"Christmas Mourning: Death of A Father, A Friend, and My Dearest Inspiration"

My beloved father, Luisito A. Batongbakal Sr. (January 25, 1959-December 23, 2010)

Nothing on earth could compare to the agonizing pain and shock that the news of my father's death has brought to our household two days before Christmas celebration. At first, the numbing sensation creeped all over my body and left me verbally and physically weak, so to speak. But when everything started to sank in slowly- - my father died yesterday afternoon in Saudi Arabia (night time in the Philippines) while on sleep due to heart attack that is yet to be verified- - -my only instinct at that moment  suddenly pushed me to hug and kiss my mother and older sister, who are both crying in despair for the excruciating loss of our father and the uncertainty that the future has started to beckon. I've been reviewing in advance for the July 2011 nursing board exam but after the horrible news took over our household, I'm quite lost and doesn't know where, when, and how to start again realizing that my father's death is quintessential of an untimely one: a life taken almost 3 months before I could finally march the stage for graduation and amidst the merry-making activities that is of Christmas.
For the record, my father and I have had a not so smooth relationship and it's actually just few years back that my father slowly changed for the better. He was a bonafide cigarette smoker and alcohol drinker since God knows when. But inspite of his past mistakes, I know that my daddy just wanted the best for us that's why he used all means to seek greener pasture in a desert country to fulfill my dreams of becoming a nurse and hopefully, a competent physician. My father was an engineer but he's more than that to me. He is my life and inspiration along with my now broken-hearted mother. His loss is by far the most tragic event that has ever happened to me not just on Christmas time but on any part of the year.
The morning after the news, numerous calls from my friends and classmates seemed to be not enough to comfort me or at least alleviate the flesh-tearing pain that I'm experiencing now. In addition to that, the long process of waiting for the repatriation of my father's remains from Saudi Arabia to the Philippines only adds up to the long list of worries that have been disturbing the sanity out of me. I love my father and I learned the importance of not taking things/people for granted the hardest and painful way.
Daddy, I love you and I promise you that from now on until eternity, I will protect and love my mother and sister to the best of my ability and we will finish our studies and turn out victorious in the end. I promise this from the bottom of my heart, which is drowning now with so much pain and anguish while the rest of the world are singing joyful Christmas songs. God has plans for us and your departure is a crucial part of it. Rest assured that you will never be forgotten, together with the lessons you had inculcated to us. I love you and I will sorely miss you.
I hope that you're already one with God and whoever is reading this article, I hope that you won't mind setting aside some of your time to pray for my father's soul and my family's strength.

Daddy, farewell to you and see you soon!I love you!

And for all the people who lost their father, may this music video of a personal favourite song remind us all that no matter who our fathers are, they all deserve to be loved and not taken for granted. The pain that comes from a father's death is just beyond words or adjectives for me to describe it. But the comfort of God's promise of a reunion in eternity is what I keep holding on to. May our faith in God finally bring us peace that will see us through our grieving process and to the life that awaits us after this agonizing period of mourning. God bless us all!