Will you leave the flowers for the crown?
The Philippines, located in the Ring of Fire, is plagued not only by typhoons, floods, and earthquakes but also, more painfully, with corruption.
Photo Credits: Ring of Fire – Brittanica. Mt Mayon Volcano – Britannica. Protest Against Corruption at Rizal Park, 2025 – Getty Image
My dear friend texted this about her beloved country, the Philippines:
Sometimes I lose hope, our problems are beyond human thinking and imagination. Too deep 😆
But I find HOPE in Jesus, the Man who turned water into wine and the who can make the impossible, possible.
We continue to pray and leave all our worries at the foot of the cross.
My heart goes out to her.
I have been going in and out of the Philippines since my first trip there around the 1988. Even while in Singapore, I was involved with leading the Filipino ministry in my congregation for 8 years. Singapore is still home to me. My family are here. As I think about the Philippines, I am reminded of this poem “What Christ Said” by George MacDonald.
I said, “Let me walk in the fields.”
He said, “No; walk in the town.”
I said, “There are no flowers there.”
He said, “No flowers, but a crown.”
I said, “But the skies are black,
There is nothing but noise and din;”
And he wept as he sent me back;
“There is more,” he said, “there is sin.”
I said, “But the air is thick,
And fogs are veiling the sun.”
He answered, “Yet souls are sick,
And souls in the dark undone.”
I said, “I shall miss the light,
And friends will miss me, they say.”
He answered, “Choose tonight
If I am to miss you, or they.”
I pleaded for time to be given.
He said, “Is it hard to decide?
It will not seem hard in Heaven
To have followed the steps of your Guide.”
I cast one look at the fields,
Then set my face to the town;
He said, “My child, do you yield?
Will you leave the flowers for the crown?”
Then into his hand went mine;
And into my heart came he;
And I walk in a light divine,
The path I had feared to see.
When the time comes and push comes to shove, may I have the courage to take Father’s hand and walk the path he has planned for me.