God's Timing is Always Perfect

When I was a kid, I've always dreamed of becoming a singer someday but I grew up so shy and low on confidence. I'm afraid of performing in front of large crowds. My dreams fade, and I'd never try to pursue them again. However, God heard my prayers. In His perfect time, He turned everything into reality much better than I have expected in my life.

My mother told us how she began to notice that I liked to sing when I was four years old. According to her, they took me and my sister to a mall to buy gifts for the upcoming Christmas. Then, they realized that they couldn't find me since there were so many people there. But after an hour, they spotted me walking while enjoying singing as if I wasn't lost haha!

My father was the first person to encourage me in everything I do, especially in singing. He taught me how to sing and we practiced through singing in the famous videoke of the Philippines. (Hello my fellow Filipinos here, I'm 100% sure you know what is videoke 😂) It also serves as our family bonding at home, as my sibling loves singing as well. My parents and friends always pushed me to sing when there was an event at school when I was in elementary and high school. However, I grew up so shy and have no confidence to perform in front of large audiences. When I sing in front of the crowd, my hearts races so fast, my voice shakes and I am unable to sing confidently due to my nervousness. Perhaps it was one of my weaknesses in life.

When I was 14 years old I fall in love with playing the guitar after seeing my brother's friend jamming in front of our house. I've always loved watching them. Since then, I've always dreamed to have my own guitar so I decided to set aside some of my money from my everyday allowance before going to school to purchase a guitar. I didn't even try to ask my parents for a guitar because I know we're lack of money. Although my saved money wasn't enough to buy a high-quality instrument, I'm still so happy and thankful that I was still able to have my own guitar for only 20$. Starting then, I'd no longer need to borrow from my brother's friend whenever I'm watching youtube tutorials to learn.

Since then, I begin to make cover songs while playing the guitar and posted them on Facebook. Despite my shyness, I was so happy when I saw many people appreciate and compliment me through comments. When I was in senior high school, a friend persuaded me to join the choir audition of our university with her. At first, I was hesitant because of a lack of confidence to pass all the audition stages. But, since I was with a friend, I decided to give it a shot. Surprisingly, I passed the audition and was accepted into our school's choral organization. I made a lot of wonderful friends who have the same interest as mine. Despite the fact that I had to attend the rehearsal after class from 5:30 pm - 9:00 pm, I had a great time doing it because it was my passion and dream. I'll never regret joining the choir because it made my senior high school journey more memorable.

When I was in my first year of college, one of our subjects, art appreciation, has a final project which is an event that composed of a performance in which all engineering students can showcase their talents, such as making and modeling costumes, singing, dancing, spoken word poetry, band, etc. Because our section needed a band representative, they are looking for someone who can play the electric guitar (rhythm), and they've asked me if I'd want to try out for the rhythm part. My heart was so happy that time because it had been one of my life's ambitions. Despite the fact that it was my first time playing the electric guitar in front of many people, I gave my best to ensure the success of our performance. Thankfully, our concert went well, all the students loved it because we played the song of Paramore and 5sos. That was one of the happiest and most memorable experiences of my life!!! Thanks to my friends/classmates/bandmates!!!

Last week, our department's student officers informed us that a virtual acquaintance party will be held on October 21, 2021. They divided us into 30 groups with 30 members and shuffled us so we didn't know each other as expected. The event consisted of making a group yell, a representative of each group for a singing contest, TikTok dance challenge, and the amazing mind race through discord app. I was chosen as our group's representative for the singing competition. At first, I was hesitant because I don't believe in myself, but my friends and family encouraged me to give it a shot. I told myself that maybe I could join and that it's okay if I don't win because the important thing is that I enjoy it and that our group has a representative. That was the first time in my life that I joined a singing competition. I didn't expect that I will make it to 2nd place. My heart is overjoyed, and I'm grateful to the Lord for giving me the courage to grab the opportunity to showcase the talent He has given to me.

Thanks to the group chat and the virtual acquaintance party, our group has been able to establish a good relationship that feels as if we're very close in personal. I'm very happy I have them as my groupmates. Since I was already a fourth-year student, I was one of the oldest in the group. They even asked me if I already have a boyfriend so they can introduce someone to me hahaha!

Since I was a child, I've always prayed to God that one of my dreams is to sing in front of the crowd without being scared or nervous, but I've never had the opportunity. But when God was the one who moved, I had no idea how much better His plans were. Despite my doubts and lack of confidence, I'd never expected to be a member of a choir organization that competes and performs throughout the Philippines, a rhythm guitarist in a band, and the 2nd placer in my first ever singing competition. He introduced me to those memorable experiences while also building friendships with many of the people I met in my dream journey. God knows when I was completely ready for my dreams and His timing is always perfect for everything He has planned for us.

Sometimes we tend to ask God why our lives don't turn out the way we expected or why didn't He instantly grant the prayers we desired? From these life experiences, I learned that we should have patience for everything we prayed for, accepting that not all our prayers will be answered "Yes" by God and we should wait for God's perfect timing while trusting Him with all our hearts that He has better plans than we do.

God's never early, never late, but always on time and He always sees the bigger picture of our lives.