“I tell you, the world is wonderful!”

“I rejoiced greatly in the Lord for having received your care…not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am to be content: I know how to live humbly. I know how to live in prosperity. I have learned both to be full and to be hungry. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” -Philippians 4:10-13

On gratitude, humility, and a life well lived

“May you see your children’s children!” -Psalm 128:6

Our grandmother Carmen Fernandez Guevara (1907-2009) not only loved and influenced sixteen of her children’s children, but lived to hold twenty-six great-grandchildren in her loving arms (not all at the same time, of course). She and her husband Santiago (1899-1996) lived a short drive or bike ride through Rock Creek Park, and their home was our home, a small two-bedroom condo usually crowded with family and filled with the smells of her delicious cooking. We called her “Nona,” and she had a beautiful smile and an infectious laugh. She was a constant loving presence, a proud and gentle woman of grace and dignity. To this day, we still lovingly mimic Nona’s sing-song, “What, there they are!” that we invariably heard when we rang the door bell. After extending her cheek to be kissed, she would look at her grandchild and say something like, “You are getting fat!” We spent major holidays with them, sprinkled in numerous other family functions each year for good measure, and visited in twos and threes on summer afternoons to swim in the apartment pool. We can still hear her say “Don’t tell me,”as she encouraged us in conversation. Carmen and Santiago were comfortable, content, and lived peaceful lives. Only later did we come to understand that it wasn’t always so.

Carmen was born on Cuyo Island, Palawan Province, Philippines, the twelfth of thirteen children born to Clemente and Vicenta Fernandez. Carmen was a beauty queen and a college graduate, a relative rarity for a woman in her culture. She taught music and English at Manila High School, where one of her students was 13 year-old future President Ferdinand Marcos. She met and married our grandfather, a Filipino West Point graduate and Army officer who was born in relative poverty. Our grandparents owned a series or American sedans; Oldsmobiles, Chevrolets, and Buicks, and significantly, a 1938 Packard, like them a survivor of their shared trials during World War II. Though Nona never learned to drive, she disdained riding in Japanese-made cars. This witness so influenced me that I have tried to follow that example as a way to honor their legacy.

Prison Epistle

“I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy, thankful for your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now. And I am sure that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ” -Philippians 1:3-6

So begins a letter from the Apostle Paul to his friends and co-workers in Christ. Paul is upbeat, encouraging, and enthusiastic in his address to them, full of gratitude, joy, and humility. Paul lists his impeccable spiritual résumé (3:4-6), then counts it as “rubbish” when compared to knowing and loving Jesus. The letter to the Philippians is a relatively short epistle, and well worth reading and meditating upon. It is interesting to note that most biblical scholars believe that Paul was in prison when he wrote this letter. This makes his joy all the more remarkable, wouldn’t you say? I reflect on a recent episode at work when I was surprised by an unexpected demand to perform an additional task. Gratitude, joy, and humility were not my reaction, unfortunately.

“I tell you, the world is wonderful!”

Carmen and her three children including her three year-old son Nicky (our dad), underwent occupation and deprivation in Manila while her husband and his fellow soldiers were under siege across Manila Bay on the Bataan Peninsula. Abandoned, sick, and starving, the men held out for three months before succumbing to the inevitable. The Death March and imprisonment followed, where tens of thousands died. When friends reported that Santiago had been seen at the Prisoner of War camp, Carmen made multiple visits. She brought food, clothing, and medical supplies, much of which were donated by other families in Manila, who though in need themselves quickly went without for men on the front. “Friends we did not know would give us food and medicine. I tell you, the world is wonderful,” Carmen later recalled.

The family went on to experience three years of occupation, and yet the memory that stands out for Carmen was the generosity of neighbors while she and her family were imprisoned in their own unique ways. After the war, she enjoyed a long life filled with family, friends, and faith. Such is the legacy of a grateful, joyful, and humble woman who could do “all things through Christ,” her strength. May we each strive to leave such a legacy, and may it please God to welcome her and us into his loving arms.

Gratitude
© 2002 by Nichole Nordeman
Oh, the differences that often are between everything we want and what we really need
So grant us peace, Jesus, grant us peace
Move our hearts to hear a single beat
Between alibis and enemies tonight
Or maybe not, not today
Peace might be another world away
And if that’s the case . . .
We’ll give thanks to You
With gratitude, for lessons learned in how to trust in You
That we are blessed beyond what we could ever dream
In abundance or in need, if You never grant us peace
But Jesus, would you please . . .