ELINOR, YOU ARE MORE PRECIOUS THAN RUBIES

Proverbs 31

Who can find a virtuous woman? for her
price is far above rubies.

The heart of her husband doth safely
trust in her, so that he shall have no need of spoil.

She will do
him good and not evil all the days of her life.

Favour is
deceitful, and beauty is vain: but a woman that feareth the LORD, she shall be
praised.

Give her of the fruit of her hands; and let her own works
praise her in the gates.

Seventeen years past, with an expensive Hallmark card and a fountain pen, through my skillful hands in the art of calligraphy, I carefully wrote my birthday message starting with the words "To My Dearest Wife" - from the Gulf of Arabia to the slums of Pasay - 4,500 miles away from each other, I mailed my first birthday greeting card to my wife, which took two weeks before it was delivered to our doorsteps in the Philippines.

Now, communication has revolutionized. Previously it was "snail mails", now we have e-mails. From voice tape recordings, now we have voice chats and video chats. From telephone booth conversations we moved to mobile telephone communications. This simply makes us feel more closer through faster means of communication, but it will never substitute the warm embrace, ang mainit na yakap at halik, the real expression of love and emotion in greeting your love ones in its simplest form during her birthday.

And through this blog, on this 23rd of June I have taken the freedom to greet my wife in public a HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Just like previous occasions, ilang berdey at anniversaryo sa bawat taon na aking ginugunita na nag-iisa? Subalit hindi ito naging hadlang sa atin, the distance between us has build a strong base of foundation of love and trust, the same reason why we are able to face the trials and challenges of life


I am thankful to the Almighty for bringing into this world a woman named Elinor, for she is more precious than rubies.

SA AKING ASAWA, HAPPY BIRTHDAY