15 Years of Divine Trust

“Their personal problem turned into a family problem that lasted for 15 years. Despite my father, my other relatives from both my parents’ side, and the legal counsel offered different solutions, they were able to prolong their agony for that long.”

Dear KNOT,

I WAS able to experience the old-school Filipino way of “complete family members” wherein we have a father, mother, children, and grandparents under one roof. I used to have my grandmother (the mother of my mother) with us.

But my grandmother died because of pneumonia. During her burial, almost all of our relatives from Manila including my mother’s sibling came to Davao to see my grandmother for the last time. My auntie has also decided to stay with us instead of going back to their hometown.

However, my mother and auntie had a problem with their inheritance because my grandmother was not able to settle it while she was still alive. She kept on claiming that the house we used to live was hers and my mother did not want to give the property.

I was not able to understand their situation at first since their conflict started when I was 3 years old. I thought that it was just a petty fight and it made me sad every time they quarrel. But I was slowly able to grasp the whole thing as I grew up.

We hardly prayed to God that he would keep our family safe from harm and our family problem would be solved. We constantly asked for His mercy. However, I somehow lost my faith to Him because it was as if he has forsaken our family and let evilness control the life of my relative.

One day, my mother consulted us about selling the house and we agreed to do so. We were able to sell our house a few months after. Since the family who would occupy the house heard about the snag, they did not hesitate to assist us settle the problem clearly and smoothly.

It was an answered prayer for us after 15 years. God heard us and used the family who bought our house to solve our problem. It was then I realized the Lord our God is a merciful God; he will not abandon or destroy us (Deuteronomy 4:31). I have also realized that God answers in three ways, which are: yes, no, and wait.