Lessons of God’s Grace and of a Woman’s Worth from Maricar

The cyber community is again buzzing with a recently viral video of the actress, Maricar Reyes.

…but this time, it’s about her beautiful and heartfelt wedding to local singer, Richard Poon.

From her infamous and scandalous video years ago, Maricar rose up from that controversy into a woman who proves that amidst the uproars and forces to crumble one’s dignity and spirit, taking the high roads is always the best defense. She proved that silence isn’t for the weak and sometimes, to remain so despite the strong urge to defend one’s wounded pride, is a true test of strength of character.

With that, she became the perfect epitome of grace under pressure.

Maybe, God decided that for all that she had to bear, it is just right to bless her with a kind of love that has the capacity to erase all the shame and self-doubt that she felt when the shadows of her past came after her, a few years back. We all, at one point in our lives, have done crazy things (some of them are admittedly cringe-worthy enough) all for the name of LOVE. She was just one unlucky lady to have hers broadcasted all over the country. Her choice to remain silent might have raised a lot of eyebrows, but I believe that it was the best decision to save her pride (or what might have remained of it).

Her story is an inspiration to all ladies, an eye-opener that God doesn’t only give second chances, but many chances and options as well, to those who refuse to let their past mistakes define them. It gives a glimmer of hope to those ladies who feel that they are broken, reminding them that a woman’s worth can always be restored by the right choices, with the right attitude, with the right people, and by God’s abounding grace. Her story was proof that no amount of force that targets to crumble our dignity and worth as women, can ever stop us from setting and resetting our standards another bar higher.

If I will have a daughter one day, I hope that I can be able to hone her into a woman who knows her worth and strength as a woman. I will tell her that it’s always okay to set high standards because she is worth it. I will keep on reminding her, despite the popular opinion, that it’s okay to set high standards because God will help her to reach those standards. I will teach her to never settle for anything less than what she deserves.

In the present times, men like Richard Poon---men who knows how to respect, cherish, and honor the women whom they love, are definitely rare. The way he opted to have their first kiss as a couple on their wedding day might probably be too old-fashioned for the taste of others, but it was a very sweet and sincere way of showing that he honors his wife. And I’ll bet my one cent that even the most cynical among us must have had their hearts turned into slush upon seeing that first, shy kiss of this couple. That first kiss couldn’t be described any better than, sweet.

I hope that the men who got a chance to watch the video, would have gotten an idea or two on how to not only love, but to cherish and honor the women in their lives. It would be such a great joy to have more men who would start realizing that physical expression is an extremely beautiful way of confirming and showing love, but the thing is, it can always wait.

I am praying that if I get to have a son one day, I fervently pray that God would give me the grace to inculcate in him respect for every women. I hope that he would grow up into a man who perfectly knows that when he loves a lady, he loves the heart, the mind, and soul of that lady--- and that he would gain strength and manly pride in letting the lady whom he loves realize how beautiful he finds the totality of her being.

So ladies, let us never doubt that God had already reserved a beautiful story for us in his collections of love stories. Honestly, I’m starting to get jaded, what with the countless stories of heartbreaks and betrayals that we see and hear everyday.But stories like this are a confirmation that God is in control if we just let Him be.

And while waiting for our own love story to unfold, let us demand for every ounce of respect and honor that we are worthy of, as ladies of strength and of character.

*While writing this, my heart was actually terribly bleeding, for one of my ultimate crushes had already tied the knot. But Maricar’s one fine lady, so I’ll gracefully give in. *wink*