A Life Well Lived
Almost ten years ago, during my senior year in high school, I was given the task of writing about a young girl from ICA, my alma mater who passed away over the summer. Writing about her story changed my life so much and opened my eyes to many things in life. I remembered her suddenly after having dinner with her brother, and my dear friend, Paul, whom I met a couple of years after having written that article.
In the tenth year since her passing, I want to honor her life, her family and loved ones. Though I have never met her, I feel a certain closeness to her whenever I reread the article I wrote for the school newspaper almost 10 years ago. Indeed, there are things in life which we take forgranted- such beautiful things that can only be beautiful because of God's presence. Writing about her changed my life forever- it made me appreciate the beauty of life and of Creation, it gave meaning to the words "pride" and "forgiveness" and never leaving fights unresolved. If anything, it made me "feel" my faith, not through how I manifest it only in prayer and worship, but rather in how I can truly feel God inside me. God was with me when I wrote that piece. I knew it then, I know it now.
Her name was Elaine. This is her story.
A WALK WITH JESUS: IN MEMORY OF ELAINE MARIE CUASO
(Icalettes-June 1997)
Most of us look at death with fearful and shielded eyes. It is that window of life which we never dare look into. It is something that we have not yet come to terms with, something we have not fully accepted. We would like to think of ourselves and our loved ones as invincible, and that we would live for as long as we would wish to. For a lot of people who have not felt the pain of having lost somebody, death is something far away, something unreachable. For Elaine Marie Cuaso, death meant only one thing: going home to Jesus.
Elaine Marie Cuaso was born on August 28, 1983. Her birth was sheer joy to her parents, Edwin and Emily. Aside from being an only girl, Elaine was also the youngest among three children. However, she was not spoiled. She was a normal child as she was growing up. Naughty and sometimes disobedient, in ways every growing girl is familiar with, but very cheerful. In fact, if there was anything Elaine carried on through her growing years, it was her bright and sunny disposition both at home, at school and even as she was sick. Her smile was described to be contagious. Anyone who sat beside her in class or hung out with her during break times found it irresistible not to laugh along with her or join in the fun she was projecting. It is obvious that she was very well liked and accepted not only among her peers, but by her classmates and teachers as well. She was a trendsetter, never afraid to stand up for what she wanted or for what she believed in. But even as she was like that, she never felt bad or held a grudge on teachers when they told her off. Her teachers describe her as a bubbly and levelheaded girl. She loved Twin Popsies (orange-flavored), the song “Sometimes When We Touch,” dancing, and fashion. She was a normal teenager with average grades and excellent math skills, until something terrible happened to her, something all of us dread to have.
Elaine developed leukemia just before her year in Grade 6 ended. At first, both her and her parents were discreet about her sickness. It was only after a few months that her friends found out about the disease which was already starting to take course on her body system. “It hurts,” Elaine confided to a friend. “I feel so tired… even lying down makes me tired.” But what inspired Elaine to go on despite her suffering was her faith in Jesus. Her mother would often tell her that was she was going through was the same thing that Jesus went through. “Jesus never did anything to anyone, except manifest His love to everyone… and yet He died because it simply was His time.” Somehow, this comparison made Elaine accept her sickness and made her face that challenges that she was forced to undergo each day. When in pain, Elaine never complained because she knew how worried and sad her mother would be if she did. It was at this point in time when her relationship with her parents strengthened and run deeper. “She referred to her mom and herself as bread and butter,” a friend said. Every night, her father would come home extra early from work just to be able to spend time with her. And every night, at eight o’ clock, Elaine, her parents, and her brothers would pray. She would pray for everyone but herself. She offered a decade of the rosary for her friends, her parents, brothers and relatives, but never for herself. What could be a more selfless act than this?
If there is anything th ICAns should learn from Elaine, it would be her strong and unending faith in the Lord. She left everything to Him, entrusted her life to Him, and made Him the center of her life. “Her faith in God was instilled to her both in the school and home,” Sr. Dina said. True, for it was because of her religion classes and because of the strong faith her parents already had that Elaine found solace and comfort in the Lord. “Elaine is a model for all of us; a woman of faith and service,” Sr. Dina adds. Elaine’s determination and optimism are the two things, aside from her faith, that kept her going. She was brave until the end. She never cursed her sickness or questioned God for making her suffer so much. She was so full of life! But even if she wanted to live so much, she knew in her heart that this was her call, and she took it with her whole heart. So, on May 22, 1997, she quietly passed away.
Fifteen days before Elaine died, she wrote a letter to her mom that went this way:
Honestly mom, I don’t feel good. My lips are numb, my eyes tired, my back hurts, my head’s heavy, my gums weak, my bones brittle, my hearing’s weird, but even though with all this pains and sufferings, I don’t know where I get my strength to even play jokes or laugh, or to even smile. God is really with me. Mom, that’s the biggest gift He can ever give me. He loves me, I love him too. I love you.
There came a time when I asked myself where Elaine could possibly be. Then I thought about the three words she had said before she died. Those three magic words that spoke volumes as to where she is right now. Elaine’s last three words were, “Jesus… Jesus… Jesus…” That is why we need not wonder where she went. She is merely talking a walk with the Lord.
In the tenth year since her passing, I want to honor her life, her family and loved ones. Though I have never met her, I feel a certain closeness to her whenever I reread the article I wrote for the school newspaper almost 10 years ago. Indeed, there are things in life which we take forgranted- such beautiful things that can only be beautiful because of God's presence. Writing about her changed my life forever- it made me appreciate the beauty of life and of Creation, it gave meaning to the words "pride" and "forgiveness" and never leaving fights unresolved. If anything, it made me "feel" my faith, not through how I manifest it only in prayer and worship, but rather in how I can truly feel God inside me. God was with me when I wrote that piece. I knew it then, I know it now.
Her name was Elaine. This is her story.
A WALK WITH JESUS: IN MEMORY OF ELAINE MARIE CUASO
(Icalettes-June 1997)
Most of us look at death with fearful and shielded eyes. It is that window of life which we never dare look into. It is something that we have not yet come to terms with, something we have not fully accepted. We would like to think of ourselves and our loved ones as invincible, and that we would live for as long as we would wish to. For a lot of people who have not felt the pain of having lost somebody, death is something far away, something unreachable. For Elaine Marie Cuaso, death meant only one thing: going home to Jesus.
Elaine Marie Cuaso was born on August 28, 1983. Her birth was sheer joy to her parents, Edwin and Emily. Aside from being an only girl, Elaine was also the youngest among three children. However, she was not spoiled. She was a normal child as she was growing up. Naughty and sometimes disobedient, in ways every growing girl is familiar with, but very cheerful. In fact, if there was anything Elaine carried on through her growing years, it was her bright and sunny disposition both at home, at school and even as she was sick. Her smile was described to be contagious. Anyone who sat beside her in class or hung out with her during break times found it irresistible not to laugh along with her or join in the fun she was projecting. It is obvious that she was very well liked and accepted not only among her peers, but by her classmates and teachers as well. She was a trendsetter, never afraid to stand up for what she wanted or for what she believed in. But even as she was like that, she never felt bad or held a grudge on teachers when they told her off. Her teachers describe her as a bubbly and levelheaded girl. She loved Twin Popsies (orange-flavored), the song “Sometimes When We Touch,” dancing, and fashion. She was a normal teenager with average grades and excellent math skills, until something terrible happened to her, something all of us dread to have.
Elaine developed leukemia just before her year in Grade 6 ended. At first, both her and her parents were discreet about her sickness. It was only after a few months that her friends found out about the disease which was already starting to take course on her body system. “It hurts,” Elaine confided to a friend. “I feel so tired… even lying down makes me tired.” But what inspired Elaine to go on despite her suffering was her faith in Jesus. Her mother would often tell her that was she was going through was the same thing that Jesus went through. “Jesus never did anything to anyone, except manifest His love to everyone… and yet He died because it simply was His time.” Somehow, this comparison made Elaine accept her sickness and made her face that challenges that she was forced to undergo each day. When in pain, Elaine never complained because she knew how worried and sad her mother would be if she did. It was at this point in time when her relationship with her parents strengthened and run deeper. “She referred to her mom and herself as bread and butter,” a friend said. Every night, her father would come home extra early from work just to be able to spend time with her. And every night, at eight o’ clock, Elaine, her parents, and her brothers would pray. She would pray for everyone but herself. She offered a decade of the rosary for her friends, her parents, brothers and relatives, but never for herself. What could be a more selfless act than this?
If there is anything th ICAns should learn from Elaine, it would be her strong and unending faith in the Lord. She left everything to Him, entrusted her life to Him, and made Him the center of her life. “Her faith in God was instilled to her both in the school and home,” Sr. Dina said. True, for it was because of her religion classes and because of the strong faith her parents already had that Elaine found solace and comfort in the Lord. “Elaine is a model for all of us; a woman of faith and service,” Sr. Dina adds. Elaine’s determination and optimism are the two things, aside from her faith, that kept her going. She was brave until the end. She never cursed her sickness or questioned God for making her suffer so much. She was so full of life! But even if she wanted to live so much, she knew in her heart that this was her call, and she took it with her whole heart. So, on May 22, 1997, she quietly passed away.
Fifteen days before Elaine died, she wrote a letter to her mom that went this way:
Honestly mom, I don’t feel good. My lips are numb, my eyes tired, my back hurts, my head’s heavy, my gums weak, my bones brittle, my hearing’s weird, but even though with all this pains and sufferings, I don’t know where I get my strength to even play jokes or laugh, or to even smile. God is really with me. Mom, that’s the biggest gift He can ever give me. He loves me, I love him too. I love you.
There came a time when I asked myself where Elaine could possibly be. Then I thought about the three words she had said before she died. Those three magic words that spoke volumes as to where she is right now. Elaine’s last three words were, “Jesus… Jesus… Jesus…” That is why we need not wonder where she went. She is merely talking a walk with the Lord.
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