The great Apostle Paul once said, “When I am weak, then I am strong.” (2 Corinthians 12:10). Initially, it sounds absurd; however, the exact phrase significantly impacted me as I searched to make a difference in this world. In life, we have a lot of big decisions to make. It can be something related to our choice of career, having a family, buying a home, going for studies, and one of them is living away from home. In my case, I have been away from my country, the Philippines, for the last seven years. In my desire to support my family, the first four years were spent as a domestic helper in Hong Kong, while the remaining three years and counting were spent as a religious missionary. Furthermore, as with every beginning, mine was a challenging task. Personally, it is beyond the concept of “adjustment.” It is more about embracing it!
For many, being away from home is a vast and exciting adventure, which I also agree with; however, there are other things beyond all the feelings of excitement. This adventure is packed with specific sentiments of helplessness at the same time. Some common challenges living on the other side of the world are physically demanding, considering one must care for everything independently. It requires caring for health and safety, managing finances, and all practical tasks to live and survive, such as food preparation, laundry, shopping, cleaning, and many others. Besides, it is also mentally and spiritually depleting, another consequence of this choice. Whether we like it or not, loneliness takes its place in us occasionally, if not often. But further to that, the biggest challenge I have to face is the feeling of helplessness, particularly when losing a loved one. Coping with the grief alone is spiritually and emotionally draining, given the inability to go home anytime and be with the family. The distance was bridged, fortunately, through advanced technology and social media platforms like Facebook, WhatsApp, and Messenger to maintain the connection with them. On top of that, my faith in God is the primary motivation behind my life.
Despite life’s challenges, it is also full of opportunities. My philosophy is that “hard times are moments of grace.” These are times when we can take a step back and look at how far we have come after all the overwhelming events in life, from the small errands of learning practical skills to surviving, adding to the struggles of not understanding the language that often results in frustration. Living away from home offers another dimension beyond survival skills: it is a learning ground for growth and maturation. It makes one a more robust and better person with a broader world perspective.
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