The Other Side of The Cross

A few days back I had a short chat with a sister. And the thing that touched me the most was her simple and loving explanation of the hardships and troubles of life that we all must go through. She showed me the cross she was wearing around her neck, she showed the side on which was Christ crucified and then turned over the cross and showed the plain side, that’s the place for us. 

It is on the other side of the cross, that we too must crucify ourselves, as the loving disciples of Christ, and His children. Every time you are persecuted, each time that you are mocked, you are on the other side of the cross. If your master was mocked, betrayed, framed in false charges, beaten, persecuted, harassed, what makes you think that you won’t also be persecuted and mocked and betrayed?

And just look at the beauty of it all, He has left the other side for you. This way you will be joined with Christ in an inseparable way, the lance that pierced His side will pierce your heart too, connecting you and Him together as one. The world may take away all else from you, but you will not be separated from the love of Christ.

Today take out some time, to meditate on the crucifix, look at the Savior who gave up His all, and then turn the cross, see the other side of it, it’s plain, its empty, its a space reserved for you. Not because God wants you to suffer, but because He loves you so much that He does not want to be separated from you in your sufferings. He wants to embrace your suffering self and weave your sufferings into His, taking away all that ails you, and turning it into a love filled gift.

So when the next time you are assailed with hopelessness of your situation, just look at the other side of the cross!

What does love taste like…

Love, tastes like the half burnt meal your dad cooked for you while your mom’s away.

Love, tastes like that already licked ice-cream a child wants to share with you for he likes you.

Love, tastes like the blood you suck off from that little girl’s paper-cut finger.

Love, tastes like the poorly brewed coffee your beloved tried to make for you early in the morning.

Love. tastes like a slice of pizza shared among three friends.

Love, it tastes a lot like the cheek of a new-born.

Love, it tastes like the thumb you once upon a time sucked on.

But most of the time, love tastes like a small piece of bread dipped in wine which reminds me of the love above all…

Days

The day was bright
As if the first day of the earth
The sky clear, with not a cloud to speckle it
The breeze was merry and so was I

The next day dawned
All bleary and grey
With only clouds and no sky
The wind grew chiller, and my mind dark


The third day arrived, or did it?
I could not tell
so dark, so cold, it rained
I wept...


I thought, all days would be bright and warm
all nights clear and cool;
The changes in seasons
I could not bear

Then I met someone
who taught me to
be warm in heart
cheery and bright

No matter what the day
I shall always arise
bright and clear in heart and mind
Filled with love and glory divine....

Keeping Our Hearts in Safe Custody

Oh the most fragile organ of the humans, the delicate, easily breakable, highly sensitive, HEART!


From the day one is born till the day they die, the heart is broken, smashed, crushed, bleeding, shattered, rejected, used, misused, stabbed, betrayed, destroyed on multiple occasions, by various people.... And we are left alone to gather the pieces and join them, just to be broken again by someone else.



But, why do we not learn, why are we all still trapped in this vicious circle of heart breaking and resuscitation and heartbreak again? One thing is for sure, as long as this heart remains with us it is bound to get hurt....

So what do we do? Just as banks have safe custody to store and safe guard our most valuable items, we must also find a safe custody for our hearts....


And what better person to give our heart to than Jesus! What better place to keep it safe than in His own heart.

Try it. It works. No more heart aches guaranteed(unless ofcourse if you've had lots of oily stuff to eat!)

Last Few Days of the Year

So, it is. The year 2010 coming to an end. And I am busy running about, completing pending tasks, shopping for the Christmas season, decorating, cleaning, eating, singing, dancing. And I am trying to fit in a lot of activities in these last few days of the year.

It is almost like a ritual every year, come the last two weeks of December and we all are deeply engrossed in our end-of-the-year work list, meeting friends and relatives, setting up parties and meetings. A mad rush to get the best out of the days.

But this year, I want to sit and reflect, I want to see what I did all year long, what did I find, what did I lose, how did I utilize this special and precious year of 2010? To analyze and learn from my mistakes, to strengthen my good points (yes I do have good points!) , to fix the hearts that I broke, to thank the people who helped me when I was down.

I want to switch off the hectic schedule for a while, and thank all my friends of old, who stuck by my side even though I was not exactly a great friend. I want to thank the new friends I made, who accepted me with open arms, the way I am, overlooked my downside and  helped me feel better about myself.

The elders I cannot forget, for their constant support and guidance, my mum who made sure I remained rooted in reality, my sister who keeps tolerating my extravagant behavior, my brother who still treats me like a baby! All these people have been with me, helping me cope throughout this year.

 I cannot forget certain people too, who have been by my side or sometimes against me, but each time teaching me something new, helping me grow in wisdom and understanding. I say a prayer for those who do not explicitly come in the category of friends or family, but have still played a vital role in shaping my life.

And I say sorry too, for all my stupidity, for every time my tongue caused a wound, for all the things I did which I should not have done and for all the things I ignored.

As the year dies slowly, so do I wish that my faults die with it, and as the new year arrives, may I be a fresh and new person with the conviction of constant improvement.

Love you all who helped me!

May God Bless All.

PS: Hey friends, the comment section is open for all who would like to thank me ;-), sorry's are accepted too :-D

Acceptance

The single most biggest thing we all crave for is ACCEPTANCE. We all need it, well all want it; acceptance is what gives meaning to our lives. We all seek consent, from our parents, friends, lovers, spouses, even from complete strangers!

From infancy till we grow old, we want others to see what we have done, we want them to listen to what we say, to look at what we are wearing, and the list goes on... We are happy with a consenting nod and disappointed by a disapproved frown. A child will first show who he/she is, and if the child feels unaccepted he/she slowly tries to remodel according to the latest convention to fit in with the crowd, to be accepted as one of them. 

Girls going on crash diets, men trying to build muscles, youngsters trying to get hold of the next smart phone, older folk making arrangements to fit in with the younger crowd, westernization of eastern cultures, change in eating habits, changes in language and dialects, body art, hair color(hey stop looking at me!), junk food(I know it is tasty), smoking, alcohol, drug abuse, pre-marital sex ; are all examples of humans taking extreme steps to be 'cool' , to 'fit-in', to be 'hip', to be accepted by others.

But what is even more striking is that most of the above mentioned changes taking place in our society are seen among teenagers and youngsters. It is because they are the ones who need acceptance more than any other age group, full of fear of rejection they fall into folly of 'peer pressure', ending up doing things they would never have done with themselves if they knew they were accepted just as they are.

Dear young boys and girls, even if this material world, even if your friends, even if your own parents do not accept you, Lord Jesus will. He loves you all the way you are, He doesn't care whether your are fat, short, dark, uncool, buck toothed, ill dressed, poor, failure, nerd, stupid or any other worldly standards that make you feel low.

He created you in His image and likeness, He loves you, He accepts you, don't let the world fool you or blind you. You are perfect in His eyes.