An Epic

A year long epic comes to an end today. I stand here with mixed feelings doing something I love to do - reflecting.

We started this as a small pioneering team. Stepping out into something that promised to be different; I still remember the day I was asked to be part of it. Reluctantly I agreed little knowing what I was taking on.

In the weeks that followed there was so much to do I hardly had any time to think. There were times I wondered if what I did made any difference; Times I wished I could just escape from it all; Times I was just so worried if was all going to work out okay;

I remember standing in church my heart lifted up to the one person who could understand me fully asking for the strength to go on…

But has the time went by we became one big happy extended family. I would call it some of the best days of my life as we learnt to laugh, share, and enjoy ordinary everyday life and take it as it comes.

The happy family however did not last for long. Each one had to move on due to personal reasons to other places and I found myself standing all alone smitten by the desire to walk away too. But deep within I heard that all too familiar voice say “stay”. And stay I did so the epic did not end there. Joined by some fresh new faces the story went on as we wrote it day by day.

Today we stand at the last page. None of the ones who were there when the first page was written are now here with me except one. But as I skip though the pages as I am doing now I find so many characters larger than life, who have helped paint every word on every page. I see my own character so changed and transformed.

I can’t help smiling and sighing as I write “The End”.

Dear Mister God, this is @ina talking . . . What’s next I wonder. I feel a knot inside me at the thought of moving on but I know I must. Give me the strength to go on…

My Nephew

For the first time in my life I got to spend a day with a little 5 year old boy, my nephew, who I was meeting for the first time. Most of my interaction by chance has always been with little girls and I love to spend time with them.

But little boys scarred me! I just imagined them to be rough and tough and felt they would probably hate me! Weird, eh?

My nephew proved me wrong.

For no reason at all, and I must say again for no reason at all this little boy took to me. He just fell in love with me the minute I walked into his house. We talked and soon I was his playmate. We played with his cars, ships and building blocks. His favorite game was dinosaurs! We had a whole range of pretend dinosaurs who were being born, eating each other up and being born again… Soon my hair clips where also included in the family of dinos! :)

Gently he hit me, playfully. I smiled at him and he said “I am gentle with you because you are so gentle with me…!” ;)

Holding hands we went to sleep that night. I had to leave early the next morning and could not say good bye so I just left a little note with a chocolate to tell him how much fun I had with him.

He showered me with his affection and made me feel rather special just to be loved for no reason at all. Five year olds…! Wish we could love like them.

Dear Mister God, this is @ina talking . . . No wonder you said we need to be like a child at heart.

Andrew

My family and I went out for a holiday last weekend. This post is about a person we met and grew to love and respect in a short time – Andrew.

Andrew is my brother’s cab driver. He picked us up late on Friday night and we made our way to the hotel. Andrew greeted us cheerfully and we planned our next day with him. He was going to take us to tourist place a few hours away for the whole day.

The next day Andrew came early in the morning. He greeted us again with that same cheer. He drove us to a place for breakfast and from then on he drove us over 300 kilometers, stopping by at all the places of interest. He took us around, helped us take pictures, showed us the places and was the best guide we could have got.

What was so amazing about Andrew is that he went above and beyond the call of duty and served us with cheerfulness and warmth. He was a cab driver who did his work with a 110% and took pride in doing it to his best. He did all that he did sacrificially, going the extra mile for us consistently.

We knew at the end of the weekend, Andrew was the reason we had such a good time.

So this is to Andrew, an unsung hero in his own realm and a person who has left lasting footprints in my life.

Dear Mister God, this is @ina talking . . . Teach me to go the extra mile as Andrew did with grace.

Gods Surprises

This morning my daily reading ended with the following thought: Has God ever surprised you? I smiled and could recollect a number of things that God has done in my life that come as surprises... I closed my book and forgot about it as I began to get ready for work.

My dad has this wonderful was of taking care of my vehicle. He makes sure I have enough petrol and my tires our fine every single day. I never bother about my vehicle because Dad takes care of it all so perfectly.

This week however Dad has been busier than usual. I drove off this morning little realizing that Dad had missed his regular inspection.

A few kilometers from my home my vehicle began to choke and struggle. I looked down at my fuel indicator and it said empty!!! I looked up and I could see a petrol bunk a couple of blocks away. My vehicle grumbled and made it all the way to the bunk. Just at the entrance it finally gave up but rolled smoothly right next to a petrol gauge!

It was amazing. The next bunk is about twelve kilometers away and if I had missed this one I would have been badly stuck on the road.

The words “Had God surprised you?” echoed in my mind. He sure has!

Dear Mister God, this is @ina talking . . . You are exciting! :)

Keep Dreaming

What do you do when a dream you dreamed goes wrong or just does not work out?

You dream a bigger dream!

Dear Mister God, this is @ina talking . . . Give me the courage to keep dreaming.