A Teacher's Lasting Impact!

This Teacher's Day, as I reflect on the profound impact teachers have had on my life, one particular incident from fourth grade remains etched in my memory.

Back then, I had told a friend that I didn't quite like my Math teacher. Unfortunately, that friend reported it, and soon I found myself standing outside the classroom for almost a week (at least three days in succession) as punishment. When I was sent to the Principal's office, she, being a family friend, gently brushed it off with a chocolate and sent me back to class. When my mom found out, she called the teacher to apologize. That single incident made me dread math classes. My enthusiasm for the subject plummeted, and soon, my grades followed.

By the time I reached 10th grade, my confidence in Math was at an all-time low. The half-yearly exams were a stark wake-up call when I scored a dismal 38 out of 80. Despite performing well in all my other subjects, I just couldn't bring myself to like Math. My worried mother turned to the Vice-Principal—a brilliant Math teacher herself and a friend. She decided to take me under her wing.

She didn't just teach me Math; she reignited a spark within me. She handed me a question bank and told me to work on it, encouraging me to come back to her for corrections. Her faith in me was unwavering and within a month, my marks shot up to 75 out of 80 in the revision exam! That newfound confidence propelled me through my public exams and beyond.

It became evident to me that my struggle with Math was never about ability. It was about overcoming the hurt from that one negative experience. As an aspiring doctor, I initially thought I could avoid Math altogether. However, I chose to stick with it. To my astonishment, I effortlessly scored a 94 in my first Math exam in 11th grade! I continued with the subject all through 12th, consistently performing well—thanks to the unwavering encouragement of one incredible teacher.

Teachers have the extraordinary power to either break or make a child. Today, I am deeply grateful for those who chose to build me up, even when I felt like giving up. A heartfelt thank you to Mrs. Helen Sudarshanam, my Math teacher at Ida Scudder School, Vellore. Your support truly made all the difference.

Lockdown special!

One will say, `I belong to the LORD'; another will call himself by the name of Jacob; still another will write on his hand, `The LORD's,' and will take the name Israel." Isaiah 44:5

 

That was the verse that stood out to me during my daily quiet time in January 2018. Despite my initial resistance to the idea of having another child - with my second child only 9 months old and me just starting my career after a long break - I felt a strong sense that the Lord was telling me that another baby was on the horizon.

 "Three is a good number". My husband and I had determined early in our marriage that three children was the ideal family size for us. It could be because of the loving relationship my mom had with her brother and sister or it could be because of the warm relationship I had with my own brother. Yet, the thought of having a third child at that point in time was unimaginable. I simply was not ready, and I told God that. 

In September of that same year, a prophetess visited us for a prayer meeting. As she prayed over me, she declared that God would bless us with a son named Jeremiah. Despite my initial reaction of "No, I'm not ready for another child," I couldn't shake the feeling that this was the Lord's plan for our family.

For the next 1.5 years, life got very busy with kids, home, and work. I think it was the end of 2019 during my prayer time, when I finally submitted to God's will of having another child.

The year 2020 dawned and the coronavirus was just making entry into India. It was March 18^th, 2020. My Mom was on her way back from Odisha. My older daughter had just finished her first-grade annual exams. So we had planned to send the kids off with my parents to Vellore. On 19th March, my office announced work-from-home and so my husband and I decided to go along with the kids to Vellore, stay for the weekend and come back. We spent the weekend at Vellore but it came as a shock when the nationwide lockdown was announced. We couldn't go back to Chennai ( I hadn't locked the windows of my house and had left clothes for drying in the balcony since we expected to be back in two days). I was extremely thankful that we could be with the kids at my parents' home in Vellore for the next couple of months. It was there that I discovered that we were expecting our third child. Our joy knew no bounds. God had perfectly timed it and was going to fulfil what he had promised two years ago! I knew that God had a special plan for this child of promise.

Over the next few months, despite the pregnancy and the lockdown, we made multiple travels - to Chennai for cleaning up the home, twice to visit my in-laws in Tuticorin and once to Nagercoil for a wedding at my 37th week of pregnancy ( you can read it here).

In August 2020, my father-in-law was tested covid-positive. So, we quarantined him at our parents' place at Vellore. I was five months pregnant then with two small kids. God's protecting hand was evident. Soon, the whole neighbourhood was infected- my maid, and people who helped with our parent's ministry. God made us a blessing to those around us, in terms of providing them with food. 

The pregnancy progressed smoothly and the greatest blessing was that I could have my husband, kids and parents around me throughout the pregnancy. I was praying for an easy delivery just like my other two deliveries. My due date was on Christmas day, but I expected the baby to arrive a bit late, hopefully on our anniversary a few days later. 24^th December turned out to be a very busy day. My dad, my husband and I went to the market to buy some snacks to give it away to homeless people who would turn up at our door on Christmas day every year. We were having guests for dinner that night. So we went shopping and bought a few presents for them. It was way past lunch time and so we got home, had lunch and put the kids down for their afternoon nap. I baked a cake in the evening, packed all the snacks into small packets that filled an entire cardboard box so that it would be easy to give them away the next day. 

At around 7 pm, our guests arrived. After a small birthday cake-cutting for one of them, we headed out for dinner. We had an awesome Christmas Eve dinner and by the time we returned home, it was past 10 pm. I put the kids to bed with their dresses on so that we wouldn't have to change them for the 5 am Christmas service at church in the morning. It was past 11 pm when I hit bed. I was so tired that I even forgot it was my due date.

Mild contractions began at 11:30 pm and I began monitoring them on my phone app. Contractions were at regular intervals, and after an hour of monitoring, I knew it was time to go to the hospital. Not wanting to wake up anyone, I fumbled around in the dark that was lit-up only by a small nightlamp, re-checked my already packed hospital bag, filled up water bottles, and got my documents ready. When I sneaked into my mother's bedroom to get my sweater, my mother woke up. Soon, my parents and I were well on our way to the hospital. My husband stayed back with the kids who were sleeping. By the time I was admitted in the labour ward, it was 2:30 am. God answered my prayer and the labour progressed very smoothly and effortlessly. In just a couple of hours, at 5 am, the doctor presented us with Jeremy Shelton born naturally, weighing in at 3.4 kgs, making our Christmas super-special. 

God has given me a beautiful gift and privilege in allowing me to mother three beautiful children. I pray that I will have a heart that is fully dependent on the Saviour as I raise them and that my husband and I may have wisdom in the way that we lead them!

One last hurrah!

When we got to know that we were expecting our third child this year, we knew life was about to be flipped upside down — in a good way! Amidst the global pandemic and the lockdown, we were excited and so were our two girls. Both my previous pregnancies involved international travel from the US to India-at 25 weeks for the first pregnancy and at 32 weeks for the next (You can read it here).

When my cousin's wedding was fixed on December 4th, I really wanted to go but wasn't too sure about the travel. It was to be a lockdown wedding and would take almost 12 hours by car and I would be 36/37 weeks pregnant, almost full-term. I did not want to risk my health or the baby's but this was probably the last but one wedding in the family and I so wanted to go! Let’s be honest, once a baby arrives, there are often few opportunities to enjoy a getaway. Between the excitement of the wedding and the nervousness of a long travel, I was a bit worried. I went to the Lord in prayer. I told Him I needed a word from Him before we could plan our travel. I was reminded of Psalm 23. God assured me that he was my Good Shepherd and that he would take care of me. And so began our travel plans. We booked a flight from Chennai to Tuticorin so that I could rest a bit  at my in-laws place before making the three-hour car journey from Tuticorin to Nagercoil, the wedding destination.

Travel day came. Weather wise, it was a typical day in December, cloudy and moist. Only half an hour into the drive, we saw cops posted along the road. Few minutes later, before we could realize what was happening, we were stopped and a large group of protesters rushed into the middle of the road, sat down and blocked it. We were just a few meters away from the protesters with only a truck in front of us. My husband turned off the engine and we waited to see if the police would clear them up, or if the rioters would give way. Nothing happened. Realizing we were getting delayed for our flight, we made a U turn and took an alternate route to Chennai. Google maps took us through villages and narrow roads and when we finally caught the freeway after an hour of driving, we were disappointed to see that it was jammed. Traffic had come to a standstill and there was no way we could go. We were losing time. We prayed for the traffic to clear up and when it finally did after about 30 minutes, my husband turned into an F1 racer. We literally 'flew' to our home in Chennai, parked our car and waited for our cab to take us to the airport. When the cab finally arrived, we were relieved. But our relief was short-lived when the cab driver refused us to take us to the airport since the road to the airport was blocked due to the riots. We told him that we will show him an alternate route and even pay extra to which he finally agreed. A usual 20 minute drive to the airport took us 45  minutes and we reached the airport just 5 minutes before boarding closed. We had made it! What a relief!

The very next day a cyclone with heavy rains was predicted in the very place we were headed to. We all prayed that it would never happen. After a day of rest, my parents arrived at my in-laws place with my girls to pick us up for the wedding. Both the girls had caught a cold and my 7 year old seemed too tired and sick. She slept on my lap through the three hour journey to Nagercoil. The rains or the cyclone that was predicted never happened- an answered prayer. The journey though, was a bit hectic and my legs and lower tummy ached. I just wanted to lie down. The engagement night went off well but with my aches and pains I didn't even take a pic with the couple and went straight to bed. 

That night I couldn't sleep. I had caught a cold, my body ached and my throat hurt so bad. My kids were not doing well and I wasn't even sure if I could stay for the next three days as planned. I wanted to go back home and was mentally making alternate plans. I went to the Lord in prayer. Our God is faithful and when his children come to him he is always there to help. The Lord assured me that if he could stop a cyclone, how much more would he take care of me! I also realized that I needed to operate in faith and not in fear.

On the day of the wedding, my aches and pains had gone and my kids were doing well, despite their cold and cough. We finished the wedding, stayed as planned, enjoyed our time with our family and made the long journey back home by car. We reached home safe and sound. My heart was filled with  gratitude for the Lord's goodness and his faithfulness!

And I know that the Lord who brought me safe thus far will strengthen me in the days that lie ahead as we eagerly await our newest addition to our family!