20 years of unmerited grace...

Ah... 20 years... 20 years of what?? Uh... Nothing.. Just that I was born on this day, September 24^th 20years back...:D no more a teen... I must admit, the last 7 years were some of my best years of life… The teen age... Loads of fun, wonderful friends, full-on entertainment, bits and pieces of studying, some amazing mentors and wonderful people - i have had them all at some point in these seven years…

Through all these years’ highs and lows, ups and downs, I’ve seen one thing in my life – experienced it and tasted it – the love, goodness, mercy and favour of my Jesus. Ah!! What a friend I have in Jesus. I wake up in the morning and see through the window, and see the sun rise on the horizon and I can do absolutely nothing but thank the 'Creator' for the new day He has added in my life. Food on time, a wardrobe overflowing with clothes, a comfortable house to live in, a lovely family and amazing friends and I know I have a 'Provider' in Jesus. A church, fellowship with people saved by grace and i am reminded that I serve a God who is 'Active and Alive'. The supernatural healings, some wonderful miracles in my life and all I know is that God is 'Powerful and Almighty'. Sad, down and out, bogged down and confused and I find a 'Comforter' in Jesus. More than anything He has revealed Himself as a 'Healer' time and again. Above all, He has given me the greatest gift of all- the forgiveness of sins and a free ticket to Heaven and I found it at the foot of the Cross where His blood was shed for me. No greater love. He is my 'Savior'.

The Bible makes so much sense when I read it. Each time a new thought, a word of encouragement, advices and warnings, I have had it all by reading the Grand Old Book. I have learnt to trust Him for everything that I’ve ever wanted. Even a power cut at home... a silent prayer, probably a playful one but God takes it so seriously and He lights up the place again. Woo... I have grumbled, I have murmured, I have been angry but through it all, He has been so patient with me. He has taught me to give up things that I’ve loved more than Him, convicted me of my sins and yet He has been none but 'a Loving and a compassionate Father'. I am indeed blessed for I didn’t choose Him but He pulled me towards Him.

One Jesus. And He plays so many different roles in my life. My all in all. I know that there is nothing I can do to make Him love me more and nothing that I’ve done could make Him close the door ‘cos because of His great love that is free, pure and so powerful, He took up the Cross so that you and I would come.

Now that He has done so much for me and He continues to shower His blessings on me, what have I done for Him?? 20 years is 20*365*24*60*60!! High time.. the only way I can thank Him is by obeying Him, His one commandment – – “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." (matthew 28:18-20) Aww.. His awesome character is revealed even when He commands me. He has promised to be with me forever. What a God!! He died for me and now, I will live for Him.

Listen to this song - full of life and meaning and this is just exactly how I am feeling right now... 'In Christ Alone' by Stuart Townend and Keith Getty...

Oh yes!! Till He returns or calls me home, here in the power of Christ I stand...

Touching Heaven, Changing Earth

September 5^th is celebrated as Teachers’ Day all over India. But for some reason, it didn’t have any impact on me this year and it was the usual busy ‘Sunday’ for me. But this one special show on ndtv ‘aasman choole, dhuniya badal de’, meaning ‘touching heavens, changing earth’ (translated based on what it meant to me!! ) totally shook me and drew me to write this blog.

Some real life stories that were brought up on the show…a little boy who lived along with his parents in a flood-prone area said how frustrating it was for him and his neighbours to run to a higher place each time the floods came only to come back and see that his house was in total ruins and all his books and notebooks were gone in the floods. Each time they had to start all over again, right from scratch, and as they would get a sense of life getting back to normal, they would face yet another flood. He was sharing on how he wished there were more teachers in his school and had a yearning desire to learn everything he could in the little time he got, quickly grow up and assist his father in helping his family meet both ends. Another instance where a 10 year old girl shared on how they always had to live in fear of being caught by the naxalites and so never enjoyed the freedom that girls of her age enjoyed elsewhere in this country. She had a burning desire to learn and make it big in her life and somehow get her family out of that place but it almost seemed like nothing but a passing dream. A teenage boy living in the remote eastern parts of India described on how he was miraculously freed from the terrible bondage of drug addiction and now has the grit and determination to lead a clean life and ‘be the change’ for his society. Each of the 3 kids came from different parts of the society, with their own share of troubles and hardships but had one thing in common – the desire to learn and make it big in life. How they wished they had proper schools and proper education they longed for!! Woo... their stories gave me Goosebumps..

Seeing their sorry state made me realise how blessed I was to have got an opportunity to study in some of the most wonderful schools and college. Yet, here we are hoping and praying for rains so that we get a break from schools and colleges while there are people who wish that they could carry on with their studies without any breaks. Here, we are waiting to see if teachers would leave us free or hope that they are on leave but there are our brothers and sisters in the same nation hoping that they have enough teachers in their institutions. This is the cruel truth, hard to digest but yes, we live in a society of extremes!!

I am what I am today, purely because of God’s immeasurable mercy and grace in my life. He has been so patient with me amidst all my grumblings and yet not restrain from blessing me with the educational institutions, teachers, friends and of course, a blessed family. Looking back, I thank all my teachers who have played an important role in shaping me up. There have been teachers who have pulled me out of my comfort zones to help me get rid of my stage fears. They have taught me the importance of celebrating every successful moment in my life with my fellow class mates. I still remember how ma’am Mercy (when I was in 8^th grade) wouldn’t let go of me unless I got a packet of chocolates to share it with friends to celebrate a small victory. There have been some great teachers in my life who would be on their knees for 3 whole hours just because their students were writing their board exams and I am grateful to those teachers because I can firmly say that I am a product of their prayers. I have had my share of teachers who have helped me mould myself into a better person.

But above all, my Jesus has been my best teacher. Each time I read His Word, it would mean so much to me. There have been instances when I would feel so miserable not knowing in which direction I had to put my foot and a beautiful verse from the Bible would lead me. A silent prayer has done wonders in my life. No one can convict me of my wrong doings or lead me in the right direction the way Jesus does. Ever grateful, Lord!!

As I write this, i am forced to think as to why this Teachers’ Day passed by as just any other day although I’ve had innumerable teachers who have impacted my life and I could just think of one reason- probably my college staff just couldn’t re-create the magical impact that my school teachers had on me. Why? I would say, not all, but mostly I find people taking up teaching as their profession only if every other profession closes its doors on them. As Jacques Barzun rightly put it, ‘teaching is not a lost art, but the regard for it is a lost tradition.’

Since the time I entered college, I’ve always had this urge to take up teaching as a profession and this has never crossed my mind ever before in my life!! If God wills, I would take this up as my profession just for the sheer passion of impacting others’ lives, affecting eternity. The very thought that the responsibility of bringing up the next generation lies in the hands of teachers excites me and I would love to do it. While Jesus lived on Earth, He taught the people wherever He went and impacted so many lives and their life was never the same again. I would love to do the same and really pray that there are many more friends of mine in this society who are ready to take up this challenge and not look down on teaching as a profession. We need teachers who give their students something to take home besides their homework. This dying world needs us to stand up and help them ‘Touch Heaven and Change Earth’.. oh yes!! I would love to live in a society where everyone has this one desire,”aasman chooye.. dhuniya badal de!!”

I salute all the teachers who are passionate about what they do in their life which is nothing less than a great service to mankind. It is the only profession that teaches all other professions!!

The Industrial Visit (IV) to Kerala

Count down for our IV had begun almost a month back. Organising had started during the semester holidays. Everyone was excited about it. A visit to kerala – God’s own country, a much awaited one. Our last IV to Bangalore had definitely raised the level of expectations.

Everyone who was coming for the IV was involved in some kind of pre-planning for sure. I still remember how we all had a tough time in deciding what to wear, what to bring, getting our cameras charged, preparing checklists, and some even went to the extent of buying some new stuff just for the iv!! The excitement had raised to a new level when our counterparts came back from their IV and shared their experiences with us. The build-up to the most awaited event of this semester was a much hyped one definitely.

5..4..3..2..1… Finally, the day came for which we had all waited. Everything right from the train journey has a story to tell, a moment to cherish. Sharing dinner, telling out our childhood mischiefs, trying hard to entertain our ma’am and Indu’s variety performance lighted up the night in train. A special mention of the uncle who tried explaining to a few of us what one of the thirukkurals actually meant. In his terms, he had laid the seed in us and Harini missed him once he left!! The first day in kerala was a real adventure. We travelled to Wayanad. Every single climb to the Edakkal caves gave us some shrills and thrills. Trekking in the rain and getting my white pants a ‘Cadbury look’ definitely marked my day.

Our next stop was at the Soochipara falls- a visual treat. I was personally in awe of God’s beautiful creation. The gushing water, the scenic beauty- wah! Absolutely no words.

The next day, we visited the Banasura dam and the Pookote Lake, again a treat to the eyes.

Boating here was simply too good. Trying to sneak out an extra 5 minutes after the allotted 20 minutes in water was fun not just because we could stay in water a lil longer but also because we could see the impatient expression on our fellow mates’ faces waiting for their turn.

That night we left to Trivandrum. Everyone wondered how on earth were we going to spend 9 hours in travel but I must admit, none of us felt it that long. The day that actually brought out the meaning for our ‘Industrial Visit’ was this 3^rd day when we visited ISRO. I felt the wait to get into the place was a lil too long with strict security check but the visit was definitely worth the wait. Although it had nothing to do with the subjects we are doing (IT), it still was a knowledgeable experience with a little stir to our patriotism. The evening visit to the kovalam beach made our day. Little did we expect that we would be completely drenched. Waiting for the water to kiss our feet and the little games that we played running around was some serious fun.

The last day of the tour was spent in veegaland, a theme park in Cochin which was nothing but solid fun. Personally, I liked Wonder La better, but with friends around, I guess even sitting idle would mean a lot to us.

The tour had to end and it finally did. We packed our bags and took our way back home- to Chennai!!

A special mention of the bus travel that was such an awesome time spent with dumb charades, song dedications( I loved it the most), random singing and dancing by every single soul in the bus right from ma’am and sir, some ‘tamil speaking abilities’ and much much more!! Every moment was captured, friendship bonds were made stronger, so many stories shared, got to know classmates better, blinking at what the ‘caring keralites’(!!!) were trying to tell us each time they saw us as a gang, hurried sleeps in the night, food that ranged from 10 bucks for two of us for lunch to 120 per head for dinner, sharing, living, loving, bonding- this is just what our trip to kerala was made of. The words of our guide on the final night, “so, your tour has finally ended” brought an expression on all our faces (probably, the only moment that was not captured) which would tell the tale on how much we wished the tour never ended. Yes, we did miss some of our close mates in the IV but it can’t take away the fun that we had over the past 5 days. A word on our organisers – Mani, Maheshwaran, Ananth and everyone else who worked behind the scenes(although words can’t describe the effort they put in) – ‘You guys did an amazing job. Wonder how many sleepless nights you invested on this tour!! We are grateful and a big THANK YOU to u guys.’ I am indeed blessed to be part of this class..

I finally come home by Wednesday mid-day tired, exhausted, trying hard to figure out which part of my body is in pain, unable to even move properly and my dad asks, ”So.. jeni, how was your tour technically useful?” and I am like,”huh??!!??!!” and I plunge in to the sea of sleep…