Punxsutawney, Philippines

Here in Manila, we get a 24-hour break or brief vacation every 19 days.  We make the most of a short time to recuperate, rejuvenate, revamp, revitalize, recover, renovate, resuscitate, and restore our energies.  We try to renew, resolve, rededicate, recommit, rediscover, redefine, refocus, and regenerate our spirit.

             In a word, this is called Repentance (to become repenitant and make penance for our constant blunders). How grateful we are for the Restoration of the Gospel and to know that there is One who can renew and resurrect us some day! 

Remember, when all is said and done, there is nearly always more said than done!.   See Sister Taylor’s “Punxsutawney, Philippines,” attached.   

Love,

GT & DT

George & Debra

Punxsutawney, Philippines

You probably recognize the name Punxsutawney, but you don’t connect it to the Philippines. Punxsutawney is in Pennsylvania, USA, not in the Philippines. This famous Pennsylvania town is the traditional location for celebrating “Ground Hog Day:” If the day is cloudy when the ground hog emerges from his hole, it will be an early spring.  If the day is sunny when the ground hog emerges he will see his shadow, retreat, and winter will last another six weeks.

The other day, as I was looking back upon my life, I was wishing that I could live some of it over again.  The Lord in His great love and wisdom said, “Debra, you do get to live it over again! I give you a chance each and every new day!”  He then asked me, “What is your priority? What are you going to do today to make this day what you want?”

My mind then remembered the movie, “Ground Hog Day.”  I never liked it! Bill Murray playing the weather man, Phil Conners, covered the long awaited event in Punxsutawney, where the ground hog was supposed to appear from his burrow. I wondered why Phil was so slow. “Why did it take him so long to figure things out and change?” Of course the same thing can be asked of me, “Why do I take so long to figure things out and to repent?”

Well, I can’t say that I don’t get a chance to “get it” here in the Philippines. Here in the MTC we must constantly repeat our schedule and curriculum every 19 days.  The longer I am here, the more applicable this movie message is for me as I experience the   seemingly repetitive cycle of days and watch the Filipino people do everything they can to hide themselves from the sun.

By the time we return home we will have repeated the training 36 times!  This cyclone of cycles comes faster and faster.  I say to myself, “This is indeed, “Ground Hog day!”  So, I ask myself, “Why do I need to repeat and repent so much?” Then in gratitude I realize that most people do not have the opportunity to repeat so intently and in such a wonderful environment.  But everyone has the opportunity to face a new day that is grey, cloudy, or sunny.

It took Phil Conners a long time to “get it.”  He finally realized that he was the one who made his life miserable—that he was the only one who could make his life happy.  He tried drastic ways to stop the repetition, but he found that he could only change himself!  He chose to acquire knowledge, learn new skills, to play the piano and even learn a foreign language.  He made friends with those who irritated him, saved lives, assisted others many times, and built close relationships.

Oh, why does it take me so long to learn and change? I guess that my memory is short, my vision is covered by clouds, and my will to change is just an occasional or sporadic habit.

What do I want? I want to live in the sunshine where I can see my shadows more clearly. I want many more “cycle of days” filled with the light of good works, good words and goodly deeds.

 

So, from Punxsutawney Philippines,

 “May your Ground Hog Day(s) be filled with the sunshine of hope!

Debra S. Taylor May, 2012