Mr. Tinapay

     I was watching a Tagalog movie when he called. I answered, then suddenly he said, “Wait!” What?! I am on the verge of enjoying the movie. He called and just told me to wait. Well, I waited. Then, I overheard him saying, “Bale 100 po nitong tinapay na may asukal.” A woman answered, “Okay po.” I asked him, “Why would you buy that much? Are you so hungry that you could eat them all?” “I’m not. My cousin’s four kids are there too.”, he explained. When I heard this, I smiled and remembered what my friend, Mura, told me.

     Mura and I are used to be friends when we were teens. But not long enough. They have to leave the town for her father was assigned to another place. It was sunny afternoon. After playing “Balay2x”, we both sat near the bakeshop. Out of nowhere, Mura asked me, “What would your prince charming be like? Giggling, I told her, “Well, he rides on a horse. He’s wearing full plate armor.” “Ah! Bold and daring?”, she asked. “Certainly!”, I exclaimed. “Like he’s going to save you from a foul dragon?”, she added. “Dragon and knight! You often heard them from fairy tales. These are fabricated stories of imaginary characters. I’m telling you it’s hard to find a knight today.” I was frowning when she told me these things. I was about to walk out yet I decided to throw the question back to her. “What about you? What would your prince charming be like?” She smiled and pointed a guy bringing a bag of freshly baked pandesal. “My prince charming will be like that guy.” Out of madness, I murmured, “Kaya pala Mura name mo.” She said, “No kidding! My lola said you can find the most handsome guy at the bakeshop.” Then, I asked, “Is that because your lolo was a baker?” She chuckled, “Hahahaha!. Well, the sun is tired, let’s go home.” While going home, I was kicking a stone down the road. I was bothered about what Mura told me. As teen, her words annoyed me.

     I could not understand what Mura’s lola tried to tell her not until this moment. A man who brings home the bacon is the most handsome guy. Why? He cares for his family. Thus, he works hard and sees to it that they don’t get hungry. A handsome guy can’t be found in the bar drinking with his friends. Yet, you often find them in a bakeshop or in a market buying food for their family. Indeed, she has the point.

     But if we look closely to our life and listen to what our heart says, we can really tell that there is only one Mr. Tinapay in our life. He is not an ordinary person. He is Jesus! He is our true prince charming! He is the knight that will save us from snare. In fact, when He died on the cross, He took with him our sins. In the Gospel of St. John, He is the bread of life and whoever shall come to Him will never go hungry! He will satisfy our hunger for us to be righteous in the eyes of God. As Christians, we have to be bread for others too. Our world is like a large bowl. Our life is mixed with different challenges. Like a dough, we are to be knead for us to become satin-smooth. Sometimes, we have to be left alone for us to grow. We will be knocked many times. We are dust with stress, inhibitions and tribulations. Our life is heated with so many problems and adversities until we will realize what a golden heart is. Yes! We have to go through all these things for us to become a good bread.

     Well, wisdom really does come with age.

Photo Credit:

https://c2.staticflickr.com/6/5291/5498211647_bee1b439f9_b.jpg
https://www.flickr.com/photos/marshallsegal/5498211647/