{"id":8646,"date":"2021-09-03T20:13:57","date_gmt":"2021-09-04T06:13:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/?p=8646"},"modified":"2021-09-03T20:14:02","modified_gmt":"2021-09-04T06:14:02","slug":"it-is-well-with-my-soul","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/2021\/09\/03\/it-is-well-with-my-soul\/","title":{"rendered":"It Is Well with My Soul"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

by Seneca Moraleda-Puguan<\/em>

<\/strong>Finding the words to pray for the past few days has been very difficult. My prayers come with tears and with a heavy heart.

As I present my requests to God and seek His face, visions of suffering people from all corners of the world fill my mind \u2013 children contracting the virus, families mourning for the loss of their loved ones, Afghans trying to escape from their country, and so much more. Everything seems to be overwhelming; the burden is just too heavy to bear.

Just the other day, we received the news of a very close friend, someone we look up to as a spiritual father, succumbing to COVID-19. He left a wife and a young daughter.

My heart aches for his wife whom I dearly love as a friend. She just lost her father a few days before her husband died. And at the moment the love of her life passed away, she was in the hospital taking care of her mother who is also battling for her life.

Unfortunately, her whole family contracted the virus, including their daughter. I couldn\u2019t even begin to imagine the pain and the despair she\u2019s feeling for the great loss she experienced. I wanted to hug and cry with her but I can only do it from afar. I can only pray for God to sustain, comfort and give her peace.

She\u2019s just one of the millions around the world who had to endure the terrible pain this pandemic has inflicted.

Every single day, we receive messages from close friends asking for prayers for their family members exhibiting symptoms of the virus. Every now and then, we see profile pictures on Facebook changing to black, that sending condolences has become frequent.

We can feel the spirit of anxiety, worry and fear in the air. Death is hovering over the earth. It\u2019s a very difficult season, indeed. Just when we thought that things are going to get better, it seems like, it\u2019s the other way around.For the past weeks, my family has been bombarding the heavens with prayers of healing, protection and provision for families and friends. Even if it seems like nothing\u2019s happening or our prayers are unanswered, our hearts are certain that our God is at work. He never stopped and He never will. We may not see his hands with our physical eyes, but we are assured that He who gave His promise of salvation is faithful.

Though many times it\u2019s hard to find the words to pray, and the only thing I can offer are tears, heart and ears have learned to receive the truth of God\u2019s mercy and grace and shut the lies of the enemy telling me there is no hope. The pandemic may have locked us down, but the great news of God\u2019s rescue through Jesus Christ can never be trapped and it continues to do its powerful work in people\u2019s lives.

Remember my friend who lost her husband and father? In the midst of the darkness she\u2019s in, I am greatly encouraged by her response. She said:

\u201cThough I am sad, I am at peace that he has fulfilled his purpose here on earth. I am thankful to our Lord for the wonderful years we were able to spend with him. I can truly say, it is well with my soul.\u201d

What a powerful display of grace and strength at a time of grief and mourning.

For the whole week, before we start with our homeschooling lessons, my children and I would sing and dance the very popular and powerful song written by Horatio Spafford at a time of loss and grief:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When peace like a river attendeth my way, When sorrows like sea billows roll. Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say, it is well with my soul. It is well, it is well with my soul.

<\/em>It may be hard, but I pray, that you too, will have the strength to say that it is well, it is well with your soul.

Read More Personal Reflections:
<\/em><\/strong>PLEASE SPARE THEM FROM DELTA: A Prayer for the Children<\/a>
Delta Rising<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Seneca Moraleda-Puguan Finding the words to pray for the past few days has been…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":8625,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[],"featured_image_urls":{"full":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/PR_Pray-color_09042021.jpg?fit=518%2C881&ssl=1",518,881,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/PR_Pray-color_09042021.jpg?resize=150%2C150&ssl=1",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/PR_Pray-color_09042021.jpg?fit=176%2C300&ssl=1",176,300,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/PR_Pray-color_09042021.jpg?fit=518%2C881&ssl=1",518,881,true],"large":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/PR_Pray-color_09042021.jpg?fit=518%2C881&ssl=1",518,881,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/PR_Pray-color_09042021.jpg?fit=518%2C881&ssl=1",518,881,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/PR_Pray-color_09042021.jpg?fit=518%2C881&ssl=1",518,881,true],"ultp_layout_landscape_large":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/PR_Pray-color_09042021.jpg?resize=518%2C800&ssl=1",518,800,true],"ultp_layout_landscape":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/PR_Pray-color_09042021.jpg?resize=518%2C570&ssl=1",518,570,true],"ultp_layout_portrait":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/PR_Pray-color_09042021.jpg?resize=518%2C881&ssl=1",518,881,true],"ultp_layout_square":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/PR_Pray-color_09042021.jpg?resize=518%2C600&ssl=1",518,600,true],"covernews-slider-full":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/PR_Pray-color_09042021.jpg?resize=518%2C715&ssl=1",518,715,true],"covernews-slider-center":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/PR_Pray-color_09042021.jpg?resize=518%2C500&ssl=1",518,500,true],"covernews-featured":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/PR_Pray-color_09042021.jpg?fit=518%2C881&ssl=1",518,881,true],"covernews-medium":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/PR_Pray-color_09042021.jpg?resize=463%2C340&ssl=1",463,340,true],"covernews-medium-square":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/PR_Pray-color_09042021.jpg?resize=288%2C250&ssl=1",288,250,true]},"author_info":{"info":["admin"]},"category_info":"Personal Reflections<\/a>","tag_info":"Personal Reflections","comment_count":"0","jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/PR_Pray-color_09042021.jpg?fit=518%2C881&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8646"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8646"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8646\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8647,"href":"https:\/\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8646\/revisions\/8647"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8625"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8646"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8646"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8646"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}