Even When Nobody is Listening
by Oliver Carlos
I finished a sportscasting course in 2018. All the members of our faculty were big-time. They were the current household names in the Philippine sportscasting industry. Every lecture and activity was special. One of the most unforgettable talk I heard was from PBA TV anchor Chuck Araneta. He’s a living testimony of patience and resiliency.
Like most of us students in that academy, Chuck admitted that he was a nobody and a wanna-be in the early 2000s. He was a reject of the shows and companies he auditioned in. But those failures didn’t stop him from chasing his dream of being a sportscaster.
Together with a couple of friends, Chuck started a podcast in a stuffy room in their house. During those times, podcasting was an obscure thing. The trio just imagined themselves to be real media people doing a TV basketball talk show.
Later on, they upgraded their podcast by having better equipment and props. They also improved in their skills as the years went along due to their frequent productions. They just continued their act not knowing that they have already gathered a considerable size of followers.
The next thing that happened was that Chuck got a foot in the door of the PBA. He started out as a barker or venue announcer. But it was years later, when he was given the break to be an anchor. Today, when you tune-in to watch PBA games, you will hear Chuck’s rich baritone voice on the play-by-play commentary. He has grown to be a fixture in the TV coverage of the prestigious professional basketball league.
Chuck admonished us in his lecture that we should continue on with our dream and with our craft “even though nobody is watching, even though nobody is listening, because one day, our time will come.” In his case, his wait lasted for more than a decade.
What touched my heart was how Chuck concluded his talk. He said that who he has become now is a product of God’s grace. He acknowledged God as the source of his answered prayer.
This story reminds me of a parable Jesus narrated to his disciples when he wanted to illustrate to them what persistence means. The Parable of the Persistent Widow in Luke 18:1–8 (NLV) begins with this verse:
“One day Jesus told his disciples a story to show that they should always pray and never give up.”
The verse tells us to do two things: First is to pray. Second is to never give up.
The widow in the story experienced great rejection by the judge, not just once, but many times. But she kept on following the judge, begging him for justice. She never gave up. Jesus pointed out that if the bad judge later on gave the widow what she asked for, remember that God is a far-better justice giver.
Friends, let us continue to pray and never give up. Finally, when we get what we’re asking for in prayer, do not forget to acknowledge God as the source of our blessing and the author of our life story.
