By Mhiles Debulos
Contributor
One weekend in September, my friends and I embarked on a trip to Sagada to relax and to shake off our stress from work. And what an unforgettable experience it was! Everything was postcard-perfect — from the serene view of rice terraces that served as backdrop in the mountains as we travelled for six long hours (from Baguio, that is), to the cool yet sunny weather that accompanied us all throughout our trip. We went to Mt. Kiltepan early in the morning the next day of our arrival to watch the sunrise, and I had a magnificent view of the sea of clouds that were literally floating in front of us. We were also able to try out different local dishes and other delectable Sagada specialties in several restaurants along the main street in the town proper.
But the main highlight of our trip was our spelunking in Sumaguing Cave, one of the main tourist spots in Sagada. We took the short course that approximately went for about an hour. This had turned out to be a wise decision since the other route — the long course, could go on for four hours according to our tour guide. Since I had no any prior training whatsoever, I wasn’t prepared for the physical onslaught that I have encountered during the said activity. We had to endure the darkness and the only light we had was the headlamp of our tour guide, so we had to go on single file. One by one, we treaded on the slippery slopes and we had to climb through them using a rappel. This was when I got really scared because judging on how moist and narrow the rocks were, I realized that one wrong step could have me falling into the water, or I might hit my head in the huge rocks without having any good chance of survival. Feeling the surge of the fresh waves of anxiety and panic, I tried to calm myself down, bowed my head and prayed. After a while, I felt braver and I started rappelling my way to the top. My knees were shaking the whole time but my resolve to finish the activity did not waver. I was more than relieved though, when it was finally over.
As we were travelling back to Manila, I found myself pondering on some realizations about our trip, specifically when we did the spelunking. What dawned on me the most is the fact that I was able to push myself beyond my limit and basically went out of my comfort zone. I never thought that I could do it, but I did, because I knew God helped me along the way.
This scenario could be compared to facing real-life trials and challenges on our lives. Sometimes we feel that we’re on the brink of hopelessness and desperation and we seemed unable to move forward. But then all of a sudden, God helped us find a way out of that situation and we’re surprised that we were able to make it through. The bottom line here is that, it is very important to put our trust in Him completely, because He will never, ever forsake us and He will always be there to guide and protect us along the way.
