The Flickering Light at the End of the Tunnel.

Hope at times makes no sense, and we tell ourselves to not keep our hopes high so that we won’t be disappointed later, and I read one of my friends IG story asking “What does ‘This too shall pass’ mean anymore?” This is definitely one of the greatest testing time of our lives, we dread the news each day, I hate looking at my phone every morning for the fear of more “not so great news”, and I dread the times when the phone rings unexpectedly. Ironically, to our human eyes when we look for a justification for “This too shall pass”, all we see is more cases around us, or us coming into direct contact with a Covid positive unknowingly, or family members being tested, close ones and acquaintances dying, news of possible floods as if a pandemic wasn’t enough.. As if that wasn’t enough, of riots, explosions and plane crashes? All like an icing on the cake of 2020!

Coincidences are God planned incidents.

Veeta was on her second interview for the day when I met her. She happened to be sitting next to me on the bus and for a minute I thought I was on the wrong bus and she reassured me I was on the right one and we started talking for the next half an hour or so until my stop arrived. That was an interview I was going to where I came across this person.

Mr Khanna was an 85 year old retired auditor who happened to sit next to me during one of my long waits at an airport. What started out as a conversation to hand the newspaper over took multiple turns into the past and I could see his eyes shine as he was telling me stories of the days in which he could jump and run.

These are two of the people who have crossed paths with me in two of my journeys that I was reminded of today.

I did not know why certain things happened, why I went for that interview if God knew this job wasn’t fit for me. Why did I go till the last round of the interview if I’m not going to get that job. Why this? Why that? Basically a lot of whys!!

That’s when I got a tiny answer today, a mom with two kids was traveling in the bus i took today and I helped the mom, maybe that was why I had to be on the bus today. I randomly smiled at a lady (who definitely thought it was creepy) and perhaps that’s why God wanted me to go that way today.

A lot of things that seemed like coincidences are actually God working behind the scenes for the good of all who love Him and who he cares for.

So it’s okay to not be called back after every interview. It’s okay if we had to go the hospital multiple times for a lot of tests. It’s okay to get low marks.

God is in control. He knows what is best for us.

Boats of Hope

My Sunday school kids and I decided to make small boats of hope and write “Smile, Jesus loves you :)” on each of them so that we could give it to a person who is not smiling or someone close to us.

Once I told them what to write, this seven year old wrote “Smile, Jesus loves me” so I asked him why did he write like that cause my whole idea or lesson for the day was around giving this boat to person who is not smiling.

This young boy’s answer took me by surprise. He told me “My mother is smiling, my father is smiling but I’m not smiling so I

need this”

His honest and innocent answer got me thinking.

How many of us are so innocently honest like this seven year old?

My surprise didn’t end there.

I had the “boat of hope” that I call, which I made so I asked the rest of the class if we could give it to this boy who felt he needed it the most and to my surprise they wanted him to have it.

Do we do this growing up?

Are we sensitive of our feelings as well as the feelings of those around us?

Has growing up changed the way we feel, think and react?

Would you make yourself a boat of hope today?

Why I called it the boat of hope?

Well Noah was one of the only Godly men during the difficult and tough times. God told Noah to build the ark and he didn’t question God or ask for an action report as to why he should build the ark nor did he know why. He just built the ark and slowly he saw the big picture and the why’s and the when’s.

So when you build a boat of hope for yourself it’s a symbol of hope that God is there with you and you are not alone.

So build yourself an ark of hope.

When God takes the drivers seat

In our Uber/Ola trending world, how would you feel if your driver could not read the google map and drop you off at the right location?

Not so calm, especially if that is delaying you to your very important meeting that you absolutely must reach on time and since you left home extra early you thought you could save a few pennies by booking the pool/share.

I have felt so helpless that I have no clue where I am nor how to reach my next destination, all I could do was trust my driver to take me to my right destination how much ever time it takes.

If I can give up so much of trust to a man who was matched to me through the wonders of technology to safely(sometimes not so safely) still drop me at my destination, why can’t I let God take the drivers seat in my life?

I used to think that proper study of situations and scenarios would help me list out the pros and cons and help me in my decision making. I have hated waiting for things from my food to my results to my flights. God has never ceased to surprise me in any of these areas now that I look back.

I learned to relinquish and eventually let go of the drivers seat of my life when God asked me- “Why are you downcast,O my soul? Why so disturbed within me?”

Psalm 42:5a

And he answered to my cries“ Put your hope in God”

Now I enjoy the views, the scenery, the rain, the sunshine, the mountains and the valleys as my father in heaven is behind the wheels.

Faith that Walks on Water

“Hold my hand and just climb up”, said the man to the girl in the pit.

She couldn’t trust him with her hand cause she had been betrayed before. How can she trust this man to actually help her out? What proof is there that he would stay till she’s rescued out? Who is this man? Why is he even interested in helping me out? Does he know anything about rescuing me? It’s a deep pit, can he even handle my weight?

Those were the thoughts in Susie’s mind during her therapy sessions that she took during her period of depression. She was far from God, trying everything worldly to help her sleep and to help her out of this deep pit she was in.

She did not let her therapist help her a bit because she knew for sure that he wouldn’t be there when she woke up crying the next morning.

Little did she hear the voice of her Father calling out to her to hold His hand. Her thoughts were clouded with all the pills she was taking and she couldn’t hear it, even if she tried. There was just too much noise in her head.

Are you like Susie?

Are all the noises of this world not letting you hear the voice of your Father, your Creator? He has been there by your side throughout – when you chose the world against Him, when you sought out help from everyone else other than Him, even at your darkest night when you called for help from everyone else except Him.

He was there.

He’s not angry with you. He is not upset. He is standing there still, ready to help. He is saying “Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you.”(1 Peter 5:7). You don’t have to carry it all around. You can rest now. He says “Come to me all those who are heavy laden for I will give you rest”

He knows it’s hard and all He’s asking is one step from you. He’s stretching His hand out, are you ready to take it?