Mannequins: Flaunting their best for shoppers’ delight

Once in a while, our family went for shopping.  In the shopping area, mannequins are a common sight.  Children love them or they are afraid of them.  They meant, at the least, something to the shoppers of different age.

Mannequin

Mannequins are lifeless.  They have no thoughts.  But they dress according to the season. They tell the shopkeepers and shoppers the arrival of a new season.  They did not feel tired.  They cannot be compared with us, the livings.

They are designed to impress shoppers by silently showcasing new designs.  They are made to attract shoppers.  You knew that already, by the way.

In big cities, they are common sights in the streets and shopping area.  You may not believe this but for some people, it is a rare sight.  There are people who hardly had enough savings for shopping.  They could not afford to get inside that cozy showroom.

As a decorative item, mannequins play an important in interior designing.  They also become the promoter of their trademarked styling and decorating agent.  It might be noted here that we’re more than them.

Some mannequins are neatly fitted and dressed.  They lived in the comfort of air-conditioned atmosphere, which every human could not afford.  People are employed to dress them and look after them.

I remember seeing a homeless person gawking at the mannequins with a long-pause.  I couldn’t digest what he was thinking but it took my attention.  He didn’t look quite happy though.  He nodded his head and headed towards his begging spot – his begging spot in the sun, without a roof.

Some lonely shopkeepers held them as their good friends as they did not gossip behind their back.  Everyone needed someone to share their pain but not spread their misery.  Since every person are not good secret keeper, people tend to be careful.

Few people are like the mannequins; they simply show off!  Although they have a functioning brain, they didn’t think much.   For instance, they lived a very hard life; tired and exhausted, unlike the mannequins as the mannequins are brainless.

Mannequins are designed for a purpose.  Much more than them, we, humans, are designed by God with a purpose with a functioning brain.  Specially, for believers, we are supposed to attract others in the likeness of Christ Jesus show-casing characters of a saved person, to be a light to the world.

Generally speaking, excess of the inside comes outside.  We always wanted to showcase good thing but that is difficult, I also knew it.  Before I could know, there was something wrong in me.  Each day, I needed to be cleaned and renewed.

Mannequins could NOT act beyond just showing off.  But we can do something more if someone is attracted by what they saw in us.  We can also lead them in ‘the way’, should they wanted, we already had.  We can give them or show them the ‘way’.

We are ambassadors of our faith.  In heaven, we will be rewarded.

Homebound – Walk of Life

There was a rich and influential man.  He was influential because he was rich.

He was a good man but with shrewd workers.  His workers loved him as they can take advantage of him.  As far as he is concerned, he felt people loved him.

His workers exploited the common people and his riches were built out of their sweat.  Since he’d interacted with his closed associates, he never knew how people felt about him.  There are few homeless men around him whom people cared.

People regarded him as being selfish and greedy.  His obsession with luxury lifestyle spoke for them.  He never interacted with the common people.

Unpredictable

One evening, he had a terrible accident and never recovered from it.  He could sense the end is near but he wanted to live at any costs.  His wealth wouldn’t last long, he thought.

He had a wish, he ordered his burial-place must be prepared in a spacious land with perfectly designed small structure.

Gradually, his wealth had declined.  He has nothing left behind for his heir-apparent, which further eroded the happiness in his life.

The end has come.  So they buried him in that specified land, per his wish.

Several times had gone by, when one day, the news of a homeless man’s death is doing the rounds.  The people, who knew him well, wanted to give him a good burial at the least.

The homeless man’s life story was filled with bitter fate.  He gave his best shot but was still reduced to this condition.  So he had the sympathy and loved of the people.  They contributed to buy his dead body a burial spot.

They heard about the heir-apparent of the rich man’s deteriorating living condition.  And they propose him to sell some land, which he obliged immediately.

At last, the homeless man was buried.  He was laid to rest next to the rich man’s spot.  The people are happy to perform the last rite of the homeless man.

In their short span of life, they walked different path, although undetermined.   They both are hated by some and loved by some as well.

Ostensibly, they ended in the same place and in the same spot.  They are going home!

The smell of Living: Save the world

The air is light and gloomy.  Nature is blooming in that corner of the world.  The place is untouched by modern marvels and machinery.  In this fast-moving world, it is a privilege to be in that condition.

 

Serene Beauty

This place smells of ‘living’ in the serene and beautiful landscape, away from encroachment.  The earth, in its true beauty, was designed by the Creator.  No wisdom on earth could match the creativity of the place being inhabited.

Brainy crooks calculated what they could reach in their limited mind.  They set up, put their thought to action, and they destroys the nature, with their sharp mind.  We called them inventions, and celebrated them.

Some years had spiraled off before their very eyes.  Their inventions had turned into destroyer for the naturally balanced environment.  The inventions did improve our living conditions.  Our lifestyle becomes cozy and expensive at the same time.

Dirty smoke clouds the atmosphere, which imparts many form of disorder in our body metabolism.  The honeymooners are few, and they are almost gone.  We, the younger lots, have to work hard to safeguard our environment.

Artificial equipments are here stay, to help and destroy us.  They will not be gone too soon.  Our air is degrading.   Our water and air needs purification.  Who has done this, my friend?

Let us live responsibly.  The corrupt and selfish minds will destroy our habitat.  Let go off the hatred and let us serve together.   Let us heal the world.   We are citizen of the Earth!

Celebrate nature with love and care.  Be happy!  Don’t let your happiness and celebrations hurt your surroundings.

At your level, do whatever you can.  Wait for none.  Be the first to preserve our environment.  Show love and respect to the Creator.

The smell of living will soon fade.  Let us save the world.  Let us work for generations to come.  Your small act of love and kindness counts.

But still, before you know, the time will come when you could no longer participate.  You’ll be gone.  Reduced to ashes!  The end is inevitable!

And above all,

Be prepared to meet your Creator and Savior!  It will serve you good.

 

Indwelling: When God dwells in us

Last year, my father left us for eternity.  He was fighting a deadly sickness.  God took him home because He loved and care for him.  It was a good thing for my father, I would say.

However, his death left a huge ‘vacuum’ in our family, especially to us, his kids.  Even for a very small thing we depend on his ability and word of advice.  He was our last resort.  We are comforted by his presence.  Family businesses and administration suffered huge setback too.

Before my father had departed, we discussed so many things about life.  Not everything can be accomplished in this lifetime.  So many things I wanted to ask him, about certain things, which he must have known or could shed light to it.  With God by our side, we’d live till we are also called to be with our Savior.  We now take refuge in that being the great Helper and Comforter who had already descended on us, and dwelled in us.

Victory over death proclaimed, Lord Jesus Christ ascended to heaven.  His disciples were left behind without their teacher.  They must have felt a huge vacuum in their life too.  They were told to wait for the Helper, who’d descend on earth, when the time is right for them.

For it is written:  “And I will pray the Father and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever— the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you.” (John 14:15-17)

Here we know that the Holy Spirit dwelled in us to fill the vacuum left by our Lord.  The Holy Spirit guides us, comforts us, and shed light on our path.  He is the Regenerator in our way of life.  The Holy Spirit becomes our ‘access point’ to our God.  Being with Him inside us, our Helper sufficed our thoughts and deeds.

Disciples of Lord Jesus Christ waited for the promised Helper.  They were in one place, with one accord, when the Holy Spirit descended.  When suddenly a sound came from heaven and filled the house.  They were filled with the Holy Spirit, and they speak in tongues.  To those of them, who were NOT filled with the Holy Spirit, they simply looked like they are under the influence of new wine. (Acts 2)

From that day onward, the Holy Spirit ‘indwells’ in our new life.  Being dwelling in us meant that we become the temple of God.  The ‘vacuum’, that I am talking about, becomes ‘completely filled’.  So when I can sense and feel that God know what I was undergoing – be it loneliness or adversities, it eases the pain and filled me, which renewed my strength each passing day.

When a person puts his faith in Christ for salvation, it is the Spirit who opens the heart and imparts divine life.  He then indwells us, giving us the confidence that we are now children of God.  This can be seen from the conversation Lord Jesus Christ had with Nicodemus. (John 3:5)

Indwelling, as used in medical term, the artificial parts indwelling in the body can cause a problem in our body metabolism, even though it is for our health benefit.  Sometimes the processes are uneasy and disheartening.

Likewise, the Holy Spirit being indwelling in us can caused infighting in our heart.  The fight is for good over evil.  It can cause a rift in our heart but even for that problem the Holy Spirit is our helper.

Not all person experience this indwelling, however it is open for all.  As for me, my biggest problem is that there is always a huge vacuum left in my heart, which eventually leads to loneliness or the longing for something good to happen.

The more we empty our heart before God, the more we will get filled.  For the Holy Spirit to occupy our heart, first, we should be empty.  God filled all the empty jar of oil, which did not run dry.  Elisha and the Widow: Before all the empty vessels were filled, the oil never run dry. (2 Kings 4:1-7) This is the filling of the Holy Spirit that filled open heart and never run dry.  Abundant filling till we get home!

In this world, when the vacuum in our heart  is filled with other than the Holy Spirit, we are doomed.  This filling of the Holy Spirit is the best weapon in fighting spiritual warfare.

Be filled with the Holy Spirit today! Amen.

Unanswered Prayer 2: It is well with my soul!

It has already been a decade ago when I first experienced this heavy blow to my life.  Since then epileptic or seizure related problem has been, alomost consistently, troubling my life.  It caused, undeniably,  huge effect in my professional life as well as home front.

The regular visits to doctor and the subsequent scannings, be it CT-Scan or MRI scan, became part of my life.  Many times, I wanted to do away with the problems.  It was costly and tiresome.  However, this experience was a kind of blessings in disguise, as I consistently need to be in-touch with my God.

That being said, I wanted to be free from the clutch of this neurological-disorder, to lead a normal life again.  Hope, for the best, is the only option for this, as I have been through the fighting process.  I need to be fully guarded in the hands of my Lord, and that’s how I feel for a decade now.

That day, when I was admitted for monitoring in the Epilepsy Monitoring Unit (EMU) of a city hospital, I deeply hope it will be a life-changing experience for my better living.  Something was spotted in the MRIs few years ago.  For 25 days, Video EEG (VEEG) monitoring test was done on me.   It is done to find out the root cause of the illness, and the possibility of correction by Brain Surgery, which will help controlling the illness.

During the course of VEEG, we (me and my family) prayed hard so that surgery might, somehow, be avoided.  However, my prayers went unanswered or very much heard, I would say.  But at that particular point, God did not work as I’d desired.  His plans are higher than my plans.

It was a long boring procedure, where so many ‘leads’ are attached to my body, especially my head.  Twenty-four hour video surveillance was done, which were focussing on me.  Lying on the bed, in that tiny room, was a not so deary affair.  It was a good time for reading books though.

So, at the end of the day, doctors found enough evidence for going forward with surgery that it might help.  ‘Get prepared and come back for brain surgery’, I was told.  That is the reason why I categorized as unanswered prayer.  Still surgery was needed!

Since brain surgery is a big thing, with many unwanted possible outcome, I was left devastated.  Many prayer request were made, which work for the goodness of me.  My parents spent their time in the prayer cabin, which provided life-line for their son.

Now, surgery was performed on me, which was successful, they said.  I recovered well.  However, there is something in store for me.  Exactly after one month, the least expected occurrence happened.   Those episodes brought me closer to Him, so it was a good experience although it was not as I’d asked for.

Medication can control unwanted experiences by now.  I am grateful for what I had gone through although it was a bitter experience.   Although full recovery seems to be a long distant dream, which, I hope, will happen one day, in His time.

Unwanted yet expected pains and feeling are common.  It becomes an experience of a lifetime.  A lot like a stream in the desert.  Although I am not completely free from the disorder, it is advantage me as of now.  In many ways, unanswered prayers, for the time being, can be useful in our lives.  They are answered but not as we desired, I would say.

For more than three decades in a row, I’d the privilege of using a brain free from wear and tear.  It does not need any servicing or oiling in between, which is above the highly regarded man-made materials and inventions.  And, I am more than thankful for that.

These episodes helped me walk more closely to my Savior.  It becomes an inescapable event, which in many other ways, benefitted my soul deeply.  It is more than I can asked and hope for.

It is well with my soul!

PS: My days in the EMU.