REFLECTION

During my summer vacation I was invited to join a youth Camp The head of the Youth for Christ (YFC) sent me a message on Messenger asking if I could be the speaker for Talk 2 for the upcoming camp, At first I doubted myself because the last time I gave a talk was during the youth orientation of my Parish and that was already two years ago.That's why I replied to the head of YFC, I'm not sure if I can, but they still encourage me by saying that I only go home once in a while, so they hoped I would accept their request then They told me they would wait for my response, During those days I overthought everything, I kept asking myself,  What if I forget what to say? What if they don't understand my talk? So instead of making a decision quick, I prayed and discerned and while praying, I realized that maybe God was giving me this opportunity to grow in faith, become more confident, and share with other young people what I had learned inside the seminary, Because of that realization, I messaged the Head of YFC and said, Okay po I will take the talk.

But even after accepting I still worried about how everything would go and the day before the camp I started preparing my PowerPoint presentation, but no ideas came to my mind. So I paused for a while, prayed, and reflected on the topic they had given me. As I reflected, many personal experiences and lessons suddenly came to my mind and they were all connected to the topic. On the second day of the camp I was the first speaker and surprisingly I did not feel nervous when I stood in front of everyone. Instead of following everything I had prepared I found myself sharing my own experiences and the lessons God had taught me, and at the end of my talk, I became emotional when I saw some of the participants crying and at that moment, I said to myself This is not me It is the Holy Spirit speaking to them And I realized that when I surrender my fears and worries to God he can work through me in ways I could never imagine.

This experience reminds me of today's readings. Like the King in the first reading I was afraid and filled with doubts but through prayer I learned to place my confidence in God instead of my fears, The Gospel also reminds me not to ignore the opportunities God gives me to grow and serve. Accepting the invitation to give the talk became my response to His call. When I surrender my fears to the Holy Spirit, He worked through me and touched the hearts of others and it also taught me that faith grows when I trust God, and His grace can bear fruit not only in my own life but also in the lives of the people He allows me to serve. Amen.