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When God Doesn’t Answer Your Prayers

March 8, 2016 by Tina

when god doesn't answer your prayers

I gave birth to our fourth child last January… our fourth blessing from the Lord. In most ways, it was the birth I, along with the rest of my family, had been praying for: unmedicated, “normal,” and as “gentle” as could be, considering it was in a hospital set-up.

I had an amazing birth team made up of my husband, my OB-Gyne, my doula, and the resident doctors and nurses of St. Luke’s Medical Center Quezon City who were present in the Labor and Delivery area at the time.

when god doesn't answer our prayers

All smiles a few minutes after giving birth — with Anthony, my OB Dr. Menie Reyes, the pedia resident on duty (in lieu of Dr. Luisa Manlapaz), and my doula Ate Betty San Luis of Birthing Is A Blessing

Of course, I also had Jesus and Mama Mary on my side, and all our family members and friends, too, who kept us company through their prayers. (Thank you, everyone!)

when god doesn't answer your prayers

Part of my “birthing gear”

It was a beautiful birth, and — ironically — the only birth out of all four of our kids’ births where I felt most at ease, or most “in control,” you could say.

But this post isn’t just about our son’s birth. It’s not a “birth story” post. (I hope to get to write that soon though.)

You see, besides a safe, gentle and “normal” birth, our family had also been praying for the good health of our baby, including no blood type incompatibility between me and our newborn. Since all of our three older kids had some sort of health issue as newborns, we had been hoping that, this time around, things would be “normal,” i.e. we could come home right away from the hospital, and would not have to spend a long time there. We had been praying for “normal” newborn days, where we would have the same “normal” concerns as most other families with newborns have.

But God had other plans.

when god doesn't answer your prayers

To make a long story short, God didn’t answer our prayers. At least not the way we wanted Him to.

I don’t have the time nor energy to go into detail but suffice it to say that our baby did have BO incompatibility, and another condition — bilateral undescended testicles with inguinal hernia (which our eldest also wrote about in a short and sweet post here). We stayed in the hospital for one week. The doctors at the hospital initially wanted our newborn to undergo surgery for the second condition but we chose to seek different opinions and delay surgery.

Now, let me clarify that neither BO incompatibility and the other condition are life-threatening conditions, and we continue to thank the Lord for His faithful love and kindness. The BO incompatibility did result in baby developing anemia though, but still, nothing severely serious.

Currently, our baby — who is named after two great saints: Alexander and Titus — is also underweight (almost severely underweight) for his age. He lost a lot of weight in the weeks that followed our hospital stay, and we are currently focused on helping him gain more weight.

We went through a similar journey before with our third child, but this time around, we can’t pinpoint the exact reason why Baby Titus lost weight, though it could most likely be due to his poor feeding patterns (maybe caused by his anemia) during the first few weeks of life. (Incidentally, this is something I personally prayed for, too — that Titus and I would have no problems with breastfeeding. Oh well… God really has His own plans for us, doesn’t He?)

So what is the point of this post, dear friends? I guess I just want to share some of my reflections based on what has been happening to me and our family, namely:

When God doesn’t answer your prayers…

…it doesn’t mean He can’t hear you…

When God doesn’t answer your prayers…

…it doesn’t mean He doesn’t care about you…

When God doesn’t answer your prayers…

…trust that He knows what’s best (though this is easier said than done, believe me!)…

When God doesn’t answer your prayers…

…don’t feel bad about feeling bad (this, too, shall pass)…

When God doesn’t answer your prayers…

…seek the support and prayers of others…

When God doesn’t answer your prayers…

…believe in His Word and in His promises…

God has been teaching me and my family so much these past weeks.

He has allowed us to see — yet again — how much He loves us through the people around us, the people who pray for and with us, the people who help us physically and even financially and materially.

He has made us realize again how truly rich and blessed we are, and has taught us to be grateful for the little things in life.

There are so many other babies and children who are in greater need of healing (and prayers for healing) compared to Titus — like and Inigo of .

when god doesn't answer your prayers

Courageous Caitie and her parents, Jayjay and Feliz Lucas. Read more about Caitie’s battle with leukemia and her family’s inspiring faith — plus how you can help them out — here.

There are millions of babies and children whose families can’t even afford the basics — food, shelter, clothing — what more good medical care.

when god doesn't answer your prayers

Inigo is a baby with biliary atresia, and he is currently being treated in Taiwan. Follow his story — and find out how you can help him — .

So God has also been using this trial to teach me — yet again — to look beyond myself and my family. To extend help to others in whatever way we can. To live out mercy, not just for this Jubilee Year, but every.single.day.

Indeed, when God doesn’t answer your prayers, there is still so much to thank Him for. He is and always will be good; His love will always endure; His blessings will always come.

How do you “deal” when God doesn’t answer your prayers? Care to share in the comments? Or maybe you know someone who might draw encouragement from this post… Please feel free to share it with them!

Filed Under: FAMILY MATTERS, Motherhood, Our Faith, TRUE CONFESSIONS Tagged With: faith, Relationships

Word-filled Wednesdays: Casting Our Cares Upon Him

October 9, 2013 by Tina

I have a confession to make. (Yes, another one. I know I’ve made these before, so please bear with me.)

I was a bit emotional on Monday morning while we were having our family prayer time, before my husband left for work — I started tearing up in the middle of our prayer, causing our kids to ask, “Mama, what’s wrong?” My husband already knew what was bothering me even before I said a word, and he gently reminded me that God is faithful, and He has never ever let our family down, ever. And I know, deep down in my heart, that what he said is true, and that my doubts and tears don’t do any good but still, I can’t help what I feel sometimes.

I know I try to be positive and upbeat and inspirational on this blog (and everywhere else, in general), but I am deciding to bare my soul today to you all, inspired by this honest post I read on Allison’s blog about writing the hard stuff. (Incidentally, Allison used to be one of my co-bloggers on World Moms Blog, and I personally love her writing!)

So (deep breath) here goes…

I am tired — mostly from wearing/carrying a baby around almost 24/7, while juggling homeschooling and other duties, including work (which I am still grateful for, Lord, yes I am, promise!)…

I am worried — mostly about our finances, and if I’m teaching my kids “enough,” and wondering if I’m doing right by them in all aspects…

I feel like I need a break. (Is this selfish of me? I know it isn’t but I still feel “bad” just typing this out.)

It’s been a little over a month since I’ve resigned from my fulltime job, and there are moments — albeit fleeting ones — when I wonder if I made the right decision. And yes, sometimes, to be totally honest, I miss the “peace and quiet” I get when I am at the office. 

But then, I see my children’s faces and I try to focus on the present, on the now. On the blessing and honor of being their mother.

So I cast my cares upon Him.

This reflection by Sarah Young on FaithGateway is so apt for me today, so I’m sharing part of it with you all via a screenshot, in case you need to read these words, too (you can read the whole thing here):

Screen shot 2013-10-09 at 2.01.19 PM

I’m going to try to take a moment — probably many, many, many moments today, and every day — to breathe in the Father’s love.

I’m going to try to to rest in His grace daily.

I’m going to try to cast my cares upon Him constantly.

Won’t you join me?

How are you, dear friend? Are you feeling burdened today, too? I’d love to “talk” with you in the comments.

Filed Under: Catholic, God, TRUE CONFESSIONS, Word-Filled Wednesdays Tagged With: inspiration, Reflections

We Are Not Perfect Parents — On Philstar.com

October 25, 2012 by Tina

I’m over at Philstar.com’s unBLOGGED section today, sharing yet again about how imperfect we are as parents… And yet, I still hope and pray that somehow, someday, by God’s grace, our children will grow up to love God more than anything or anyone else in the world (including us)… and that — despite our failures as parents (devastating, daily, destructive failures!) — we are still raising “little saints.” (Lord, help us!)

Please do head over to unBLOGGED and read my post here if you have the time. I’d love to get your feedback through the comments section! 🙂

God bless, everyone, and stay safe, healthy and dry, despite the heavy rain here in the Philippines!

Filed Under: Catholic Parenting, FAMILY MATTERS, Intentional Parenting, PARENTING, Philstar.com, Saint Pedro Calungsod, TRUE CONFESSIONS, Truly Rich Reflections, Unblogged

Thankful Thursdays {and Another Confession}

March 8, 2012 by Tina

Image source here.

I have a confession to make: I’ve been a really, really, really mean mom lately. I hesitate to post details here, in the fear that I’ll lose you, dear readers, whom I am SO GRATEFUL to GOD for (thanks for your support!). But, well, in the spirit of Lent and all, let me come clean and say that ours has not been a happy home for many days now. I’ve been super cranky and irritable in general, and very short and physical (*gulps* *sobs*) with the kids. 🙁 I’d like to blame it on hormones (I got my period last week), but that would be taking the easy route, right? Oh yes, I am imperfect. I am a sinner. And I am in need of grace. God’s grace. Not just today, but every single day.

That’s why I’m so grateful that I was able to go to confession earlier, before going to the office. Sobbing Telling my sins to someone who, undoubtedly, is an imperfect sinner like me, yet ordained to let me feel God’s refining, cleansing, amazing grace in a concrete way is an awesome experience every time. I also got to spend a few minutes in Adoration. Praise GOD! 🙂

My experience during the Sacrament of Reconciliation earlier has led me to come up with a “theme” of sorts for my blog posts every Thursday (though I don’t know if I’ll be able to post every week – wish me luck, haha!) – THANKFUL THURSDAYS. As a firm believer that gratitude is a wonderful, FREE antidote to life’s problems, I’ve decided to be more conscious about listing my blessings (which I don’t think I can do in just one post – they are so, so, so many!). So, with that, let today’s Thankful Thursday post begin!

Today, I am thankful for:

  • God’s unconditional love and forgiveness
  • My husband, who let me pour out my frustrations and fears through buckets of tears last night and held me close, assuring me of God’s faithfulness through his loving and comforting silence.
  •  My kids, whom I miss every time I am not with them, have mistreated so many countless times (!) and whose forgiving love and innocent “overattachment” I don’t deserve, but accept just the same.
  • My family, especially my parents, who never fail to amaze me with how unconditional and giving and selfless they are in loving others, especially their children and grandchildren.
  • My friends – in Couples for Christ, in our homeschool support group, in my Catholic, pro-life and homeschool Facebook groups, at work, in the blogosphere (I plan to write a separate post about them altogether!) – for their support, prayers, tips, comments, suggestions, love. 

I’ll have to stop here for now, because it’s time to get back to writing articles, but that doesn’t mean my gratefulness list ends here. Today, I choose to be grateful – as much as possible – for every second of my life. Because, my dear friends, every second is a gift. Let’s use this gift wisely.

How about you, friend?  

Image source here.

















Feel free to post your comments below. I’d love to know how God has blessed you today. 🙂

Filed Under: faith, Gratitude in adults, Thankful Thursdays, Thankfulness, TRUE CONFESSIONS

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Hi! I'm Tina Santiago Rodriguez, a Catholic wife, homeschool mom, and self-professed "media missionary." Welcome to Truly Rich and Blessed, a unique lifestyle blog about appreciating the "riches" that we have — our faith, self, relationships, resources, discoveries and experiences. I hope you'll enjoy your time here, and come away encouraged and inspired somehow!

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