Couples for Christ
By Ruby Mae Galiza-Baldovi
Special to the Herald
As a part of the Catholic organization Couples for Christ in Hawaii for more than a decade, I would like to honor the organization by sharing how it has blessed my life. I will never forget the memories, challenging moments and blissful experiences with brothers and sisters whom I love and are like family these past years.
Belonging to a community is a gift from God. When we acknowledge our need for him, with an open heart, mind, and a willing spirit, we open the door to a fulfilling and meaningful life. If we earnestly seek him, we will find the real key to the good things in life. Life is about relationships. It’s about love, and love is about time, and the time is now.
One of the ways to seek God is by asking for prayers and receiving assistance from my enlightened brothers and sisters in Christ, my CFC family. Couples for Christ has taught me to serve others before myself with love, joy and happiness. It keeps me going when my faith is fading away.
There were times when I faltered and neglected to tune into the Lord. Those were days when I was tempted not to pray and was so busy that I forgot my commitment to my community and to God. CFC was always there to embrace me at anytime. I want to find joy and fulfillment and I know I can only find it in the Lord.
We are all imperfect, but perfected with God’s grace and love by focusing on what’s good. The battle of good and evil will always be there. We must protect ourselves and be prepared to face all things. Sin will disconnect us from God, but if we continue to reconnect and ask God to help us grow in his grace, even when the tears are falling, and we do not grow weary doing what is good and pleasing to God, joy and fulfillment will return to our lives.
Each of us has our own story about how the Lord has touched us and how he continues to transform us. I thank God for my parents for introducing me to the youth ministry of CFC in 1995 in the Philippines. When I came to Hawaii, I met and married my husband. We joined CFC here and have both grown and learned many things. I once was lost but now I’m found. I now know that good things in life are achieved only by seeking God first.
When seeking the Lord is our top priority, we will never go wrong. He is the unfailing source of joy and peace. When we delight in God, he is truly pleased. When the Lord is pleased, he showers us and those we love with blessings.
For more information about CFC Hawaii, call Rico and Vinya Manianglung at 382-5059. You may also visit our national website at couplesforchristusa.org.
20 years in the Islands
Couples for Christ, a Catholic organization whose purpose is to renew and strengthen Christian family life, is celebrating its 20th year in Hawaii. Starting with 16 couples in the Philippines in 1981, CFC today is in more than 100 countries. In the 1990s, it expanded its family ministries to include Kids for Christ, for children ages 4-12; Couples for Christ-Youth, for ages 13-21; Singles for Christ, for single men and women 22-40; Handmaids of the Lord, for widows, mature single women, divorced women and single mothers; and Servants of the Lord, for widowers, mature single men, divorced men and single fathers.
Ruby Mae Galiza-Baldovi is a member of Couples for Christ in Hawaii.
