It’s only words …

One of my all-time favorites, Words is a soft, touching song. Every time I hear it, I find myself quieting down, taking a deep breath and letting the song take over. However, lately these words have begun to mean something else to me.

Are words, just words? After getting married, one of the things I have learnt from my husband is the power of words. He has a simple reason for it: Proverbs 18:21

“Words kill, words give life;
they're either poison or fruit — you choose.”

So it’s really up to us! What are we going to choose? What words are we going to sow into our lives? What words will we use today with others?

Well, after all, there's a power attached to words that we need to be aware of.

The tiny gate

Last night we happened to drive past the palace of an erstwhile royal family member residing in the city. The place is well fortified with spiked walls, 24-hour security and tall gates that are always shut. However, yesterday I noticed that a tiny gate beside the tall, main gate was open. The security guards also seemed relaxed and were chatting with one another.

I wondered if they had left the gate open because there were many at the main gate or was it because there was no apparent threat in sight.

I could not help but draw a parallel to our lives. We have strong walls, tall gates and friends who keep watch over us. Yet, there’s a tiny gate open somewhere that’s enough to let in storms of doubt, waves of fear and clouds of disbelief.

Guess it’s time to do a candid audit – for that little gate that’s open.

A perfume bottle vs. a river

There’s a true story I’ve heard about a modern-day prince who came back home from his studies abroad to find that the beautiful river next to his palace had deteriorated into a massive sewage canal. Unable to bear the stench, in frustration, he opened up some expensive perfume bottles and threw them into the river.

It sounds like a futile effort, which of course it is but I began to ponder – isn’t that how it is with some of us. We get so overwhelmed with the stench of sin that we pull up our sleeves and get down to cleaning it our own way. Of course, our perfume bottles can hardly impact the stench of a river.

But what does God have to say about this? He says, “Come to me!” As if that was not enough, he gives us other assurances too!

If you’re struggling under the weight of living, take it to Him who watches over you. He knows how best to care for you!

Be blessed this day.

Picture credit: fleurdelisperfumes.com

Our life’s compass

The other day, during our evening walk, my husband and I felt that gentle nudge to call up one of our friends. And sure enough, just as I expected, she was really down. She was confused with a lot of issues particularly those surrounding her impending marriage. After hearing her out, and the constant refrain of ‘I’m so confused’ my husband gently brought in an example.

He said, ‘We’ve all used compasses at school to draw that perfect circle. If however, we were to reverse the roles – use the pencil as the center and attempt to draw with the pointy edge, we’d end up tearing up the page and the pages below. It’s the same with life. As long as God is the center, there’s a sense of direction. However, if the focus changes, we stand in danger of tearing up our own lives.’

How does your life’s compass draw?

God bless.

Vicky’s* magic

Last week, my husband was sleeping off a tiring day at work when he was woken up with a loud banging on the door. Sleepy-eyed, he opened the door to see our friendly neighborhood brat, Vicky. He’s all of four, bursting to the seams with energy and always radiant with cheer. Of course, no polite niceties followed. Just a question, “Do you want to see magic?” with no expectations of a response. He walked in and enthusiastically proceeded to show Balaji, (my sleepy hubby) what he had in mind.

• Vicky producing a plastic plate: “Can you see light?”
• My husband: “No.”
• Vicky secreting a torch out of his then-mysteriously-bulging, now-demystified T. Shirt and placing it under the plastic plate, letting the light shine through: “See there’s light! Magic!”
• My husband, all bright and awake, pretending not to see the torch: “Wow Vicky! How did you do that? You’re a magician!”
  

Of course, we laughed ourselves to tears as my husband recounted this incident. It was the child’s simple confidence that the door would be opened, he would be invited in and appreciated for his efforts that touched our hearts.

And then my husband reflected: Isn’t that the way it is with God? Maybe that’s the ‘magical’ belief we all need to have – that our Heavenly Father has an open-door policy for His kids.

* Name changed, you-know-why.

Saying no to corporal punishment!

In a landmark move, the state government of Tamil Nadu has banned corporal punishment in schools. I, for one, am happy to see that in the name of discipline and meeting so-called standards, teachers will no longer be able to vent their anger on kids.

Thank God, in the midst of a hundred other issues, the government has paid attention to this critical issue. To all who were on this committee, thank you and God bless! :-)

For the rest of the world, it may seem a trivial issue but beating or humiliating children could result in adults who grow up with a warped sense of self and require inner healing to reach their fullest potential.

Hugs galore!

I’ve always loved being hugged. Strangely, I discovered this astonishing fact only at sixteen when I met a long-lost friend after ages. She hugged me. And I liked it! Until then I had maintained this tough-girl attitude and in my world the credo was hugs were too sissy, too soft.

After that hug from my friend, I took up hugging seriously. I’d squeeze mom tightly and give her looong hugs. I'd hug all my dearest friends everytime I met them. All my friends knew a warm hug was all it took to make my day.

And now that I’m married I get more than my share of hugs. There are plenty of hugs in our happy home. Hugs of love, laughter, passion, sadness and many others that reflect a hundred other hues of life.

Hugs do make a difference!

Thanks sweetie!

Picture credit: megsplace.com

My mirror

One of the perks of being married is that you get to see yourself in a mirror that reflects you, quite candidly. Thank God for a lovely husband, my mirror does not believe in condemning or pointing fingers. I’m always swept up in a warm embrace of acceptance that reminds me to see myself for who I am – unique, made in the image of God.

Thanks honey, you make my world wonderful!

Picture credit: jewelry-4-u.net

Heroes are real!

Close your eyes for a moment and pick out your favorite heroes. No, I don’t mean the comic book ones. They exist in our lives only until our adolescent dreams fade away. I’m talking about the real-life heroes we meet in our everyday, ordinary lives. The kind of heroes who are never drawn or photographed or interviewed. The kind who live on in our lives and memories no matter how old we are and what our latest passions are. They go about their heroic lives in ordinary ways.

The friend who’s been there for you for ever-so-many-years.

The mother who provides inspiration no matter how bad the storm or how much it’s your fault.

The father who’s always there to point you to greater heights.

The colleague who unfailingly smiles merrily at you each morning setting a happy tone for your day at work.

The auto driver who’s polite no matter how bad his day had been.

The electrician who does an honest job.

The doctor who goes the extra mile to make you feel comfortable especially when there’s an evil-looking needle pointing at you.

The lab technician who understands that it’s okay to be afraid of injections, even if you look the kind who stare a dragon to shame.

The policeman who takes the pains to stand in rain and sunshine to ensure that traffic flows smoothly.

Well, I believe these are the heroes who keep the world going round.

God bless you all! :-)

Thank God for moms!

I know it’s been a looooooooooooong time. Sorry, all my dear friends. I’ve just been busy … really busy. And in all that busyness I came across a nugget I wanted to share with all of you.

One morning, a colleague offered our team some candies. One of the brats in the team said ‘If I was a woman I’d wrap it up and take it home to my kids.’ That statement hit me like a bolt out of the blue for my memories were awakened to this very real fact in the lives of moms around the world. I remember the 100s of times my brother and I eagerly waited to dig into my mom’s pockets for sweets that seemed to always be there – thanks to the fact that she was a nurse and in a human-resource rich nation like ours, beaming fathers celebrated the arrival of their newborns with sweets to everyone at the hospital almost every other day.

I always assumed momma did not like sweets. She’s 60 today and with tears in my eyes I discovered only a few years ago that she enjoyed sweets just as mush as her sweet-toothed kids! So now you know who happily gives up her share of sweets so that a warm, huggable lady who sacrificed her fondness for sweets in her younger days gets to enjoy a lot of it in her retired days!

Thanks mom! You’ve taught me a lot without a word.

Picture credit: craftdesigns4you.com