An Immigrant

I find that being an immigrant is exciting and challenging. Exciting, because of all that's new and challenging for the same reason. I guess as the excitement wears out with time and then the challenges see a little bigger... I have been blessed with friends who are helping me with the journey and a husband who is always there for me to lean on.

I recently met this lady who was an immigrant and as I watched her talk about herself I learnt something very important - she had a sense of humour about herself. She laughed at all the things she found so odd and took her mistakes lightly. She connected instantly with the young people she was talking to simply by being humble about herself and her experiences.

Everything is a learning experience in a new culture - keeping a sense of humour and taking yourself lightly helps in any place but i think is absolutely essential to get through the intial years of being in a new place. Simple things like driving, talking to people, entertaining that I could do with ease at home seems more stressful in a new place. But with a healthy dose of humour, Lifes journey is full of good memories!

Dear Mister God, this is @ina... Help me to take the very things that upset me and find a way to laugh about them and myself!

Waiting

Why do we hate to wait? I guess its because we recognize that things are out of our control and that can be frustrating. It takes awhile to come to the recognition of that fact - emotions are generally up and down, we try to take control in more than one way and then when everything fails we come to a point of surrender.

Maybe thats why God purposed waiting. It has a way of bringing us to acknowleding how frail we are as humans and how much we need Him and with that recognition the dusk turns into dawn as we are slowly able to take our eyes off ourselves and see our lives from His point of view rather than our own. Deep down we know that we will rather have His way than our own.

As a young couple we had to wait miles and miles apart from each other where days for one where nights for the other, indefinitely till we could get my immigration done after our wedding.

I look back now and we are so grateful for that time - though it was long, dissappoiting at times, and many a time felt endless God had a purpose and a plan. At every low He was there, at every turn He held our hands, at every breaking moment, He lifted us up again - He filled us with peace where there was pain, with joy when there was sadness, wiped away every tear with hope, helped us see purpose in every uneventful day of waiting and filled us with divine promises for the future.

Well the waiting is over and as I fly to my home away from home - I look forward with joy and look back thankful for the time with family and friends.

Dear Mister God this is @ina... Waiting though hard turned out to be exciting in You, sitting at Your feet, hearing, listening, discovering each day had something new and of eternal value. Thank you.

No Holidays

I have the greatest respect for this person. She wakes up early in the morning and begins her day with God. She makes tea even before the rest of the crew wake up. She greets each one with cheer and takes care of all the mundane tasks to get each person out of the house to their respective destinations and also manages to care for the house. Her day never ends early and she seems to always have a zillion things to do until everyone is at bed. She finally makes her way to bed too.

What amazes me more is she is the reason for cheerfulness at home. If she is upset, everyone feels down and so she does her best to be happy rain or shine, storm or calm, good days or bad days. I have come to appreciate her ability to smile on a sad day, dance on any given day, stay lively even when those around are moody, be calm when no one else is and when everything falls apart, still bounces back to being herself and doing all that she does, like it or not - for US!

Yes, you guessed it, its my Mum.  Physical, emotional, spiritual challenges often come our way and sometimes for extended periods but she never takes a holiday. She is there for us, always. I love you Mum for all that you are. You are Incredible!

Dear Mister God this is @ina... Grant me the grace to be a joyful home maker dear Lord.  

The Power of Love

I have been following this series on TV called "Parenthood" which is about the lives of one big family and the everyday life and struggles in each of their lives.

It includes the story of a brother and sister living with their mother and grandparents. The father comes in town and visits them after what seems a long while. The father and a daughter, have a verbal war and the father who was in town visiting leaves. She apologizes to her brother who longs for a relationship with his father at which point he says "If he was a real father, nothing you could ever do could make him leave"

And that's true! In a real relationship there are hardships and hurts but nothing a person can do can make us leave when we choose the way of love. (Unless of course it is an abusive relationship.) The power of love is being there for a person through thick and thin, joy and pain and so the wedding vows resound "I take thee to have and to hold, from this day forward for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness or in health, (and all that life brings in between) to love and to cherish 'till death do us part."

My Darling, I may not be a lot of things, but I will be there for you, always.

Dear Mister God this is @ina...Enable us to be there for every isolated stranger who you have put on our paths and to know that you are always, always there for us.

The Seed

My mum and me watched the movie Inception. I just happened to see it repeatedly though I am not someone who generally watches a movie a second time unless its a romantic comedy!

What amazes me is how they so accurately portray how a thought is like a seed and can change the course of a persons life. I have been playing with this concept that a thought can change my life and found it so true. If someone should suggest something to me, or if my own thoughts choose to meditate on a subject almost immediately it affects my mood, my words, my actions and my attitude. When I focus on positive thoughts my whole being is more positive and the minute I allow something negative like bitterness, self-pity or hurt  into my thoughts it has a negative effect on my being, my life, the way I am with my family around me and invariably my present and my future.

Thoughts, opinions of people, what we choose to read, what we see and hear all of these things are in some ways like seeds planted in our minds which slowly but surely begin to grow and blossom. My mum is a great gardener and I watch her patiently examine her plants everyday while watering them to ensure there are no weeds, bugs or diseases spreading. If she finds her plants being harmed in anyway she takes the required action and the sooner found the easier it is to root them out. Well, its an awesome lesson that is teaching me to allow the loving eyes of the Holy Spirit to examine my mind and my heart moment by moment to take away the seeds of thoughts that are weeds so that the fruits of love deposited in my soul can take deeper root and flourish.

Dear Mister God this is @ina... Thank you for filling my inmost soul with living water, with abundance of peace, joy, and love and may it flow through my life.

A Great Friendship

I am not someone who has a lot of friends but I have few who are not just good but great friends. Lets call this friend May, because we met in May! :)

May and I became friends the moment we met. Its not always like that but then there are those few people who you meet and feel like you must have known them all your life - well, she was one. We had some great times together and as life would have it in a few months had to each move far away from each other. We both got married a few months apart and there were lots of circumstances for us to let our friendship fall apart. But it dint and she had some words of wisdom to share with me that I feel the world should know....I hope you don't mind May!

"...Small small misunderstandings come and go...but as it is said in good relationship friendship or love or any family bonding, it is not necessary that there should not be any misunderstanding what is important is how soon we forget the bad phase and bounce back to normal..."

We are all people who many times even despite best efforts hurt, fail and tend to take each other for granted after awhile. Good friendships last while the going is good but what sets apart great friendships is that they last past both the good and bad phases.

Dear Mister God this is @ina... Thank you for the Good and Great friendships that help shape us into better people. The Greatest of friendships is found in You and help us to hold on to You so in turn we can be Great friends to others.

The Magnanimous Eagle

The sun was setting and I stood on my rooftop enjoying every last glimpse of the beautiful orange globe disappearing in the now blue and purple sky. An eagle was soaring above my head and he landed on the house near ours. He was being chased by black crows who looked small next to him.

This is a common practice of the crows and am not sure why but they love to harass the eagle. One flew just above his head almost trying to cause him to duck his head but he just stood still. Another sat nearby cawing loudly. Yet another flew around him in an agitated manner. Through it all he stayed calm and peaceful. As the sky turned a little darker the tiny menaces finally gave up and flew home while the eagle continued to enjoy the view till he decided to soar up, up, up and away!

The eagle reminded me so much about what God says about having a calm and peaceful spirit. At times thoughts, situations or people can keep us agitated, annoyed or frustrated.

The eagle however is gifted with the strength, grace and ability to soar above them. He chooses to be magnanimous despite their menace and remains calm in trouble, knowing who God made him to be. Wow!

Dear Mister God this is @ina... Life is not always easy but grant me a calm and peaceful spirit that brings you delight! :)

Reminiscing

I love to spend the last few days of the year reminiscing about the year gone by while I nurture new hopes for the New Year. As I write this post my heart is filled with awe and thankfulness.

I have grown, matured, learned a little more about myself and a lot more about God. Most of all it will always remain the year I met my handsome, admirable and wonderful husband. A man who I have come to love, respect and adore with all that is within me.

As I look through this year the one thing that stands our for me are the many million tiny prayers, hopes, desires and needs that have been met by God through His wonderful, peaceful, comforting and glorious presence. There are things I wished I dint have to go through but looking back I know the Lord has enabled me to grow in strength and has meant it all for good!

Wishing all of you out there a wonderful year ahead! May each new day bring with it the strength, joy and laughter needed and may there be many surprises awaiting you along the way.

Dear Mister God this is @ina... Thank You for You and every blessing from you.

The Mushrooms

We have had some heavy rain for the last few days. Its been so hot this summer that the rains are so welcome. I have spent hours sitting out at our front porch enjoying the sound, smell and sight of rain. My mum loves gardening and we have a lot of plants around our house. I love the way they all look like they have had a bath! :)

I noticed something unusal though... There were mushrooms sprouting all over the place. They just seemed to magicaly appear when the season is just right for them. Sometimes we dont see it but when the season is it right something new and beautiful surfaces and we wonder hey! where did that come from?

I realized that in the garden of life or the garden of marriage, some fruits and flowers need to be cultivated, cared for and nutured in order to grow to its fullest potential. At other times through the course of everyday life there are seeds deposited in our garden that we may not see but in due season bring new fruits in our lives.

Dear Mister Gid this is @ina... Help me to remember in everyday You are doing a Good work in me, even when I dont always see it.

Simple ways to Love

My dad loves the Wednesday Newspaper. It has a page on Cars and he never misses it. It's the first thing he looks at on Wednesdays and it keeps him analyzing cars and their maintenance week after week. There are however times when he is away from home for a month or a couple of weeks in a row and recently i came to know that mum always saves the paper on the cars for him. The day he comes back he has a stash of the articles that have been printed for him to catch up on! :)

Mum on the other hand has never had to ever look at the gas gauge on her vehicle. It is always wiped, tank is filled, tires checked...what else I dont know but maintained at top condition come what may rain or sunshine. :)

With 30 years of life together they have found their own ways of showing they care and simple ways to say "I love you and want to make your life comfortable and enjoyable". Ah! Just thinking about that made me smile.

Dear Mister God this is @ina... May we always find ways, make the time and go out of the way to do simple things for each other! :)

The Want-to and Need-to

I have been realizing that there are generally speaking two buckets of to-do's in our everyday lists. There are things we want to do - these are things we like, desire, enjoy, feel good about etc. Then there are the things we need to do - these are things we know is the right thing to do, or must do or feel obligated to do, or know it makes someone else happy if we do, or just make it a rule for ourselves that it has to be done.

What I am learning is that every time we do something we need-to, with an attitude or a emotion that says "I am doing this because I need to and not because I want to" It shows! Specially in relationships... So say I do something 'nice' for my husband but in my heart am thinking 'need to' it sucks the joy out of the deed that was supposed to be special. And the funny thing is even a child knows when someone is doing something because they need to...it shows! I figure that if we choose to do something we may as well enjoy it and make sure everyone does! Right?

Want-to is an attitude we develop towards all things. Its not just based on a feeling. We need to look at our need-to buckets everyday whatever it is - calling someone, dirty dishes, laundry, going out of the way for someone... and choose to tell ourselves consciously that we are going to do it as something we want-to and enjoy it! :)

Dear Mister God, this is @ina... Freedom in you is knowing we have the ability to do all that you have called us to do with ease. Help us to grow into the fullness of your freedom.

Loving Deeply

Extracts from a teaching I heard on Loving deeply...

Love deeply because Love covers over a multitude of sins. 1 Peter 4:8

Loving deeply means forgiving generously and responding possitively.

If you dont have a problem with someone, you dont have a relationship with someone.

Relationships, specially deep, commited relationships always leads to problems of all sorts. It is in these problems that we grow and mature. Choosing not to be in a relationship to keep away from problems is the easy way out. Choosing to love deeply anway is the right way forward.

Dear Mister God this is @ina... May we find the grace in you to love deeply.

Our Everydays

There are days when we will feel on top of the world

There are days when we will feel on a valley low

There are days when we will feel heavenly happiness

There are days when we will feel trapped in ourselves

There are days when we will have our time just being together

There are days when we will have time more for others

There are days when we will have many meaningful memories

There are days when we will have many normal moments shared

There are days when we will see how perfectly we complement each other

There are days when we will see the differences that we share

There are days when we will see beauty and hope in all things

There are days when we will see the darker side of life

There are days when we will fight against anything that comes between us

There are days when we will fight so we can see each others view point

There are days when we will fight relentless for the dreams we hold

There are days when we will fight and find some battles are not ours

There are days when we will find our love blossom and bloom unconditionally

There are days when we will find our love impatient, selfish or rude

There are days when we will find ourselves do crazy things for each other in love

There are days when we will find ourselves trying hard to keep up

But Together we will get over anything

And Together we will get through everything

Because Together we are more than conquerors in Christ

Called to celebrate everyday with a life of abundance abiding in Him.

Mister God this is @ina... Together we are discovering that we can do all things with You on our side! :)

My Best Friend

We met and in seven short days we had a wedding date

He took my breath away and sweeped me off my feet

With his kind eyes, big smile and warm embrace

And together we began a new chapter in life

Today, Its been seven months and everyday am discovering...



In his eyes, I see myself as beautiful

In his arms, I find myself at rest

In his strength, I can run for miles

In his confidence, I unlock hidden potential.



In his tenderness, I learn the true meaning of care

In his love, I find myself in the clouds

In his faith, I discover the beauty of life

In his humility, I see the meaning of great strength.



In his laughter, I feel complete

In his presence, I have great comfort

In his travels, I know I am within him

In his words, I am all that I am meant to be.



He is My best friend, my soul mate, the love of my life.



Dear Mister God this is @ina... May we be the best of friends everyday for as long as we live!