My sisters eldest son proudly claimed that he could do "Medium" Sudoku, i said i was impressed (did i teach him to play Sudoku a year back? i think so! I remember we tried to do the "Easy" Sudoku together)... I had encouraged him to read the newspaper also... he is all of 9 years old. He made a grab for the English paper, and my sister's voice floated from the kitchen, "Son, read the Bible first and then read the paper..."
Its nice to go back home, i dont expect my family members to come and greet me at the airport... but my mom, my sis and her husband decided to come and pick me up from the airport. I was feeling bad as it was a Monday morning and i would step out after baggage claim around 1:00 AM. But my sis and bil were adamant that they would receive me at the airport... it was nice to see them, we reached home a little after 1:15 AM and i was packed off to sleep by 2:00 AM. I was spending the night at my sister's place and woke up barely a few hours later. It gave me an opportunity to observe what i had missed for more than a year... the shy smile of the children, the monday morning blues, etc... But the fact that God still comes first gives me great comfort and happiness... ofcourse i expected nothing different, but it still brings peace and joy. I am content!
Few hours later, during breakfast, between mouthfulls of food, my sister's youngest son said he was learning to read in Tamil at school, and my sis chipped in that he is doing well... he recited something in Tamil and i couldnt understand a word of it. But it was still nice to hear him speak Tamil. Usually, they speak English (well, the heavily accented Indian English, i didnt realize how accented it was until i started traveling myself!)... Few minutes later, as we were rolling around playing in the bed, i asked him if he had prayed in the morning and he said yes... he said that he could recite a Psalm and i asked him to recite it for me... in his boyish voice he recited Psalm 95, it didnt sound like the one i read often (i read it in King James Version, it sounds a lot different from other versions, believe me!), but i was so proud of him. If he had been class first, i would have been happy, if he had spoken in Tamil very nicely, i would have been happy, but hearing him recite a Psalm that he had memorized, even though he cant read so well, what can i say, makes me so proud, and happy, and joyful and emotional. I hugged him and kissed his forehead, he was a bit embarassed, but I was thankful for my family.
The same day, i visited my aunt. She wasnt expecting me, she knew i had returned to India only that day, but never expected me to visit her. As one of the youngest nieces in the family, and by family tradition - the younger ones usually drop in to say hello to older members of the family. We, Indians, never inform people - especially relatives if we are living in the same city or nearby... i asked my mom if she should call her and let her know, and she growled and glowered at me. So i shut up. When we rang the bell, my uncle and aunt were delighted to see me. Then my aunt mentioned that she was doing her Bible Study lessons. Hmm, nice to be reassured that God factor runs in the family. It is a privilege to be born in such a family, where God is unwittingly part and parcel of our lives. I never took so much notice of it until recently. But i am so proud of every moment of it. Thank God for small mercies. Few days later when i visited my oldest sister's family, i was proud to know how many Psalms my nephews have memorized - they put me to shame, i cant even remember a whole chapter. Looks like they would complete the entire book by the end of the year.
As i look back at my days in India, i realize that the things that brought me joy was not food, it wasnt actually the family (though it was nice to be back with family), it wasnt the city, my birthland, nothing... but how God is still the center of our lives. It brings a smile to my eyes when i remember how my father wanted to pray and sing, so i shut off the TV, how i would hear him pray early in the morning, my sisters talking about God, my friends discussing about the power of prayer, fasting and fellowship over lunch, or how God spoke to me on certain occassions, it is a blessing! It is truly a blessing to be part of this and this is what really matters in life!
My city had changed quite a bit - new buildings had sprouted like mushrooms, new highways, new roads, new flyovers (but same old traffic jam), but i am glad that Jesus is still the center of our lives. I love Him.
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