Kim’s Dream Orlan Ravanera
Love, Strongest Force in the Universe
So painful when my mother died at 10:30am on November 25, 2022 and we the children have to bear the pain of losing our beloved mother, Amada Revilla Ravanera. Together with my brother Atty. Manuel Ravanera and youngest sister Dr. Marlene “Docbebs” Ravanera, and close relatives. We took vigil until 12 midnight, then, Atty. Maning had to leave to take a rest as he was not feeling so well, having been immobilized in a wheel chair for 12 years already due to hemorrhagic stroke but courageously survived all these years as death has no match against his will to live and the amazing love and care of his nurse-wife, Minda together with equally amazing daughter Atty. Batin and husband Mayor Jay Bago.
Upon reaching home, Atty. Manning was lovingly put to bed to sleep. The following morning, Atty. Manning, upon being woke-up by Minda to pray the Holy Rosary, as part of his daily life did not wake-up anymore as he was already dead at 4:30 am. Oh, so painful! Was he so depressed on the death of his loving mother “na palangga siya kaayo?” “Sinamahan na niya ang pinakamamahal niyang Ina sa kabilang buhay. Yes, Atty. Manning and Nanay Mading are CONSCIOUSNESS now going to the world of the FORMLESS, to the vast spaciousness and stillness with the Unseen Being where all life forms emanate. Indeed, death is just an illusion as all of us are consciousness that have no life as we are all life. The world of form is just temporary, all are transient but we are eternal. Can you not feel that?
Both of them, mother and son, have been laid side by side at the Divine Shepherd Funeral Parlor, so rare to see as love brought them together, this time, forever.
I always would recall those good old days when we the seven children would come together to celebrate the birth day of our “Pinakamamahal na Ina. ” It had become a ritual for us to sing the song, “You Raise Me Up,” as the lyrics of the song aptly described how we were lovingly raised by our very loving mother. Talaga po Nay, as the song goes, “When I am down and oh my soul so weary, when troubles come and my heart burdened be, then I am still and wait here in the silence, Until you come and sit a while with me. You raise me up, so I can stand on mountain, you raise me up to walk on story seas, I am strong, when I am on your shoulders, You raise me up, to more than I can be.”
As we all know, life is characterized by polarities, the ups and downs, the light and darkness and the yin and yang. Sometimes, life seems to be so cruel that consign us to a life of misery that when we are down and frustrated, we do not want anymore to stand up. But the loving arm of Amada Revilla Ravanera, the wife of Mr. Vicente Ravanera, our dear father who died 33 years ago, would raise us up and her embrace with all the love and inspiring words would give us the strength to face life courageously. Sometimes, we the children would feel so guilty because it was our mother who would suffer when armed men of the illegal loggers and miners would look for us to shoot us and our mother would cry in despair to hide us.
I remember those years when I as Editor of our School Organ would be charged in Court by powerful politicians for hundreds of thousands of pesos for exposing their corrupt practices. She would cry and would ask me, “pagnatalo ka anak, saan tayo kukuha ng pera?” But the case was dismissed and my mother was so happy.
In the nineties, we her children had been charged by Vicmar Corporation in Court for stopping their illegal logging activities through human barricades and we were charged of two hundred million peso-damage suit. So painful for a mother to see her children being harassed in Court. But again, justice prevailed after all the pains suffered by our mother.
For us seven children, we have all finished schooling because of the hard work of our parents. My father was just an ordinary government official and his salary was not enough to send us all to college. But my mother was my father’s partner to have sufficient income to make us all professionals. She was good in sewing clothes as “ isa po siyang mananahi.” Then, when she had enough capital, she established a SARI-SARI store and a boarding house in Wao, Lanao del Sur, for government employees from far away land. The boarders, mostly from NARRA (now DAR) include lawyers and doctors and every now and then would talk in English that had amazed us no end as we too learned from them. Because my mother was a good entrepreneur, our family put-up corn and rice mills and acquired big trucks. Akala ng mga kababayan namin sa Luzon, nanalo si Tatay at Nanay sa sweeptakes kasi yumaman daw.
My parents were so great in helping their poor relatives, the reason why from being landless, they because productive farmers with 6 to 8 hectares land and were able to send their children to school who are mostly now working abroad. That was how great, Tatay and Nanay were especially NANAY Mading.
But the greatness of Nanay Mading was not only for us children as such loving concern and caring went us far to her grandchildren. Every time she would meet us, she would always ask KAMUSTA NA SI BATIN, SI KIM, SI AARON, SI DAVID, SI LLARA, SI NIKITA, SI CLOWE AND ALL HER GRANDCHILDREN WHOM SHE LOVED SO MUCH TOO. Yes, Nanay Mading, we are strong when we are on your shoulders, You raise us up to more than we can be.
Atty, Manning, Samahan mo ang pinakamamahal nating Nanay. Nay, yakapin mo ng mahigpit ang pinakamamahal mong anak! Paalam na po. Ikaw Nay ang aming naging ilaw sa kadiliman ng gabi.
