Of Answered Prayers, Salvation, and Little Sisters

When I first gave my life to Jesus in 2010, one of my most fervent prayers was salvation for my family. I backslid and returned to my old ways, but here I am now with renewed faith and hope in my Savior. Four years later, I cry out for the same thing: salvation for my loved ones.

The most unexpected thing happened last Saturday. My sister wanted to use the laptop and didn't ask permission from my parents, so she asked me. My parents were out so I was the "person in authority." Yes, kailangang naka-quotation marks. I allowed her on the condition that she only uses the laptop for 2 hours. She agreed.

More than 2 hours passed and she still wanted to use the laptop; she wanted to extend. Knowing her tendencies to get addicted, I stopped her. She got mad. I resorted to texting Mama, and she got even madder. To cut the long story short, she didn't speak to me for the rest of the afternoon.

By 4pm, we were talking again. If you have a sister, you'd know how these fights go. Meanwhile, I was still mad inside because she called me "liar" earlier when all I did was tell Mama the truth (long story). Still, God told me to show compassion to my younger sister, so I did - even though it was against my human nature.

(In hindsight, if I didn't listen to God then, I think the next events wouldn't have happened!)

That night, she asked for my help for her assignment. I was already fully recovered (much thanks to God's grace) and willingly helped. The assignment was to look for 3-5 Bible verses to turn into bookmarks. I thought to myself, "Oh, this might be a nice way to encourage her to read the Bible." But God has an even greater plan.

Since my sister is not much of a reader, I Googled websites containing verses that are made easy to understand for children. The page loaded and I allowed her to look for verses that spark her interest.

Lo and behold, this was the first verse she chose:

Acts 16:31
They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household.”

When she showed it to me, it felt like I was bopped on the head. Well, it wasn't like that really, but I strongly felt God's urge for me to share the Gospel to my sister. It's like God was saying, "This is it, Maan. My divine intervention! Go for it! I'll be with you."

Wow, Lord. You continue to amaze me. I have asked for an opportunity to share the Gospel with my sister, and there it was, handed to me on a silver platter!

As if on cue, my ever-curious sister asked me, "Ate, anong ibig sabihin ng saved?"