Hmmmm I wonder why ....

What causes grown, supposedly serious mature, adults to coo?

What makes them smile endlessly?

What makes then gurgle and blabber?

What makes normally” unwilling to move a bone in their body” grown ups jump up and down and do a jig?

What makes them make up silly rhymes?

What ends up being their main topic of discussion?

What succeeds in them dropping everything they do, to just stand still and stare?

What gives them the energy to act like clowns?

Why this of course .....

The look !!!

The smile !!!

The joy !!!

The love.....

PRICELESS !!!!!!!!!!!!

IF I WERE TO .....

IF I were to write a blog to the car/bus/truck/rickshaw / cycle drivers of India I would say…

· There is a reason for the white lines on the road. It is not a decoration.

· When the traffic light turns red it doesn’t mean you increase your speed and play chicken with the other drivers.

· Honking the horn endlessly when the traffic light is red will not magically turn it green!!

· There is a cool new invention situated just behind your steering wheel… it’s on the left.... It’s called an indicator... USE IT!

· To the best of my knowledge none of us were born with horns attached to our hands, so it should not be something you repeatedly beep/ hoot/blare when you are stuck in a traffic jam.

· When there is a traffic jam the chances are that the car in front of you cannot move. Beeping/ blaring/ hooting your horn will not give the car in front of you wings nor you the ability to clear the jam.

· It really is ok if someone overtakes you. It does not in any way make you less of a human being.

· When you are turning left, it does not help if you are in the extreme right lane and then cut across traffic with 2 seconds to spare.

· In case you didn’t know, there is another headlight setting in your car. BRIGHT is not the ONLY option.

· For those kind souls who show others they are approaching by flickering between normal and bright when they are less than 5 feet away.. and…. STOP... I beg of you!! My eyes will be forever grateful.

But since I live in a perfect place where none of the above happens, I won’t even have to publish the post …

LUCKY ME!

My Sister :)

From a young age, my sister was better at dealing with pain. I was the “wuss”. I remember that we would be promised ice cream before we were taken in for out shots. My sister would handle it like a pro and I guess the thought of having ice cream helped. For me, nothing they promised me was good enough for me to get shot. I would bolt from the room and would literally have my parents and docs chase me (or so I have been told!).

I even remember her rollerblading and skidding/ falling/ rolling down a tarred incline, and ripping a fair bit of her skin off in the process, only to get up back on those rollerblades the very next day. I on the other hand would probably have BURNT the rollerblades and claimed that WALKING is the cool thing to do.

While I was content spraining my back by slipping on steps, she has done it all from being chased my bee’s to being bitten by a dog and have an accident where a bus ran over her palm.

So when my sister told me that she wanted to go in for a natural birth, I was not surprised. I was extremely proud n chuffed that at least one of us has the strength.(Just so you know, when it’s my turn, it’s going to be “ALL THE PAIN MEDICATION MEDICALLY/ LEGALLY POSSIBLE PLEASE !!!!!”)

My sister was in labor for 15 hrs and they finally ended up doing a c-section. Tam-tam (my niece) was not ready to come out!

It was extremely difficult to be there and watch my little sister go through what she did. If it was difficult for me, I can’t even begin to imagine how it was for her. Now those who know me know that I am emotional. So for me to see her go through pain was not easy. I don’t think I have prayed so much as I did during those hours waiting for her in the room. I don’t think I have even cried that much is recent times as I did when I heard her cry. So I was actually relieved when they wheeled her into surgery.

While I was thrilled to see Tam-tam when they brought her out later, I think I began breathing normally and felt relieved only after I saw my sister. Believe it or not, the happiest moment for me on the 17th was when I went in to the recovery room and saw sister and she opened her eyes. I finally knew she was going to be ok. From then I knew that it would be alright!

At that point I couldn’t have been more proud of her or loved her more.

Isn't she lovely ....

Isn't she lovely

Isn't she wonderful

Isn't she precious

made from love

I can't believe what God has done

To us he's given his precious one

Isn't she lovely...

Made from love

Let me introduce ....

By the end of this week…. I would have met the person I fell in love with 9 months ago.

I have no idea what the person will look like… but I definitely have dreamt of it.

Since I definitely cannot jump up n down like this….

Let me describe the person to you.

The person will have:-

A “Love to be hugged and kissed” personality

A “Make your heart skip a beat while it does cartwheels” face

A pair of “Drown in me” eyes

A “Prefect little...Not too sharp... Not too blunt little” nose

“Yes! Aren’t they adorable” cheeks

“Soft n silky … will make anything look good” hair

“Adorn it with the best” ears

A “Make your heartache” cry

A “Make you do cartwheels” laugh

An “I got you wrapped around my finger” smile

An “Overflowing with God’s grace and love” heart

“I serve a wonderful God” knowledge

Doesn’t this person sound wonderful?

I definitely think this person is….

Homeward Bound

I am heading home….. in exactly 17 days I will be home. You have no idea how that makes me feel.

Here is the deal, I am tired…. really tired, in every possible way. So the thought of being home with my mom n dad thrills me to bits. I can’t wait.

I can’t wait to be in a house where if I take more than 10 steps I don’t find myself in the balcony.

I can’t wait to have coffee mate in my coffee.

I can’t wait to curl up in the living room reading the paper while watching TV.

And most importantly I can't wait to spend time with my parents.

Here is my normal routine when I am home. I wake up late, just in time to see my mom return from the gym (sigh!!). I then plonk myself in front of the TV with the morning’s paper while mom gets herself a bowl of cornflakes (nice) or oats (yuck!).

After breakfast and a shower either I am off roaming with her or sitting on the couch chatting to my Gran. Pa soon comes for lunch and that is soon followed by mom n dad fighting over dessert. The fight they maintain is legit.

Then its time of the snooze followed by evening coffee n soon enough the program that should be banned “idea star singer” airs. Every evening we bicker about watching it, but we end up watching coz well…according to my mother “Coz I said so!! “

And then… dinner time….

Yes I know, ..very boring .. yet…. There is comfort in this familiarity.

Right now nothing sounds more appealing than this.

In the nick of time ...

This last week has not been easy.

An accumulation of many many things and I really felt it would soon come crashing down and succeed in putting me back on square one. I am not joking when I said that I literally felt a stone in my heart. And it hurt! Praying about it eased the pain. For that moment. I even tried to figure out what I could do to make it better but, as always, I came up with nothing.

I soon fell in a pattern where all i asked for was the strength to get through each day. Today was no different. Today, I was listening to the online radio and this song by Josh Wilson began to play. It was aptly titled “Saviour Please” and below are the lyrics:

Savior, please take my hand
I work so hard, I live so fast
This life begins, and then it ends
And I do the best that I can, but I don't know how long I'll last

I try to be so tough
But I'm just not strong enough
I can't do this alone, God I need You to hold on to me
I try to be good enough
But I'm nothing without Your love
Savior, please keep saving me

Savior, please help me stand
I fall so hard, I fade so fast
Will You begin right where I end
And be the God of all I am because You're all I have

Everything You are to me
Is everything I'll ever need
And I am learning to believe
That I don't have to prove a thing
'Cause You're the one who's saving me

I felt better. Maybe, I felt better because I heard this song just after I uttered a cry of desperation, just after i silently pleaded for some sign of hope. Maybe I felt better because I had unknowingly chosen to move forward. Maybe I felt better because I related to the words… I don’t know… but I felt better.

Has the problem been resolved? Far from it ….. But I have taken the first step .Just that knowledge gives me a perfect reason to smile.

And say “Thank you”

I can't wait.....

I remember seeing the very first scan my sister had.

The baby was smaller than a grain of basmati… and yet very evident for all to see was its heart beat. From the very first moment of conception, all of the inherited features of this new person are already set – whether it’s a boy or girl, the color of the eyes, the color of the hair, the dimples of the cheeks and the cleft of the chin. He or she is smaller than a grain of sugar, but the instructions are present for all that this person will ever become. After seeing that I could not understand why some people say that the fetus is not human but a mass of tissue.

On Saturday, I watched as my sister got her third scan.

Amazed, moved, thrilled are just few of the words I could use to describe how I felt.

Sitting there all I could do was look in awe at this wonderful life growing inside her. Weighing all of 368grams the baby was faced down and all curled up. I got to see its spine, the feet, the hands, the nose and even the lips.

Blurry, but still perfect.

All I could think was here is this one person, whom I have never met, who right now is still expanding and contracting, is just starting to figure out that kicking is possible,who's leg is probably smaller than a toothpick and yet I love him or her like I never before.

I am waiting .....

Waiting to meet this person .....

Waiting to spoil the baby rotten .....

Waiting to love him silly.....

Waiting to watch him sleep.....

Waiting to tickle him till he screams for mercy.....

Waiting to teach him things which might make my brother in law want to disown me.....

Waiting to hold him and say a silent prayer for all my blessings.....

Waiting.....

Attack of the deadly Avacado !

The other day I was in my favorite preschool class and as always chit chatting with the little tykes. Somehow the conversation turned to injuries. So while we were comparing different ways we hurt ourselves, one of the kids turned to me and we had this conversation.

“Ms Thomas….. Hmmm… you know… hmm…. my brother’s teacher…. Well … hmm … he got hurt.”

“Oh wow!! Really… was he hurt badly?? “

“Well…. Hmm… he was bitten by an avocado “

“A what???? “

“An avocado ...Ms Thomas “

(By this time…every other child was looking at me like I was daft...And nodding their heads and even telling me that they have seen the picture of the avocado”)

“Are you sure... That it was an avocado that bit him … coz I think an avocado is something you eat”

“Ewwwwwwwww Ms Thomas…. We can’t eat an avocado… It eats us ….. Come I will show you a picture of the avocado”

So we walk to the bookshelf….. And I was finally shown the deadly avocado…I finally saw it ... i started to shake .. fear or laughter ???...well you judge...

Staring back at me was the picture of ............

AN ANACONDA !!!

The suffering of his Broken Heart - Max Lucado

I RECEIVED THIS IN MY MAIL TODAY. THE MOMENT I READ IT I FELT THAT I HAD TO SHARE IT. SO HERE YOU GO …

    The Sufferings of His Broken Heart

                                                                                                                           - Max Lucado

Go with me for a moment to witness what was perhaps the foggiest night in history. The scene is very simple; you’ll recognize it quickly. A grove of twisted olive trees. Ground cluttered with large rocks. A low stone fence. A dark, dark night.

Now, look into the picture. Look closely through the shadowy foliage. See that person? See that solitary figure? What’s he doing? Flat on the ground. Face stained with dirt and tears. Fists pounding the hard earth. Eyes wide with a stupor of fear. Hair matted with salty sweat. Is that blood on his forehead?

That’s Jesus. Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane.

Maybe you’ve seen the classic portrait of Christ in the garden. Kneeling beside a big rock. Snow-white robe. Hands peacefully folded in prayer. A look of serenity on his face. Halo over his head. A spotlight from heaven illuminating his golden-brown hair.

Now, I’m no artist, but I can tell you one thing. The man who painted that picture didn’t use the gospel of Mark as a pattern. When Mark wrote about that painful night, he used phrases like these: “Horror anddismay came over him.” “My heart is ready to break with grief.” “He went a little forward and threw himself on the ground.”

Does this look like the picture of a saintly Jesus resting in the palm of God? Hardly. Mark used black paint to describe this scene. We see an agonizing, straining, and struggling Jesus. We see a “man of sorrows.” (Isaiah 53:3 NASB) We see a man struggling with fear, wrestling with commitments, and yearning for relief.

We see Jesus in the fog of a broken heart.

The writer of Hebrews would later pen, “During the days of Jesus’ life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears to the one who could save him from death.” (Hebrews 5:7 NIV)

My, what a portrait! Jesus is in pain. Jesus is on the stage of fear. Jesus is cloaked, not in sainthood, but in humanity.

The next time the fog finds you, you might do well to remember Jesus in the garden. The next time you think that no one understands, reread the fourteenth chapter of Mark. The next time your self-pity convinces you that no one cares, pay a visit to Gethsemane. And the next time you wonder if God really perceives the pain that prevails on this dusty planet, listen to him pleading among the twisted trees.

The next time you are called to suffer, pay attention. It may be the closest you’ll ever get to God. Watch closely. It could very well be that the hand that extends itself to lead you out of the fog is a pierced one.

 

FAITH

FAITH IS NOT DEMANDING WHAT WE WANT; IT IS TRUSTING GOD'S GOODNESS IN SPITE OF LIFE'S TRAGEDIES. 

FAITH IS NOT DEMANDING WHAT WE WANT; ITS TRUSTING GODS GOODNESS IN SPITE OF LIFES TRAGEDIES

Friends, Strangers & Countrymen…. Lend me your ears…..

I AM GOING TO BE AN AUNT.

An AUNT..Can you beat that … (actually maybe you can.. but I dont care !! )

My lil sis is expecting (or as folks back home would refer to “she is in the family way “...hahahaha). My sister does not have a blog … so I have decided that I will post the baby ticker on my blog.

I am so thrilled that I have already figured out what the baby is going to call me. "Tante" That’s German for aunt I have been told!!!

While I am still trying to picture my sister pregnant, I have had no problems slotting my brother in law into the daddy role (he has been practicing with me!!!). This is one journey I am so glad I have ring side seats for!!!

I found out on Friday and since then every time I think about it I tear up, and I can’t stop my heart from skipping an extra beat…. Thrilled doesn’t even start to define what I feel. But I def do know this. I feel blessed. I feel so blessed to be here during this time and I feel blessed that God is giving me someone to love. Most importantly, I am so grateful and thankful to God for giving them the precious baby. I know they will make awesome parents.

I can’t wait to have him/her in my life. Can’t wait to torture the parents with threats of tattoo and piercings and I can’t wait to spoil the lil one rotten.

I am already counting down the days …….