#SoakingSeason2018 Backstory

I wanted a Mt. Sinai Experience, and here's why. 

"Why are people so content with just meeting with Moses rather than going up the mountain themselves? Do you know you can STAND BEHIND THAT BURNING BUSH, you can stand before the God who dwells in unapproachable light? 

When was the last time you walked up the mountain by yourself? You can walk up that mountain and have this divine encounter with Him. Don't settle for something less than that!"

These words shook me to the core as I watched this video of a Francis Chan preaching. (Start at 15.00 if you want to get to that part, but the whole preaching is amazing.)

Climbing the mountain, in the context of the preaching, was to set a time to meet with God, soak in His presence, and have some good, quality, one-on-ONE time. Where you will speak and He will listen, and He will speak and you will listen.

I jumped at my seat watching that and said, "God, I want that. I want that date. That quality You and me time."

I have only recently practiced starting my day with Quiet Time with Him. I'd read the Bible based on the daily scripture guide that the church gives, have my coffee, listen to praise and worship and pray. (It took me years before I could develop this discipline, so don't be intimidated by this.)

It started with 15 minutes, and then depending on the time that I had, it would extend to an hour. But it was never truly enough. Sometimes I'd just read the Bible and rush off to the shower where I would squeeze in a short prayer time. On crazier days, I'd utter quick prayers in my head while prepping for work or while commuting to the office. It was not climbing the mountain at all.

I've been telling Fr. Jun for the past TWO years that I would visit them and do a quick trip to Mt. Manaling where I could have a Bible study with the Youth there. But you know, God makes all things beautiful in His time. I was not ready back then. This year though, in the Season of Lent at that, I felt that it was time.

True enough, when I started planning it everything fell into place beautifully. There was a two-day holiday in my city, and I got a sweet deal for my airfare at Php 2,500 round-trip with PAL! (Don't you just love it when God just works things out for you? He is really AMAZING.)

Now let me be honest and clear.

I needed this. Aside from wanting to spend more time with Him, there were also things in my life that I have been delaying and I knew that through this trip and of course with His grace, I would be able to finally face them. Do I recommend it to others? Yes. And I will tell you why in future blog posts.

But does it make you less of a Jesus Lover if you do not go on your own version of #SoakingSeason? The answer is NO. Does it make me a better person than you? The answer is still NO.

You and I, we have different journeys. Different needs. And because of that, God also deals with us differently. The moment we decide to meet with Him, He will meet with us. And it does not matter if you were on top of a mountain or inside your dark room, when you seek for that divine interaction - you will have it. So don't feel bad and think that the ONLY way to "climb the mountain" is to literally climb a mountain. It's not.

The last thing I want to happen out of this blog series is to make other people feel bad about themselves. In fact, my goal is quite the opposite. It is my hope that through the detailing of my experience, I could inspire at least one person to climb the mountain.

Because He is waiting, and He would love to spend time with you.