Dear Manang,
I am at a loss about what to do about my children. I have just gotten out of prison after almost five years on my second arrest for drugs. I have not been the best mother but I still have my mother instincts. I came out of prison penniless and I am just living at a Christian-based church for the meantime. I need to make plans but when I learned that my eldest son left home because the father maltreated him, and my younger son also left home in search of the older brother, I feel lost. I don’t know what to do. The older one has resorted to stealing and it feels like it won’t be long before I will need to visit him in jail too. I feel powerless because I also need to find work in order to care for them. I wish someone or some institution could hire people like me. But my conviction will make it even more difficult now for people to trust me. What does a mother do?
Mines of Quezon City
Dear Mines,
This is the best time to keep your faith in God. I am sure there is a purpose for your early release and the challenges come in a rush when there seems to be no open doors and options.
It may seem desperate at the moment but God is all knowing. Make sure that you send the message out to relatives that you are out of jail. This might give your children hope and they may come looking for you or you might get information about them. I wish that you may find a job to sustain you or find a business that you could begin. I am sure that you have learned skills while in jail to be able to do something on your own. I have heard of some organizations that help people like you. But sometimes it helps when you know what you want to do. The length of time in jail should have given you some time to plan. Sometimes this is what God waits for, the change that the person himself wants. You are with a group that has the power of prayers. I also pray for you that God will send you your answers sooner than you expect. He will send people to you.
Have faith,
Manang
