’d better find out what the laws are that govern that blessing and then work on becoming obedient to those laws.” (“The Mission and Ministry of the Savior: A Discussion with Elder Russell M. Nelson,” Ensign, June 2005, 19).
As she now embarks in an opening encounter with her occupational rendezvous, it is our hope that she will continue with her awareness of the truths of life and the many avenues of future possibilities that she has yet to explore and discover. We pray that she will never abandon her first choice of a career and stay on course towards taking the next step up the realization of her dream of becoming a professional teacher. We likewise pray that she will yet contemplate, with prayerful consideration, her prior plans of serving a full-time mission in the Church. However, we always give her the privilege to modify her decisions in life. Our deepest hope is for her not to desert away from the covenant path on her journey to success, neither to leave the race through life and throughout all eternity.
She’s now celebrating her 21st birthday today, January 8, 2020. We wish that her strolling the childish penthouse will soon end and a more responsible and mature perspective will lead her wandering the grownup suite. May she be inspired to look beyond the boundaries of her present, and start to walk her journey to success with faith and courage and better vision towards her eternal destination. May Heavenly Father bless her with the best of health and physical vigor as she marches in cadence on the busy thoroughfare of life’s demanding race.
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