Kabanata 46

395 170 9
                                    

Paulit-ulit na bumabalik sa isip at pandinig ko ang mga katagang iyon.


"50/20 principle..." bulong ko sa sarili habang nakatitig sa ceiling. Parang imaginary na naisulat iyon sa puting kisame.


"You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good."


Napabaling ako nang higa sa kabilang direksiyon. Nakauwi na kami ni Paco. Hindi natuloy ang lakad namin sa mall. Na-consume lahat ng oras namin sa pakikipagkuwentuhan kay tatay Xenon. Or rather sa pakikinig ko sa paliwanag nila ni Emilia about my situation.


"You know what anak. We have the same gift." Saad ni tatay.
  

"Anong gift po?" Curious kong tanong.

"The gift to discern. Yours was not developed yet."

"Po?"

"Lahat ng anak ng Diyos ay pinagkalooban niya ng regalo ayon sa kanyang kalooban. Anupamang regalo ang mayroon ka, how are you  going to deal with it? We can accept or reject it. "

"Did I rejected my own gift?" I told him about how  I used that gift to discern people around me from before. And now, it's gone.

"Unconsciously. Because our sins can be the hindrance for it not to prosper."

"Sins?"

"Yes. Your habitual disinclination to exertion. Or the so-called laziness."

Katamaran. Yeah. Guilty ako. Madalas akong tamarin sa maraming bagay. It's like a stigma glued in my system. Kasalanan pala ito?

"How bad is it if you felt like doing nothing at all? If you felt like being lazy and unproductive the whole day?" Kasalanan pala!

"It's a definition for sloth. And sloth is one of the seven capital sins in Christian teachings."

Capital? Does it mean, it's a major major sin?

"Paano po siya naging capital sin?" Interesado kong tanong.

"Views concerning the virtue of work to support society and further God's plan suggest that through inactivity, one invites sin. For Satan finds some mischief still for idle hands to do." Paliwanag niya.

Dama ko ang pagkabog ng dibdib ko sa kabang hindi ko mawari.

"Would it affect me as a person? Would it affect the people around me?"

"Sin is never good to anyone. It will always affect the way we live, the way we think and decide,  and the people around us. But most of all, it will affect our future." Paliwanag pa ni Pastor.

Napaisip ako nang malalim. Napaangat lamang ang paningin ko nang bumukas ang pintuan at pumasok si Emilia. I was expecting Paco behind her but she's all alone.

"Good thing you came, Yang. Samahan mo kami ni Tala dito." Komento ni Tatay Xenon. Nang bumaling siya sa akin, nakangiti na siya. "I think you will learn more from her. She can see through you."

"Po?" Naguguluhan kong tanong.

"So, saan tayo magsisimula?" Tanong agad ni Emilia nang makaupo sa tabi ko. Nasa sala kami nang mga oras na iyon na tinawag ni Shaza kanina na Pastoral House.

Unbinding Ties of SlothTahanan ng mga kuwento. Tumuklas ngayon