IN my life as a woman and parent, there are many things I am happy and sad about. Last week was a perfect example.

It began with a successful run for Hannah Cordoviz, the one-and-a-half-year-old girl in need of a ventilator to live. With help from fundraisers Tessa Mendoza Cruz and Rapa Lopa, we can give Hannah her ventilator in time for the new year. Many thanks to all who helped make this dream come true for Hannah and her parents, Carlo and Joan.

The next day, after running the race, my husband and I found ourselves in the ER of The Medical City with our daughter, who was suffering from fever, diarrhea and abdominal cramps. I write this from her hospital room, a bit tired from events of the past week yet with a heart brimming with thanks for God?s faithfulness. Pia suffered from severe food poisoning and is now slowly in recovery.

What a lesson in faith, trust and patience the last week has been for our family.

I am reminded of what Kaye Warren said in a talk in Manila, in 2006, on ?Finding Joy, No Matter What.?

?Life,? she said, ?is like the railroad tracks. Joy and sorrow run parallel to each other. I used to think that life was like the waves and so I would be up one day, down the next. However, in your life, there are things that you can be both happy and sad about. The trick is in knowing, that both come at the same time.?

What a blessed and wonderful reassurance that is.

People sometimes say, ?I?m scared to be too happy, because I know that sadness (or a bad event) will follow.?

Having lived through Warren?s ?railroad principle? many times over, I know that thinking is nonsense.

As parents, we constantly pray for our children?s protection. However, there are incidents that are allowed to happen, perhaps so that we can learn and grow from them. The week past has been truly a marathon of sorts for me, but always God has helped me find my second wind.

Purpose of Christmas

Another Warren, this time, Kaye?s husband?New York Times best-selling author Pastor Rick Warren?gave me greater inspiration and strength this week. ?The Purpose of Christmas? is a perfect pre-holiday reading for us who are stressed out by the demands of the season.

With a global financial crisis and uncertain prospects for 2009, it?s always good to stop and be reminded about the real reason for the season. Warren?s book encourages the reader to identify and confront what drains the peace from his or her life. In the hard-bound 125-page book, Warren guides the reader to explore how one can respond to these ?peace robbers? and how not to feel defeated or discouraged when life does not go the way you planned it.

He talks about an annual ritual his family has observed in the last 50 years. I think it is a beautiful practice every family may want to consider doing, beginning this season.

The birthday party for Jesus every Christmas eve has been celebrated in the Warren home since the pastor suggested it to his mother as a three-year-old boy. Complete with cake and candles, the youngest member of the family blows out the candle and each member takes a turn answering two questions: ?What from the past year are you thankful to God for?? and ?Since it?s Jesus? birthday, what gift will you give him this year??

Warren says those two questions have prompted some of the most profound and moving moments in his family life.

I paused long and hard after reading that and thought about the events that had transpired this year.

In my head, I rattled off events I was most grateful for as a mother, wife and woman. I am still processing what gift I can give Jesus for 2009.

Warren, who has been named by Time as one of 100 most influential people of all time, ends the chapter with food for the spirit. ?In a world where everything constantly changes, the stability of our family?s faith in Christ has enabled us to face the inevitable problems of life: cancer, death of loved ones, unemployment, marriage problems, family conflicts, financial difficulties and all sorts of stressors and strains. No matter what you are going through, this Christmas, try celebrating the real thing. It will make a difference.?

?The Purpose of Christmas? is available at National Bookstore and Powerbooks.

E-mail the author at cathybabao@gmail.com