“Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and your plans will succeed” -Psalms 16:3 NIV

Glory to God in the highest! The Lord is always good to those who seek Him and trusts His plan. I am Ruz Laika B. Bonayon, or known as “Jackie” by some, and I wanted to share one of God’s biggest gift in my life.  

I studied Bachelors of Science in Nursing at Saint Louis University back in the Philippines. It was the most crucial 4 years that lead me to several ups and downs in my university life. I met a lot of good people that cheers me up in my rough times, and people who taught me a lot on how to be not just a good nurse, but also as a responsible individual. After years of struggles, praise God! Because last year (2018), I was able to finish my program and earned flying honors of embrace and congratulatory messages from my relatives and friends and also a medal of love and grace from the Lord. That was really an event to celebrate, but my journey to become a nurse has yet to begin.

After 2 months of rest from books and pens, I went on and started my review for the Philippine Nurse Licensure Exam that lasted for 3 months and a week. Our preparation to earn our professional license was really nerve- wrecking. The review gave us sample test exams and conducts weekly practice exams during that period. The professor who conducts the review told us to aim at least 75 scores out of 100 to consider a passing score in the review but most especially in the board exam. But after several practice test exams, I wasn’t able to reach that score and my records keeps on falling down. I was so lost and starting to lose hope that I even thought I might not make it.

But the Lord is good in our lives and He’s always a prayer away to listen to His children. The Lord comforted me and taught me to trust in Him alone and His plan so, I gave up forcing everything to work the way I wanted to and learned to let Him do His will. That total dependence on Him made my heart at ease and gave me comfort.

And so the board exam came, and everybody was shaking on their feet but my I was still and remained focused.  Though the test questions given were far from what we are expecting, still God gave me directions and complete guidance to finish the test.

After the agonizing wait, finally on December 7th, the results came and tears flowed down and shouts of joy was heard around the house when I saw my name on the list of Board passers. I cannot express enough the joy about the result and my gratefulness to the Lord for the gift that He gave me that day. Truly the Lord is good!

Papuri at luwalhati sa Diyos Ama!