YokeBreaker Sessions – Honoring Parents

I smiled sarcastically, when I read this session’s topic. C’mon!  this one can’t be for me.

My strategy with parents has been very simple, “Shut up and nod your head”. Then take your complaints to God. Argue with Him, fight with Him, and throw your tantrums before Him. He’ll listen;  He’ll wait  till the fumes subside, and then He’ll show me where I am wrong. Sometimes, when I have messed up real bad, He’ll take me in His arms, and help me face the music.

I love my folks, and I’ve poorly described the effect that they have on my life, in the posts,  “My Maker as my Mother” and “Celebrating my DaDs”. But frankly speaking, I have my share of complaints and frustrations too.

In this YokeBreaker session, my Master told me something about myself that I never knew.

In the parable of the prodigal son, I have always identified myself with the prodigal son, because I have my own personal story of eating the pig pods, and then running back to the Master’s arms.

But this time I saw myself in a different light. I wasn’t the rebellious prodigal son, I wasn’t the son who ran away breaking my father’s heart, I wasn’t the spendthrift who wasted all my  father’s money on some wild fascinations.

I was the good, obedient son who remained with my father, working for him in his fields, and following all his orders.

It wasn’t my wayward brother’s return that hurt me. I was happy too, to see him back alive. But that’s when I realized that I wasn’t being recognized. Yeah! that’s the point.

No matter; how good I am, the need and the expectation to be recognized and appreciated keeps growing within. And at one point it shows its face. The guy in the parable felt his shot, when his father arranged a feast for his younger brother.

For me, it could be anything else. But it all drills down to this..

Do they recognize my efforts?

Do they realize, that it’s not just them, but I have made sacrifices too?

To this, I heard the Master’s Voice, “My son, you are always with me and everything I have is yours.”

I felt foolish and dumb. When God had an eternal inheritance in store, I was looking for a goat.

Maybe, you’re looking at yourself and your eyes are all blinded from seeing the good things your parents have invested in your lives. And all that you can see is that you have become hybrid robots, aping them, obeying them and losing yourself. Believe me, your parents are not in control of your life, neither has God given the controls to them. God is in total control.You are not living to fulfill their desires, you are fulfilling God’s dreams.

A deep transformation took place in the heart of the prodigal son, so his focus changed and he sought to honor his father. This transformation, was something that the good son missed.

Honoring parents’ is not an action, it is a lifestyle. Out of the ordinary, we can’t get into this lifestyle. We need God to help us honor our parents in all seasons.

It is painful when parents are pushy, unrealistic and offend our emotions with their thoughtless words. It is hard to honor parents, when we know that they’re messing up big time. When your temper and tongue reaches critical threshold levels…

Whisper this prayer, “God, I wish I could give them a piece of my mind, but You do that for me….I’ll just go ahead and do what they want…”

Every time you pray this prayer, God has this to say to you, “My son, you are always with me and everything I have is yours.”

My Maker as my mother

“As one whom his mother comforts, so will I comfort you” Isaiah 66:13

This is one the most loved scriptures of all times.It is my favorite too.

You know why?

Because I started identifying a meaningful relationship with God only when I began seeing Him as my mother.

I gave myself to Jesus Christ when I was 13, at that time my only confidant was my mom. I’ve told her many times, “I have only one parent and that is daddy, you are my friend.” I don’t know if she remembers but I’ve even done crazy things like even giving her friendship bands. I can actually count the number of times I actually call her “amma” or “mummy” because the other times, it is just a “hey!”, “You girl!!”, and other wierdo names, which if I mention will really ruin my reputation 🙂

I realized how emotionally dependent I was on her only when I went to be on my own for pursuing higher education.

I missed her when I sat to study, I missed the ‘ishing’ sound that her slippers made when she walks around. I missed her hyper tension when she begins to lose a spat with my dad.I missed the mummy smell that came only on her. I missed the way that she would listen to my silliest joke and have a hearty laugh.

I missed the way she would be curious to know a gossip that I just finished on phone with a friend.I missed the way she’d patiently listen to my new ‘findings’ and ‘bible studies’.I missed the way she would be bothered about the tiniest pain that came on my toe.I missed the way she’ll spend all the Christmas money on our clothes and accessories and get herself something real cheap.

I missed everything about her.

But now when I look back, I think that the greatest force that got me and my Master real close was this ‘missing her’ syndrome that took over me during those times.Since I could think of no one who could fill that place when she was not around, I started seeking and longing more for God. I’d run to Him everyday after school to tell him every single thing that happened.

When I’d have the runs of insomnia I’d place my head on the floor and believe that I’m placed my head on His lap and see with the eyes of faith His mighty hands stroking my head within moments I’d sleep like a baby. Because mom was not around, I learnt to fight with Him, (hehe!!) call Him names and every other crazy thing that I did with my mother, now was with my God.

And you know what,I discovered that my God is a great mother.He taught me things that people often say only “mothers” can teach, the girlish stuff I mean. I had been a real wimp for a long time, He taught me that my tears were precious and I should not be wasting it for every exaggerated teenage melodrama.He made me a strong person at heart and in the mind.“… I will strengthen you, I will help you,I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” Isaiah 41:10

I am 21 years now, my relationship with my mom has not changed.Only one difference, I am now completely dependent only on my God – “mother”. And my mom has been an instrument for implementing this change in my life.

She thinks that she is a no-good ordinary person. But my Master left all the intelligent and brilliant ones and picked her up to rear and upbring a whole generation that will now honor and glorify only Him.“…God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong” 1 Corinthians 1:27

Above any other achievement, this is the greatest privilege for any woman.

Celebrating my DaD(s)!!

I would have been a very different person without the Master in my life. My entire life would have taken disastrous turn if not for the Master. Because of the influence He has on my life, I am what I am today. Now, my life revolves around “Knowing God, Loving God and Living for God”.“No eye has seen, no ear has heard,and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him.”(I Corinthians 2:9)

For any relationship, the first step is the “Getting to know time”, and it is my experience that any relationship will be a cakewalk, if we put some effort on this stage. It’s the same with God, we sometimes tend to concentrate more on “loving”God without actually getting to know Him, His nature and His heart. That could be the reasons why we sometime land up frustrated. “And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love really is.”(Ephesians 3:18)

Its my dad’s birthday today and I thank God for him.

Though we are one family, we are separate individuals in the sight of God. I believe God put us together because we had abilities that would complement each other to fulfil each other’s destiny during our lifetime.“Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ”(Ephesians 4:12)

I don’t know how I help fulfil my mum’s, and dad’s and sister’s destiny, but I definitely know the role each one plays to fulfil mine.

My dad…. it is definitely the opportunities and the provisions that he has provided that made me reach this far. But restricting my dad’s role in my life to just a provider would be a terrible mistake.

I could understand a lot about God himself through my dad. My dad has prototyped many of His qualities in his life. Getting to know my dad, helped me to know my Master better. Those of you guys reading, may think that this is just a birthday-flatter-blog-entry. Just hold on..this is not what you think!!

My dad’s favourite phrase “I don’t want to be an average father”, when this rings through my ear; God says, “You see that!! that’s how I AM”. Just like my Father Lord, my dad does a lot of things to prove that He’s not an average father. God led me through lot of struggles so that He can break the strongholds of my life, my dad too teaches tough lessons so that I can break free from my cocoon.

Sometimes I feel I’ve achieved a lot and I got to God, and I don’t hear anything like a pat on my back instead; God says “Hey!! you can do better than that”, my dad’s the same; never really comes out with appreciation until he’s sure that I’ve used my entire potential. Does this discourage me, not at all it encourages me to do better.

My Master has very high standards, he has disciplined me many times through His Word and circumstances in my life pressurizing me to keep the standard and not slip away. My dad too is very fussy about quality never allowing us to compromise in any way.

God never makes decisions for me. In spite of His infinite wisdom, He gives me a chance. This is what we call “Free Will”. He is God, yet he respects my individuality and allows me to have my choice. He does not choose for me and make me a slave but teaches me to how to choose and stands beside to see His lessons work. My dad too never compels me into his way, but taught me to be in the right by myself. “The paths of the Lord are true and right, and righteous people live by walking in them”(Hosea 14:9)

Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father”(John 14:12) . This is a hard thing to say; but Jesus makes that declaration very easily. Because that’s the plan for us in His mind, to see us do greater things than Himself. My dad too is always talking about how I should do better than him and reach higher heights. That is an attribute which only fathers have.

My Father is the Holy of Holies, All Pervading Powerful God, but there He goes; playing with me, caressing me, hugging me and reassuring me in His presence. One day in college I was dreaming about cornetto ice-cream; I badly wanted to eat this ice-cream.I returned home really very tired , and opened the fridge (A part of my daily routine!!) . I was shocked, surprised that I literally bounced off the floor. My favourite praline flavoured cornetto stood there begging me to pick it up. “By day the LORD directs his love, at night his song is with me”(Psalm 42:8)

My dad too is very creative in developing new ways to cuddle me up and pamper me. He calls me funny names, brushes my head with a kiss whenever he is around, affectionately strokes my head when I am working late hours at night, massages my legs when I am asleep. All of this is his way of telling, “you are my most precious possession”.

My God-who created the entire universe from vacuum, does not require me to share His heart. He can execute all His plans by Himself, but He chooses to do it through me. He talks to me from His Word about His vision for the dying World and calls me to be a part of His kingdom building business.The King of Majesty is humble enough to share His thoughts and feelings with an ordinary inadequate girl like me.“I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit—fruit that will last.”(John 15:15-16)

I have brainstorming sessions with my dad, he shares his ideas, his strategies. He discusses with me as if I was a very important decision maker. This makes me feel important and intrigues me to step into an entirely different sphere of life. This kind of communication is the key to our relationship.

My dad helps me understand the nature of My Father , our spiritual conversations hardly last for a few minutes, but the lessons I’ve learnt about God from him are worth more than many hours of talk.“For the kingdom of God is not a matter of talk but of power.”(I Corinthians 4:20)

In this way, this man, born on this day who became my father by God’s perfect plan to fulfil my destiny.

Wait a sec!!! Though he is my dad; he is simply God’s child, and together we are learning about God and getting to understand Him better….

Big Brother

Mom has got those ugly shots of migraine again, I have seen her suffer agonizing pain several times before.In fact I’ve known migraine from when I’ve known my mother.It pains my heart to see the otherwise chirpy enthusiastic energetic person curled up in bed whining with pain. When she holds her head and she groans ‘Maa I can’t bear it, it is killing me’, her helpless face and expectant eyes paralysed with excruciating pain looks at me for an answer; I feel totally shattered; because I have no clue about what to do.

Not that I don’t believe in the healing touch of Jesus but right now that is not what I want to write about.My heart longs to write about my Big Brother who encourages and strengthens me in times like this.My Jesus.

He is God, He can heal, He can create, He can destroy. Because He is God I cannot question Him, His ways are perfect, and He knows the pain more than I do.He loves my mother more than I do. For some purpose (that is for our absolute good) He is permitting the pain, nevertheless He has provided abundance of His grace. But during these times of frustration He does not abandon me and ask me to have more faith but He stands beside me like my Big Brother and holds me with His strong arms and reassures me that everything will be just alright. Sometimes when an episode of pain and confusion is over, I look back and I wonder ‘How did I ever get through that?’ and then I can see the Hand of my Big Brother that covered me and led me through those trying times.

Thank you Big Brother.. Thank you very much. Though it seems that everything is on me, You are the One who is in control. Thank you Jesus.. What would I have done without you?

Isaiah 66:13
As a mother comforts her child, so will I comfort you;

Psalms 89:21
My hand will sustain him; surely my arm will strengthen him.

Isaiah 41:10
So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.