Finding God in little things!

Who doesn't love birthdays? We all do.Growing up, birthdays have always been special at our home-nothing extravagant but simple birthdays that made us feel special and loved.My Mom had to put up with my constant stream of reminders everyday, right from the beginning of my birthday month.I made sure she wouldn't forget it by any chance.On my birthday as a kid, there was usually a Bible passage from Isaiah read and I would be specially prayed over during our morning family prayer. Clad in a new outfit, I'd be beaming when the whole school would sing the birthday song during the morning assembly. Chocolate distribution to the whole class and to all the teachers would soon ensue. I'm sure we've all envied that friend who accompanied the birthday girl to all the classes.

Now that I've become a Mom, my role in making birthdays in the family special is pretty big, which translates to back-breaking work in the kitchen.For my daughter' s sixth birthday this year around, I had made Aapam with Aatu Kaal paaya (Lamb trotters stew) for breakfast, Biriyani with ennai kathirikai (eggplant curry)and Raitha for lunch.I had stayed up the previous night to bake a cake.Extra lunch boxes were packed for colleagues at  my office and my husband's.

I felt so accomplished! I had cooked, cleaned , gotten the children off to school and daycare and had made it to office on time! The biriyani had become an instant hit at our offices and I couldn't help brag about the morning feat to a few. Evidently, pride had kicked in.

The next morning my husband preferred the simple and easy-to-make curd rice for lunch. I headed to the kitchen, made the curd rice and began to prepare some capsicum kootu and soya stir-fry. Halfway through, I checked the clock and it was already 8:20! With just 5 mins for the school bus to leave, I panicked. My husband who usually helps was already hurrying for a meeting at work.I took out my temper out on my daughter who was still playing, got her dressed, and hurried her to the bus, only to have the capsicum burnt and the soya a complete mess.

I had terribly failed.That's when I was reminded of the verse,"Without me, you can do nothing".Although the verse implies that we can do nothing of eternal significance without God, I have seen God work in me or my circumstances when I depend on Him even in the little things of everyday life-like cooking.I wouldn't have lost my temper and handled everything much better, if only I had prayed before heading off into the kitchen.Doing life without God is indeed a recipe for failure!

Teach them young!

My older daughter who will be turning 6 tomorrow just amazes me. Her natural inquisitiveness and the amount of information she soaks in from the environment around her is just astounding. The questions she throws at me often leave me puzzled. Despite that fact that I wish she’d just go to bed every night without asking for a story, I end up telling her bedtimes stories -sometimes from the Bible. Recently at bedtime, I chose to teach her the spiritual armour of God and I think she understood. Well, sort of.

In The Pilgrim's Progress, Christian makes a stop at Palace Beautiful where he is supplied with a full suit of armour to protect him and prepare him for battle with Apollyon on his journey to the Celestial City.His body armour represents the Armour of God.

The Armour of God that contains the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, the shoes of the gospel, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation and the sword of the spirit is essential for fighting the spiritual battles that we confront every day in our lives. And it's just as important that we arm our children and grandchildren with the same protection.

Growing up, my mother made us memorize Scripture every weekend and every advice she gave us would have some Bible verse in it. Consequently, there were so many verses that were just etched in our memory without us having to make any effort to memorize. We also had a daily devotional book (‘God & Me ‘by Scripture Union) packed with fun-activities from the Bible that we were supposed to work on every day. This foundation helped us look at the world from a Biblical perspective.

As parents, we‘ve been entrusted with the great responsibility of equipping our children with the tools, resources and skills they need to find the answers to any question they seek. Foundational questions on life and spirituality cannot be answered apart from the Word of God. With Bible illiteracy skyrocketing, we are commanded to hide God's Word in our hearts. We are also commanded to teach them to our children when we sit in our house, when we walk by the way, when we lie down, and when we rise up (Deuteronomy 6:7). A child can begin memorizing Scripture as soon as he can talk. Teaching our children scripture doesn’t have to be hard. Singing is probably one of the easiest and most enjoyable ways to memorize scripture. Playtimes and bedtimes for memorizing Scripture have always worked for me.

With childhood and teen years overflowing with temptations and peer pressure to walk away from the truth, Scripture will not only encourage, discipline and nurture our kids, but also prepare them for the onslaught of Satan as they are headed into the world.Let's also remember that our responsibility lies not in forcing our children into becoming Christians, but rather instructing them in the way of the Lord and demonstrating a Christian life at home. And then we can confidently walk in the assurance that Proverbs 22:6 provides: "Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it."

I surrender all!

The movie tickets had been booked. I had been eagerly waiting for the release of the movie ‘The Least of These’. We had booked for the 10pm show hoping my two year old would be fast asleep by then. The movie was based on the remarkable true life story of Dr.Graham Staines, the Australian missionary who was matyred for his mission work among the lepers of the Indian State of Odisha.

It was January 23rd, 1999 when the news of the brutal murder of Dr.Staines and his two sons sent shock waves across the nation. The incident had made an impact on me, a sixth grader then, when I learnt the power of sacrifice and forgiveness. Now, almost two decades later, as I watched the movie, the forgotten account of the Staines family was brought back alive.

Dr.Staines had felt called to global missions as a teenager, when he had seen a picture of a boy with leprosy. Having grown up in Vellore all my life, the life of Dr.Ida Scudder, the founder of India’s biggest mission hospital, had an impact on me and I’ve always wanted to become a medical missionary. Decades have gone by and now, as a mother of two young children, Dr.Staines’ commitment reminded me of my own decision I had made as a child and of these lines by CT.Studd-

“Only one life, yes only one,

Soon will its fleeting hours be done;

Then, in ‘that day’ my Lord to meet,

And stand before His Judgement seat;

Only one life, ’twill soon be past,

Only what’s done for Christ will last.”

As the movie progressed, I couldn’t help the tears that rolled down-tears for the two young women, Gladys and Esther, who could still feel the pain of the loss to this day. Knowing that the pain from the sudden loss of a loved one remains for a life time,  I couldn’t even imagine the rugged terrain they have been treading. This huge unexpected loss calls for true courage.

God had prepared Gladys Staines (wife of Dr.Staines) for bearing this greatest grief.  She recalls:

 “I believe God very specially spoke to me on January 14, during my morning quiet time.  I use a particular daily Bible reading book as help.  The story for that day’s reading ran like this:  There was a young 12-year-old girl in hospital that was losing her sight.  Her pastor came to visit her and she told him, “Pastor, God is taking away my sight.”  For a long time, the pastor kept silent and then said, “Jessie, don’t let Him.”  The girl was puzzled, and then the wise pastor said, “Give it to Him”.  As I meditated upon this story, an inner voice asked me whether I was also willing to give all that I love – my husband, children, and possessions for Him.  I spent much time on this.  Tears began to roll down my cheeks.  Then I told Him, “Lord Jesus, yes, I am willing.  Take all that have, for your use – my husband, children and everything that I have.  I surrender them all to You…The Lord comforted me by saying, “don’t you know that Abraham pleased me by sacrificing his only son, Isaac….” These days, our blessed Lord has been strengthening me in very unusual ways.”

What a testimony! Are we willing to give God everything we have? A complete surrender? Do we mean it when we sing,

"I surrender all,

I surrender all.

All to Thee, my blessed Savior,

I surrender all ?"