254,208.57 hours! Dude, how can I not thank God for giving me such an incredible time on the planet? He has been giving me more than what I need.

Stewardship. This summarizes my 29th birthday. I think my life is about being a good steward.

Did it ever occur to you when you feel like you have something and yet you don't know what that is? What about when you are aware about that something yet you don't know how to use it.

That "something" is called gift. It's innate. It's inside us. It's deep within us. It's part of our life. We are growing with it. We die with it. I believe each and every one of us has it. Sure, they come in different packages and labels. We are all given with a gift.

However, we are not just given with a gift. We are somehow expected to take good care, nurture, and develop such gift. It's the stewardship part. Stewardship happens when you discover that gift, whether it's a talent or a skill, and you work on it not only for your self and for your own satisfaction but for the people who depend on it.

I'm fortunate to have discovered early that I was given a writing talent as a gift. Although I kept it for a while to try something else (Electronics and Communications Engineering), I still went back to where my heart is supposed to be.

Is rediscovering the passion an easy job? It can't be. There are internal and external factors that can make you just forget about it. Most people you know may not even encourage you to do what you love especially if they see no monetary benefit in short term. They simply don't get you.

Part of your job as steward is to make sure that your legitimate ambition is achieved for the benefit of the many. Any ambition becomes legitimate if it is not only for us. It's self-serving. It's selfish. If it's only for us, what else is good about that? What satisfaction would you have if you only live for yourself?

Stewardship is about fighting for your legitimate dream no matter what happens. It is about making sure that your mission is set and you are all set to accomplish it before the time is out. It is making sure that we live a meaningful life so that other people may see their meaning, too.

Just like you, I am only a steward. I was given with life, talent, energy, feeling, knowledge, skills, family, and businesses among many other things. Do I own them? Only as long as I can experience them. Everything else is temporary.

And so I can only take care of what was given to me. I don't let anybody stand in fulfilling my mission. Whatever it takes, I will make sure to safeguard, improve, and share my talent. I can only do my best and pray for my success at every endeavor. Sometimes, I win. Sometimes, I lose. Sometimes, I get it. Sometimes,  don't.

Regardless of the result, I can only try to wake up the following day and try again. Hopefully this time, I am better than I was yesterday.

We will all come to the day when God may probably ask us what happened with what I've given you. I don't want to just stare at Him and make some wild guess. I want to kneel down and say, "I did everything I could to be the best steward of your gifts. To You, I offer every fruit of such pursuit."

I'm 29 years old. And I love you, my Lord and my God.