Love – how simple a word yet how great the power it possesses, a four-letter word that can move rigid worlds and soften numb hearts. One funny thing about love is that sometimes, you’ll never know whether it has already been there for a long time, just silent or it was some place else and then suddenly comes unanticipated.
Love can be in many forms: when a kid gets his first pet dog and the glimmer in his eyes as he fastens the leash around its collar, when a mission worker serves her country or that magical moment when a mother holds her child for the first time.
When you love someone or something, you’d do and sacrifice anything to keep them safe and to make them happy. Sacrifice is another funny thing. Some of us, when we hear the word “sacrifice,” whether it’s in the Holy Gospel, a priest’s homily or just from your morning radio announcer, we immediately think it means giving up something you love, something you worked hard for, or something you just don’t want to lose. And we live in fear of that.
But sacrifice, though it does mean giving something up, you do it in the hopes of benefiting others, in the hopes of giving others a better shot. Like love, it can come in different ways. Take it from a soldier, selflessly fighting for the freedom and security of his country and fellowmen, a social worker sent to a very dangerous area, bringing hope and aid to those affected by a greatly destructive typhoon, or a mother, leaving her husband and children behind to work abroad. All these are examples of plain sacrifice – leaving it all behind, putting yourself at risk for the good of others, for the ones you love.
Allow me to share a story.
April 18 of 2015 had all the potential to be a “normal day” in my life, except for the fact that I had to travel to Manila that afternoon. I’ve traveled before but for some reason, I had a heavy feeling in my chest. You could say I was overreacting because I’m due to come back a few days later but something kept reminding me that I was leaving something behind. In my depressive state, I laid my eyes on who sat by the widow. It was a little girl. At first I was worried. My mind kept thinking, “Where are her parents? Why is she sitting alone? Is she on the right flight?” but nevertheless, I sat and awaited our arrival. I wasn’t quite the type to engage in conversation but my mother told me to talk to the little girl, so I did. An hour and 25 minutes, that’s how much time we had on air, yet I learned so much about her.
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Her name was Althea, a meek 9-year old girl. When I asked her why she was alone, her answer baffled me. Althea was traveling alone, alone! A fragile 9-year old girl all alone on a plane heading to the nation’s capital city. She was so mature and said it so casually that I began to doubt that she was indeed 9 years of age. I asked her if she ever did this before, she said it was her first time. I couldn’t do anything but stare at this unbelievable little girl. When I asked her where her parents were and why they weren’t with her, she replied that her mother is an overseas Filipino worker and her father is a stay-at-home husband.
As we conversed about her reasons for travelling to Manila, the heavy feeling I had felt moments before our conversation slowly subsided. She was moving in with her aunt who lives in Cavite because she was going to be studying there for the incoming school year. What surprised me most of all was that she made it clear that it was her decision. She wanted to go to Cavite.
This made me realize something that was unclear until that moment: Love is nothing without sacrifice and sacrifice is nothing if not for love. When you love someone, giving him or her up, or leaving him or her behind won’t hurt as much because you know that you’re ensuring a better life for them. Sacrificing won’t be as hard to endure. Althea had to leave everything and everyone she ever knew in Butuan: her father, friends, relatives, and the life she had lived for 9 years. She wanted to help her parents in the near future by ensuring a good education today. I can’t even imagine what her parents had to go through in sending their daughter alone, to a place, a life that would be completely unknown to her. That is another true sacrifice.
An hour and 25 minutes on that plane, a seemingly short time, not even half of a day, yet it was one of the most heart-warming moments I have ever experienced. Wherever I go, if I ever feel alone, hurt, or if I’m traveling, I will remember Althea, her dashing smile, and most of all, her story that changed my life. I hope it will change yours too.
