ONE LAZY afternoon as we drove to church I shared with Panay News founder Danny Fajardo, who was on the wheels, the stormy relationship I had with my kids.
I could see Danny’s eyes getting misty and as if he was choking in disbelief that I would be treated this way.
Sometimes I really couldn’t help share my predicament to friends, or even to strangers, but the act of pouring out your pain gives me a feeling of relief.
Different individuals have different reactions, from anger to sympathy.
Eventually Danny broke his silence, grasping for words to say. He told me, “Nels, don’t worry about your burden. Each one of us has his own cross to carry. I had mine, too. Let’s leave everything to Jehovah. Hatred has no place in heaven. Soon they will realize you’re still their father.”
I’ve been struggling for almost 12 years. On several occasions I tried to reconcile with my kids but the walls they built is too impregnable for the bridge I was trying to build.
I am not a perfect husband, neither am I an ideal father. But one thing is sure, I am not the worst. I may not have more than enough to provide them sufficiently for what they wanted but I have just enough for what they needed.
An ordinary government employee with Salary Grade I, my humble earnings have made simple living already a luxury. Abundance comes only once a year, when there’s a Christmas bonus.
Danny Fajardo came at the right moment in my life when I was at my lowest. Though we’ve known each other for quite some time when I used to be an active media practitioner back in mid ‘90s, only recently we had renewed our friendship.
His constant text messages of biblical verses gave me a chance to know him better not as a newspaper publisher but someone who has embraced something pious. This led him to invite me regularly for a cup of coffee at Hotel del Rio.
In one of our meetings Danny gave me a copy of the Holy Scriptures, Holy Bible to other sects. There were times he would open a page and share with me Jehovah’s message. I could feel his persistence for me to join him in his path. Every word he uttered penetrated in my heart like a dagger, not to inflict pain but to cleanse whatever heartaches I am loaded with.
My, this was a man others looked down for a hundred thousand reasons for whatever personal differences they had with him, but this was also the same man I looked up to because of his benevolence to peers badly in need.
I was a recipient of Danny’s kindness. Once he sent someone to partly pay my hospital bills as the management refused to release me unless it was fully paid. That act of kindness was forever engraved in my heart.
Days before he joined our Creator, I was blessed with his company. He invited me for lunch with his beloved wife Maria and a small group at his residence in Mandurriao. A Bible reading followed after a sumptuous lunch.
The next day I joined him again in the church. After an hour of worship Danny bid goodbye. He told me he was in a rush to catch a plane for Manila.
I never thought it would be his last goodbye. The next day he was hospitalized and scheduled for an open heart surgery.
Goodbye my friend. Your wisdom was beyond reproach. (roblesnelson339@yahoo.com.ph/PN)
