inkhorn

Like a shadow declining Swiftly away...away... Like the dew of the morning Gone with the heat of the day; Like the wind in the treetops, Like a wave of the sea, So are our lives on earth when seen In the light of eternity. -           Ruth Bell Graham Over the last few months, one thing I’ve realised is that I can never take life for granted. Life – living – it’s all so ephemeral. Here today and gone tomorrow. Nothing is set in stone. Nothing lasts forever. Least of all, life. But through the uncertainty of today, there is hope. The future is sure. It is secure. As simple as it may be, the knowledge is a balm. That this isn’t it. We will see him again. Heaven is not a dreamt-up sop for grieving folks, but a reality. An absolute. Which makes living worthwhile. “...He has put eternity in (our) hearts...”   * * Ecclesiastes 3:11

Aches and pains, Fears and cares; Some real, Some hidden, Most, not even there. Burdened by this life; I need some respite. I remember him; With a little envy perhaps. He’s cut loose, He’s free! Why him And not me? Understanding, I don’t claim; Nor any clarity. Where to, from here, Lord? I’m tired, help me. -           R. D. P.

I saw a slightly incongruous sight today – a newly built fly-over that rose like a massive walkway to heaven and beneath it a house that was torn in half. The wrecking ball probably had a field-day tearing it down, but whoever was manning the controls must have had a peculiar sense of humour; for the house still stood, only now it was bared for all to see – like a gigantic doll-house. I wonder what stories those walls would recount if they could only speak; of the people who had lived in those rooms and walked through those doors; of life. Yet, everyone seemed more interested in the fly-over, it was new and it was very useful; the forgotten gaping house was left to crumble on its own. I wish someone would take pity and pull the entire structure down; it seems like such an inverted invasion of privacy!

I always believed that Poetry inhabited the realm of the indecipherable, until, that is, I stumbled upon Ruth Bell Graham’s poems. Like a veil being pulled aside, my mind and soul were suddenly flooded with the wild imaginings, the tug of the heartstrings and the plethora of emotion that only poetry can unlock! However many times you read the same lines, you can always take away something new from it. The words themselves reveal a life lived to the fullest; with insight that pierces straight to the core of your very being. So in my quest to discern and describe the stage my soul is in, I unearthed a veritable gem of a tome. And here's a bite to chew on... “I will lift up mine eyes to the hills;”* and when I fly I will lift up my eyes instead to the sky; it is the same sure, certain thing – this quiet lifting up, remembering… I leave myself awhile to let my thoughts explore all He has made and More; returning to my small load at length, calm, reassured: this is my strength.  ...

Once upon a time there lived a girl. She was a very ordinary girl, but she dreamed of romance and adventure. So she stuffed her head with fairy tales and stories and waited for the day her life would change. Life went on and took various twists and turns. But the girl never gave up hope that one day she would move out of the normality to grander and more adventurous events. Through all the little twists in the road, she strode on, reminding herself that she would meet her Prince someday. And incredibly that day did dawn! Her Prince rode into her humdrum life and turned everything topsy-turvy. Before she knew it, she’d been wooed and wed! When the dust finally settled, she looked around for the next big adventure, but found none. Life soon began looking - dare I say it – ‘normal’ and the girl wondered if she would ever begin to LIVE! Moping and ranting about the mundane soon became a pastime, nay, a habit. Until finally He stepped in. Quietly and gently, He effectively stopped her ...

A verse in Isaiah stopped me in my tracks the other day. It was fairly innocuous on the face of it, but as I stayed my mind and eyes, and looked beyond the printed words, I felt like I’d been douched with a bucket of cold water and warmed by a crackling fire, all at the same time! I had heard recently that we are called to live a victorious life; rising above the mediocrity and commonality all around, to a glorious, abundant, fulfilling one. So I prayed very sincerely and sought His strength. But something was missing and I didn’t even know it until I stumbled across that verse. For a moment in time, I glimpsed, or rather felt, the awesome power and majesty of God. Like a curtain being pulled aside for an instant to present a brief vision, my mind seemed to be suddenly drenched with a sense of overwhelming awe at His splendour and magnificence. And with it came a sense of power – of freedom and strength all in one. Freedom in acknowledging my complete insufficiency and finding stre...

The perversity of inanimate objects is nothing compared to the perversity of human beings! Some have the knack of making themselves perfectly objectionable for no earthly reason. I was brought up short recently by one such individual and my gut reaction was completely unworthy of the Lord. I wanted to give him a piece of my mind in no uncertain terms. I knew I was in the right and he wasn’t. I could feel the anger building up inside me. And worse, I felt helpless and completely inept, unable to rectify the situation which seemed to be rapidly deteriorating. So, out of sheer frustration (and seeking Godly approval to have a towering argument!), I opened His Word. Apart from a blaring silence on the approval front, the only word I received was – “God…was over them.” * Very brief and succinct – God really doesn’t mince words, neither does He wax eloquent. He goes to the heart of the matter and deals with the core issue. And here, I only needed four words to settle things! In my f...

Sometimes God amazes me at the speed at which He answers my questions. And He doesn’t beat around the bush either! I’d struggled with doubt and fear, completely inundated by a “confusion of heart”. And I wondered why I was unable to find any sort of victory in this area. So I asked my Father – where had I gone wrong? Had I disobeyed His will? His reply was instantaneous! (I think in all my doubting I’d been getting the wrong end of the stick! It was like He’d been waiting for me to come to my senses and start asking the right questions!) “…you did not serve the Lord your God with joy and gladness of heart, for the abundance of everything…” * These moments of blinding revelation seem to be getting quite frequent! I realised I had only myself to blame. I was allowing the Devil to rob me of the joy and gladness that was rightfully mine. Not being joyful was tantamount to saying, “I don’t trust You, God. I don’t think You know what You’re doing. So I choose to worry and doubt and fea...

“God’s ways seem dark, But soon or late, They touch the shining Hills of day.” - J. G. Whittier Why? Why do certain things happen? Why is there so much injustice in this world? Why does tragedy hit some families, while others seem to have more than their share of good things? At different points in my life I have faced situations, wherein my trust in God’s unfailing justice, was shaken. One time, I remember feeling pain and a sort of blank amazement, as blow upon blow, fell. I couldn’t comprehend why God would allow such things to happen. His reply to my incoherent query was, “…do not sorrow for the joy of the Lord is your strength…be still, for the day is holy; do not be grieved…” * At other times, I compared my life to others and asked Him, why. His response was similar to Aslan’s – “It is not your story to know.” I do not claim that I have understood His ways. One thing, however, I do know – I lay my “whys” Before Your Cross In worship kneeling, My mind too numb ...

A while back, I was looking at pictures of a potter making clay jars. The entire jar-making process is truly fascinating - the way a lump of clay is spun around on a crazily, careening wheel till it transforms into a beautifully shaped pot. Several times, the clay would be half-shaped, and then suddenly collapse, unable to bear the pressure. But faithfully the potter would gently prod and push till it was able to stand up again. One thing that struck me was that the wheel never stops spinning until the jar is completely ready to be used. And, the most important fact, the potter’s hands never leave the clay. My life seems like that – spinning out of control, with me, falling down painfully and learning lessons the hard way, unable to bear the load. But it is, especially, in times like these, that my Potter’s hands are always around me. And He will never leave me. Jeremiah 18: 6 “…says the Lord ‘Look, as the clay is in the potter's hand, so are you in My hand’…”

A missionary and his wife were returning after nearly 50 years on the mission field. They had toiled and lived – far away from all they held dear, away from the basic conveniences of life – in a place where every day brought new challenges and a hand-to-mouth existence, shadowed by the knowledge that that could be their last day on earth. But God had been faithful throughout those years and they had never had any cause to complain. They had witnessed miracles and seen lives transformed. They were now returning with the quiet assurance that God had used them for the furtherance of His kingdom. As the ship approached the docks, people on board began lining themselves up on the decks, eagerly waiting to catch their first glimpse of land and beloved faces. The old missionary and his wife were also there – they were, after all, coming back after 50 years! As the ship drew close, they noticed huge banners and hoardings festooning the pier. Most of them had the same message – “WELCOME B...