MIP, a bucket of tears, and a prayer

Yesterday morning while listening to the usual “chikahan” of my officemates I suddenly cried and they all stopped and stared at me. They asked me what is wrong. All three of them got MIP (Merit Increase Performance) which means they got a bonus for having a job well done. They started talking about how they badly need that money. Ate Ethel mentioned that just the other day her son asked her when she would buy his medicine since he has asthma and her little girl asked where she got the cake she brought home the other day (because that day a client of ours gave us a cake) and her girl wanted one. She told them that when she receives her salary and get enough money she‘d buy them the things that they want and need. Ate Rhines talked about her husband calling her for gas money and she has to borrow money from her sister. I cried for the reason that I started to feel sorry for them, we are all having difficulties at our office these past few months. We now belong to the “overworked and underpaid” class (cannot claim overtime even though we worked for more than 12 hours a day). That overtime claim is a big help to us because it means having extra money to buy things that we need. Unfortunately, our new boss declared that in our line of work we are “the unsung heroes” which I think is “A BAG OF SHIT”. Not only are we not being paid properly, there are also incidents in our office that makes you want to scream and say “IKAW NA LANG KAYA DITO, PALIT TAYO NG PWESTO!!!” and “DARNA!!!” (because we need her superhero strength to keep us going).

I told them that God never leave our side. He knows the hardships that we are experiencing and he is rewarding us with things unexpectedly. On that moment I realized that I am luckier since I do not have their kind of problems. I suddenly appreciate the 400-peso bill inside my wallet. I also became conscious of the things that I have and the people around me.

I thank God for showering me with blessings more than I could have asked for. I want to say sorry to Him because sometimes I take things for granted. I wish for love to conquer my heart. I pray for the people that I love to be blessed with good health, a prosperous life, and to make them closer to God. I also pray for the people that I encounter everyday. I wish them a lip that never tires to smile, a heart that easy to forgive, and a hand that readily helps.