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(Albert) was around six years old; my oldest brother and I were playing out on our front yard when we spotted a jet plane looming over us. As it passed, a longing arose in me and I cried out, “Si Daddy nandoon! Bye-bye Daddy!” (There goes daddy!) We waved at it for as long as we could, watching it finally disappear behind the roof. I could only hope that he would come home. Although it would take many years, God made a way for me to see Him as a Father and reconnect with my dad as well.
When I (Marife) was growing up and I needed someone to talk to, I’d run to my father, or well, a painting of him in our living room. I never knew him; he had died before I was born. His absence was a vacuum in my heart I didn’t think could be filled. But God led me to Him and showed me that He could Father me in a way no one could.
These are snippets of our stories. We both came from fatherless homes and it’s a part of us that we’ve brought into our marriage and even into the way that we’ve parented. But God didn’t let our stories stop there. He took our broken lives and molded them into something greater for His glory. We are far from perfect, but God isn’t finished writing His story through us. The following pages contain 20 narratives of different lives, broken in various ways, but what ties them all together is the truth that He is the Author of each and every one. While we have yet to see how they end, we can trust that He has them all written out in His perfect way.
From FamilyLife Philippines’ beginnings under Dr. Teody and Bing Pajaron, to where He is using FL in the present, and all the way into the future, God has been and will continue to be our strength and our guide in pointing families towards Him. We pray that as you read on, you will glimpse His light shining through the cracks and that you’ll be encouraged to trace His powerful hand at work in your own life-and that somewhere along the way, you might pray about joining Him as He transforms families one home at a time. To Him be all the honor and glory!
Proclaiming God’s marvelous deeds,
Albert and Marife Palima
