A Well Watered Garden

My friend and Ministry Director Ruth, recently asked me what I was reading and I was embarrassed to admit that I had lost my love for reading books. Seems like I start a book, get to the first chapter, lose  interest and never pick it up again. I have so many of these casualties on my book shelf.  I decided to make a change this summer and picked up a book that she handed me,  #struggles Following Jesus in a Selfie-Centered World by Craig Groeschel.  The subject of this book is the influence and control that technology has on our lives. It highlights our addiction to our devices, the resulting dissatisfaction and idolatry that this creates, and how we must and can regain control of our use of social media for the glory of God and for our good. The author starts with the topic of contentment and how we compare our lives to our friends’ Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram posts and how this leaves us with a nagging and constant feeling of disconte...

Photo credit Gareh J February 5, 2017 My darling Babsy Today is a special day for you and for me in many ways. I remember this day 30 years ago as distinctly as if it had happened yesterday.  Papa and I had waited for 3 years for God to answer our prayers for a child. I did not know the Lord personally but even then, as I look back now, He was teaching me a vital life lesson. Patience in waiting and trust that He will answer my prayers in the way that is best for me, in the time that He chooses and ultimately for His glory. It was a wondrous day in our home - February 5th, 1987. Not just in our home, but across the miles in Goa. Gammau and Tusa took a flight as fast as they could, and arrived to see you - their little princess. You were so pretty that Nana wondered why we did not call you Rosebud! But no - Gammau had to have the last word on this one - her grand daughter had to have a name that was rare and beautiful sounding. And so we went with “Alekhy...

A couple of weeks ago, our Womens ministry had our annual Christmas event. I love these evenings. I love the women of our church. We had a night of singing carols, games, food (of course) and powerful testimonies of God's grace and redemption in the lives of 3 of our own young women. In her opening comments for the evening Ruth, our ministry director described how she had gone shopping that morning, and at a well known store that sells fragrances, candles and such like, she found "The Perfect 3 Wick Candle." It came with a promise: "Happiness Guaranteed or Your Money Back." Next she went to the card store and found a card that said: "God has promised Happiness and He is always faithful to His Word." Ruth's question to me was, "In these last few years of your journey, would you say you agree with either statement?" I have spent some time thinking about her question to me. In these 3 and a half years, I would not describe my life a...

It has been a year since I last visited my own blog. Don't quite know why. But here I am again - back in my Garden, with a resolve that I will keep it well watered regularly! This will be the fourth Christmas without Julius. But Christmas has not even crossed our minds, simply because we had a far bigger appointment to keep. A summons...       to court…           We have been called to an examination of discovery.  Even though I knew this day was coming, it did not stop me from being filled with dread. A lengthy prep meeting with our lawyer seemed to make it even more ominous and heavy.  We have been asked to remember. The wound that I thought was healed in part, was ripped open sharply. I find myself grieving all over again - re-living the horror and shock. The only way I could go through this exercise was to remember all the promises that Our Gracious God had given us along the way. The first promise was t...

It is our third Christmas without Julius. The last 2 years we left town. Could not handle the memories. The Lord was gracious and He met us where we went. As the season came upon us I wondered how God was going to meet me this year. We are not going away and He knows how hard this time of year is for me. The speaker at our Women's event had just gone through the loss of a loved one and she ended her talk affirming that she was going to celebrate Christmas with even more gratitude this year because she said if not for Christmas, we would not have had the assurance of salvation in Christ and because of this assurance she would see her grandmother again.  I have to admit I had dwelt on the dark side of the Christmas story every year. And there is a lot of darkness around it. But the point of it is the light that came into the world! After all the Bible tells us ; The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of...

We picked up the dress today. In a few days my little girl will be married. A beautiful women surrendered to and shaped by the Master Designer for the purpose that He created her - to glorify Him above all and to walk alongside the man she loves. Of course this is a time for rejoicing. The Lord has filled our home with much joy. It is also a time to remember and look back to see where we have come from. The wedding is at the same church that just a little over 2 years ago our family  had used  for a very different gathering - a funeral. The Lord has been gracious to us. He has shown us favour. He promised to make a way and He did. He never left us.  But if I am completely honest there are moments when my heart is breaking all over again. I can't help but think of the "what ifs." What if Julius was here, what if he was here to walk her down the aisle... What if he was here to celebrate... ...to dance the father daughter dance ...and to ...

Lake Ontario, Fall 2012 Photo Credit: Julius Mascarenhas We had our Harvest Women's Summer Event this past Friday. The theme was Remember, Recount, Rejoice. The evening was woven beautifully around Psalm 105 and it was a time to remember what the Lord had done at our Church. A comment made by one of the Pastors being interviewed got me thinking. When asked what were the "wondrous works" God had done, he humbly said, that this had been a good exercise for him to list all the things that God had done in the church.  It is easy to not think of them as wondrous, he said , if you start to compare and look at other churches. The days have been dark and heavy for me again. I seem to have lost the "wonder" of God and His working. I know in my head and my lips say that He is good but there is a gap in my heart that does not truly believe that this is Plan A for my life. I started to think that  maybe, just maybe, like Pastor Mike said, I need to sit...