Don't Judge Life By One Difficult Season

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I just got this post from Facebook via The Book of Revelation group. It did hit me right in my head to ponder things about LIFE... I don't know who originally wrote this or thought about putting these into words... But for sure, I appreciate my life even more. Special thanks to Tonny John, you are truly blessed!

Don't Judge Life By One Difficult Season

There was a man who had four sons. He wanted his sons to learn not to judge things too quickly. So he sent them each on a quest, in turn, to go and look at a pear tree that was a great distance away.

The first son went in the winter, the second in the spring, the third in the summer, and the youngest son in the fall. When they had all gone and come back, he called them together to describe what they had seen.

The first son said that the tree was ugly, bent, and twisted. The second son said, “no – it was covered with green buds and full of promise”. The third son disagreed; he said it was laden with blossoms that smelled so sweet and looked so beautiful, it was the most graceful thing he had ever seen. The last son disagreed with all of them; he said it was ripe and drooping with fruit, full of life and fulfillment.

The man then explained to his sons that they were all right because they had each seen but only one season in the tree’s life.

He told them that you cannot judge a tree, or a person, by only one season, and that the essence of who they are and the pleasure, joy, and love that come from that life can only be measured at the end when all the seasons are up.

If you give up when it’s winter, you will miss the promise of your spring, the beauty of your summer, and the fulfillment of your fall.

Moral: Don’t let the pain of one season destroy the joy of all the rest. Don’t judge life by one difficult season. Persevere through the difficult patches and better times are sure to come some time or later🦋 Keep evolving💕 Better days and better you are yet to come❤️🙏

Malaysia Trip Was Cancelled! 😭

I've been planning to go to Malaysia since January this year... I guess it wasn't just really my luck... (sigh!) I would like to travel around Asia, it is my dream.

Well~ actually, I wanted to travel around Europe and USA... yes... TRAVEL! you heard it right. I just wanna travel not interested in living there (hahaha!!!) I hate winter, it's killing me. Anyway, that is not my topic today (grin).

The first attempt about going to Malaysia (truly Asia) was last January 2011. My buddies were planning to go to Malaysia for a vacation. They told me interesting stories about Malaysia. One of them has already visited once but that was a long time ago. And so we were saying that we will go.. blah, blah, blah... The problem was when I asked them about the money that we have to prepare, (hotel expenses, food, and fare) nobody answered me straight. But, not only that... some said they were going but many have backed out already as they have learned that it will be so expensive and the visa will not be worth it. We didn't go because we were all not sure of everything. Lack of preparedness, inexperience, etc.

My second and I hope it won't be the last (sigh!), Due to visa concerns... I thought about going to Malaysia (again) with my previous co-worker. All the while, I thought everything was planned because she said that her contact was really decided to go (must)... It was really quick! We planned it for October 3 and the trip was the following day. I have already told my partner everything and he gave me 6k (I just asked 4k lol) plus the debit card (in case, my money will not be enough to support me while I'm there.

So the following day came, and I was completely ready for everything! I already went out of the house and even gave instructions to my part-time nanny on how to go about while I'm gone! In short, everything was set.

I got a phone call from her saying that she couldn't go because she didn't have much money to spend and she realized it would be risky. It was like..🤐🥴🙄🤯OKAY! so that's it? She added that it's also the visa thing so I was really disappointed 👎👎👎 but it wouldn't help. I couldn't blame her all because I didn't double-check everything. I just thought that she was sure of going with the group. Anyway, it was past.

Then, I sent SMS to my hubby about what had happened that day. He gave me a call and we thought about going there 3rd or 4th week. He is going to have a semestral break this month! We thought of going to Changmai, but it's not good this time because of the floods.

But, still, the Malaysia trip was canceled, better luck next time🥺😭😓

Happy Father's Day!

I am so blessed to have him (a wonderful father to my daughters). He is so caring, loving, patient, understanding, and kind. Words are not enough to describe how great he is, as a father and a partner. He's truly a God's gift to our family. Happy Father's Day to this special man in my life❤️ May you always be the kind of father and partner that I dreamt of. May God continue to bless you and our family, and may you have a long life, good health, and prosperity in your career.  We love you always😘

Patience is a VIRTUE

I thought the word "hopeless" exist for real because I was feeling it before.. Especially, when it comes to having better opportunities for me to work with a permit.


I figured it was just a state of mind. Hope ends when we're buried 6 feet below the ground... "When there's LIFE, there is HOPE"~Cicero.


Fortunately, I came across online about this private organization which is pretty much related to my field of expertise/study. The good news is... I lived very close to it.., I have spent 160 baht on taxi fare (back & forth) yesterday :)


I skipped doing my other online activities the past few weeks so as to give way to my searching online jobs and thinking about how could I be able to work legally, with less competition. Luckily, I got many options to work with a permit here. But, I don't need to work right away.


So, I have spent my entire two weeks to search jobs that are relevant to my Bachelor's degree. I just thought that there are so many teachers around here and felt that it would be difficult to be one just because of other qualifications that they're asking.


I have decided to go and apply (by myself) as a VOLUNTEER. Why? because it is the only way that I could for now. I could provide assistance and so building my professional networking strategies, preparing for the near future.

When I was there, they greeted me and I introduced myself. They're so welcoming. I handed my curriculum vitae along with my credentials to the Psychologist and Managing Director (English-speaking Thais). We had a brief interview about their Foundation. They're amazed how I found their website and the job vacancies but rather would become a volunteer. In fact, there are possible jobs available for me. I told them that I have to take care of my 13-month-old baby and when she turns 2, I could be able to work full time. They agreed. I have learned that volunteers are also given work permits but it depends on the evaluation or discretion of the Director (of course).


Immediately, they decided to accept me as a volunteer at KG. They have 18 children ages ranging from 3-6. It is a Foundation so the tuition fee is cheap (1,000 baht a year). They introduced me to the KG teachers and the children. I was so happy to meet them all. Out of curiosity, I asked the Psychologist if there are Thai Social Workers employed in their Organization. He replied, "None, we are psychologists here, if given a chance that we hire you, it's for the first time.."


They insisted that I could go visit the jail about 3 hours away from Bangkok. I declined. I said that I prefer to volunteer or work close to my home so I could come early to work and go home easily (notwithstanding the traffic).


We already have scheduled my first volunteer work for next week and I am so much excited. We exchanged numbers so we could contact each other. I will have to draft my work plan this weekend and email it to them.


Meanwhile, my hubby had a salary increase effective last month. He told me yesterday that my daughter may enroll in November this year. But, I told him that she was too young to go to school. She will be 19 months old by then! He reasoned out that children here are going to school as early as 2 years old. We have agreed that I could only work full-time.. if our daughter started going to school. 


But, the Bible said: "Good things come to those who wait.." (Psalm 27:14; Lamentations 3:25-26; Romans 8:25) God is good all the time! :)

Bonus Reward

The Christmas bonus and the 13-month pay aren't that familiar to be heard here in Thailand. Obviously, because Thailand is a Buddhist country. Although, some people, families, schools, and companies nationwide are celebrating Christmas as Catholics/Christians do.

I had random interviews with ex-pat teachers and other personnel who have been working here in the Kingdom for years and they mostly say that they haven't experienced receiving a bonus or anything extra similar to that kind.

Expat workers in Thailand have their own versions of performance appraisal. The benefits of passing this depend on the needs of the company. If the company is not happy with your service, they might easily tell you these:

1. "You're fired!"

2. "We will not give you a working visa"

3. "The Management has decided not to renew your contract..."

4. "Your performance is telling me not to give you an increase.."

5. "You won't get promoted because of your performance this month.."

Finding a job here is not easy if you don't have any idea how to deal with the local people and foreigners, the work environment, Thai social and cultural aspects, and the nature of the job that you're applying for.


If you're lucky, you will receive this kind of letter below saying that you did a good job! Hence, you will receive a bonus reward equivalent to your one month's salary. Not bad! But it takes lots of time and effort to pass the performance evaluation. It's like passing through the eye of a needle. Or maybe so easy for others. Others may perform very well. However, some companies do not have this kind of benefit.

Take a look at this. I wonder when will I ever get this kind of appreciation from the employer LOL. I admire both my mom and my hubby because they are hard-working and dedicated to their jobs. I wish I could be like them. But, I understand that people are different and they have their own special way of being human LOL.

The letter above was addressed to my hubby. We are so proud of him. He is inspired because he is happy with us. He is such a good person, father, husband, teacher, staff/co-worker, neighbor, son, friend, and most a GOOD MAN. Kudos to my hubby! 

Thanks be to God!