Being "with"

With.

Such a simple word. Say it too many times and it begins to sound a little funny.

I met this little girl at the orphanage in Malaybalay. As you can see, when I first sat down next to her, she was not at all interested in talking to me. She wouldn’t make eye contact and gave very negative answers to all my questions. No, she doesn’t like to sing or dance. No, she didn’t want to join in the game of frisbee with the other children. And no, she doesn’t like talking to people.

After a few minutes of sitting together, though, she began to open up and even started smiling. See the difference? 

All she needed was for someone to be with her, to show her that she is loved, that she is wanted. By the end of the afternoon, she didn’t want me to leave and kept hugging me tightly, calling me “Ate” or big sister.

While in Malaybalay, I also had the opportunity to visit the city jail. Unlike any jail you might imagine or see in the movies, the inmates were very orderly and polite and so grateful for our presence. We began by celebrating Mass in their community room; in the Eucharist, we are all united as members of the Body of Christ.

We then spent some time just talking with them. Some of the missionaries initiated a game of basketball. Just the simple action of us being with them spoke volumes, that we treated them as our friends.

I think God chose both of these experiences to teach me something about Him. In yesterday’s first reading for the Annunciation, Isaiah prophesies, “the virgin shall be with child, and bear a son, and shall name him Emmanuel, which means ‘God is with us!’” Just like the girl at the orphanage and the inmates at the jail, we need to know that we are not along in our troubles and sorrows. 

Ang Dios uban kanato. God is with us!