A female therapist in the hospital’s rehab section was apologizing for something she got from the closet. Her fellow therapist dismissed her saying, “Okay lang yan, maliit na bagay”. (It’s fine, it’s nothing.)

Anticipating my moment of painful treatment (I was there for the rehab of my frozen shoulder.), I found those words comforting.

I realized that “Okay lang yan, maliit na bagay.”, is a good response to the many difficulties of life. Oftentimes we are offended by what people did or say to us. Our tendency is to magnify them causing undue emotional distress to us. But looking at them in the lens of “maliit na bagay” will dissipate impatience or anger. In all likelihood, people who often say these words, will never run out of friends. But discernment is important, or we will be tolerating wrongdoings.

We can also look at our share of pains and heartaches as “maliit na bagay”. This will quench self-pity and instead direct us to the more grievous sufferings of other people. For instance, in our neighborhood, there are diabetic elderlies whose lives revolve around their 3x a week dialysis treatment. A few blocks away is a grieving wife whose husband died a week ago from heart ailment. The list can be endless. As we shift our attention to the miseries of others we will have a heart to reach out to them instead.

What the apologetic therapist did might really be “maliit na bagay”. Thus, she was readily excused. But big-time offenses, bereavement, lingering illnesses, broken marriages and injustices are not maliit na bagay. Yet for Christians, even heavy burdens can be considered maliit na bagay. We have been delivered from the greatest problem of man. Christ has saved us from our sin and God’s judgment. In Christ, we are assured of God’s forgiveness. When we die, we know, we will be with God in heaven. Everyday God is also giving us grace to endure, so we can look at our trials as maliit na bagay.

Embrace Christ as your Lord and Savior. Repent of your sins and live your life for Him. He will lift the heaviest burden of your life.

And so, while waiting for my turn in the rehab clinic, I was reminded of another powerful treatment that targets not just pain but how to endure pain in a more hopeful and positive perspective.