A Well Watered Garden

Three days after Julius went home to the Lord, God spoke to me through Psalm 77. I was reading Julius' NLT version desperately trying to connect with Julius through his underlined verses. In the process of trying to connect with him, I found myself connecting with My Lord in greater intimacy. In those early days I could hear His gentle whisper to me. He promised to make a way where there was no way. He had taken the nation of Israel through the Red Sea and He was going to take me through this sea of grief and loss. Your road led through the sea,      your pathway through the mighty waters—      a pathway no one knew was there! Ps 77:19 I have been back since to see how God has fulfilled that promise to me. What are the mighty waters that He has enabled me to cross without being drowned? He has given me joy in the midst of suffering. To be honest I think the pain is more now than it was a year ago. I cannot glamorize this state of...

"His grace is sufficient" The Apostle Paul had a thorn in his flesh. It was given to him. A messenger of Satan. To harass him. To keep him from being too elated. He pleaded over and over and over again to the Lord to take it away...2 Corinthians 12:1-10 But God's answer to him was:  “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong. 2 Cor 12:9-10. I have had a year and half to think about this verse.  In an interesting article by John Piper "Power in Weakness" he explores the meaning of the word weakness in this verse. Insults, hardships, persecutions and calamities." These are circumstances and situations and experiences and wounds that make us look weak: things we wo...

Yes it's been a while... Have not been able to come to My Garden because it seemed like I had nothing blooming just now... Seemed like the journey got darker, lonelier, harder... Unmet expectations and a sense of entitlement in my heart... Looking for friendships and support in the wrong places... Having the theology in my head and not my heart... Reading the Word and not totally believing it... My mind filling up with hurts... ...and my never ending To Do List ( I have a book of lists now!) Oh how grateful I am for the love of my Savior that never gives  up on me. That He promises that He will be with me "always,to the end of the age." Matt 28:20 So grateful that He never tires of my questions. How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? How long must I take counsel in my soul and have sorrow in my heart all the day? How long shall my enemy be exalted over me? Psalm 13:1-2 Don't you love the psalms? The au...

Camping in the Book of Philippians these days I have been really blessed by this verse: "And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ." Phil 1:6 The apostle Paul says that he is sure of this:  that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ." GOD begins this work . Not yourself, not your parents, not anyone but God Himself. What is the work that GOD began in us? It is a work of grace. It begins when we first believe in the work He first began for us on the cross at Calvary. Dear Reader do you believe in this work of grace that God has extended to you in and through His Son Jesus? Do you realize  how impossible it is for anyone to get to heaven?That we are all sinners, and that Jesus Christ is the only way to get to the Father. That when Jesus said that He is the only way to the Father He meant that He is the only way . That there are not many ro...

This is my daughter's journey of faith as she presented it to the women of our church.  I guess I’ll start with the question of the evening, which is: "Where would you be if not for Christ's Redemption?" I have to say that:  "I would have been separated from God, enslaved by a false sense of entitlement, but instead I’m boasting in the Cross"   John Piper    once wrote: “ For there is no greater joy, than joy in the greatness of God. And if we must suffer to see this and savour it   most deeply, then suffering is a mercy. ” As many of you know, last year in the month of May my dad was involved in a tragic motor vehicle accident. I’ll never forget the phone call I received, and the day will forever remain one of the darkest days of my entire life. I have never cried out to God so much, for anyone, or anything....only to find out that the answer was a resounding “no”. I never had the chance to say goodbye or to prepare myself for the stark new reali...

This past week the girls and I found ourselves in a ritzy downtown lawyer's office. As we walked in I swung between feeling completely at peace to having knots in my stomach. My phone kept alerting me to text and email messages that faithful praying friends were sending - God's people upholding us and praying for us. We were ushered into a plush boardroom and one of the city's leading lawyers and his law student graciously explained about insurance laws and the intricacies of Section 23A, underinsured motorist coverage, torte law, and on and on...I found my mind swinging from having complete clarity to getting flashbacks... Was this us? Really? We came from India way back it seems in 1998 - a quiet immigrant family living on a quiet street...Our first home, the girls elementary school, the daily walk to school by the creek. Learning the laws/culture of this new land, and adapting to it. Fitting in as best as we could. Julius working hard at his job. Me keeping a part-tim...

 In Mumbai. 4:30 am. I have been awake for a while. Mumbai - Bombay to me. Memories come flooding back. It feels like I have come back full circle. Our first date - sitting in the front garden of this very home with J. I remember coming back home that night and talking about my date late into the night with my friend. "He loves me? He loves me not?" Happy carefree days... Here I am again. She has once again opened her heart and home to me. We talk even now like old times but these are different days. We have gone through huge life stuff. I remember a coffee shop we frequented down the road on Kemps corner- Julius loved kona coffee. Not sure if this place still exists. The city gets more concrete. Multi-storied buildings - high risers - very high risers and slums, very often on the same street. So much is new and yet so much is so familiar. It is hot - even at this early morning hour the temperature is 30 C. I check the forecast and ...