"Every Journey’s Best ‘Baon’"

Life is indeed beautiful, isn’t it? It never stays stagnant. It goes up and it goes down. Sometimes, it becomes vibrant then it becomes gloomy. There are times that it tastes the sweetest, but there are times it tastes the bitterest. Let us remember that we are the writer of our own stories. Each of us has different journeys to tell. And I can say that in every journey that we have in our lives, we should never forget this one thing that we always have to bring- the best ‘baon’ in every adventure- that is none other than a genuine prayer.

Last December 17, 2022, during the closing ceremony of the Enhanced Leadership Program for the 1st Class Cadets, the guest of honor and speaker, PLTGen Cesar Hawthorne Binag (Ret.) presented a graduation gift for the graduating cadets. His gift was his devotional book entitled "44 Days of Faith and Valor" which tells 44 different stories from a perspective of both a warrior of country and a warrior of Christ.

Each story of the said book tells real-life experiences and lessons learned about his journey in life. From the day of his reception in Special Action Force until the day he became a dauntless soldier. He emphasized in his stories how his faith and devotion to God lead and protect him from all the challenges he encountered in his adventures. Every story has a Bible verse that served as his guide in everything that he did.

Indeed, prayer is a must in every journey that we have. In his book, he says that it is critical that we know the essentials that we need to bring with us during a war. Yes, we need enough ammunitions, firearms, navigation tools, communication equipment, and even food and water to satiate our hunger and thirst. However, there is one thing that we must never forget to bring. That is a daily dose of prayer.

In times of confusion, devastation, and suffering, what we really need to do is to always have faith in God. As the Corinthians 12:9 says, “Each time He said, ‘My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.’ So now I am glad to boast about my weakness, so that power of Christ can work through me.’”