Intoxicated Living

‘The world’s not as I expected,’ skeptically mused a person, time and again.  Although it was supposed to be a humor, it has some weigh.  The world has intoxicated our living by the time our conscience was put to practice.

Our mind becomes intoxicated with wants, selfish ambitions, adjustments with immediate neighborhood, and so on.  Physically, we have been pained, suffered, and many more, as we live our daily life.  These all are signs of us being alive, so it’s a blessing.

As if these weren’t enough, we have tons of ways to get intoxicated with.  Intoxication took away our understanding and makes us unwise, at times.  Our imperfect mind showed up when we speaks or acts as fools in our intoxicated state.

Necessary Intoxication:

The other day, medical practitioners took some amount of my blood, as they need to determine what had intoxicated my living.  The level of the drugs in my blood, which I had taken for a decade, had to be maintained at the so-called normal level.

Dosages of my medicines have to be increase if it’s lower than the desired level; or lowered otherwise.  My intoxicated blood becomes a boon for my normal living.  My movements and activities, however, get more limited than before.  Intoxication affects my life in some way.

Our body cells, neurons, and bloods are designed by our Creator to accept and intermingle with outside particles for good.  They secrete and excrete to keep our toxic level well balance to sustain our life.  We are fearfully and wonderfully made, which need consistent care.

Intoxicated by Pain:

Pain has become part of my normal life.  As I said earlier, to be able to feel the pain is another blessing.  It is a sign of me being normal and alive.  Let me tell you that I have been in a situation beyond pain, being unconscious, and the experience is worst than pain.

We all suffered some kind of pain, in different ways.  When our pain is too much it can blind our thinking, which suppressed our hope.  It intoxicated our thoughts and living.  Yet most pains are temporary or at least for a lifetime.  Our search for suppressing pain can be dangerous.

In our intoxicated life, with pain and suffering, we search for an entity or someone who’ll listen to our groaning, occasionally.  What if I can tell all?  It may somehow ease my occasional pain but it is hard to find a good listener.  We can be boring, a chronic complainer, and negative mindset to others.

Pain does not subsides by telling someone throughout so we all chose to keep quiet as much as possible.  It’s better to report our level of intoxication, by pain, to the Lord’s.

Intoxicated by Misery:  (1 Samuel 1)

Hannah was mistaken as a woman intoxicated by drinking wine when she poured out her deep misery before the Lord God.  In reality, she was intoxicated by misery.  She was severely provoked by her rival because she was barren; unable to bear son for her husband.

She’s a woman; I cannot say with certainty the level of her troubled heart.  It’d be difficult to empathize her being provoked.  Dear women, you’ll know better.  Her misery was beyond the love and understanding of her husband- Elkanah.

She was in bitterness of soul, and prayed to the Lord asking for a son, and wept in anguish until her voice was able to come out.  Imagine should you be in Hannah’s state of mind, it pained me.  One night, my chest was choked, as I read it to my children.  She was excessively intoxicated by her misery.

She did not care for what people would think.  The priest Eli had observed only her lips were moving, as she spoke to the Lord in her heart.  She vowed to give the child to the Lord, should the Lord grant her prayer.  This lady was in huge distress and she surrenders herself fully to the Lord.

Hannah knew that her situation has come to the level which can be solved only by the intervention of the Almighty God.  In her own conviction, she went to the Lord, because she has HOPE in Him.

She said, “May your servant find favor in your eyes.” Then she went her way and ate something, and her face was no longer downcast.

Beyond Hannah’ Misery:

There is an upside to her misery.  Hannah’s misery took her into the ministry of God.  She participated in God’s plan by bearing a ruler and priest for the Lord.  Her contribution or role in God’s ministry will be remembered as she did not shy away but approached the Lord.

It is great relief to read the next chapter, which consist of her praise to the Lord.  The Lord had granted Hannah’s prayer, she bore a son, named him Samuel.  Samuel was dedicated to the Lord; he grow onto become a priest who ruled and anointed the kings for Israelites.

Hannah’s Prayer of Gratitude:

In Chapter 2 of 1 Samuel, Hannah’s prayer of thanksgiving was recorded.  Her heart was filled with joy; for she witnessed the good deeds of the Lord.  Her bitter life turns into a rejoicing life.  She proclaimed: (1 Samuel 2: 2, 8, 9)

There is no one holy like the Lord; there is no one besides you; there is o Rock like our God.  For the foundations of the earth are the Lord’s; on them he has set the world.  He will guard the feet of his faithful servants.

One day, or at least once in a while, we’d be set free from our intoxicated living, by the grace of God.  Now, a rejoicing heart is a blessed heart.  We should know how to be thankful and show our gratitude once we’re set free.

When the sun shines let us be thankful for the sun; and the sun don’t shine let us be thankful for the shad we got!

How to Get Free from Intoxicated Living?

We have talked in length the details of God’s work in Hannah’s life.  She was set free from her misery because she went to the Lord’s presence.  She knew her problem was beyond men can handle.

By hoping in the Lord, with great perseverance, we will be set free from our intoxicated living.  The time will come for us to be free from all kinds of troubles the world can bestowed upon us.

And for that, it is important to know the truth.  When we know the truth we can trust in Him.  Today, how are you intoxicated?  Let’s abide in Jesus Christ.  As Jesus Christ had declared, “the truth shall set you free.”  (John 8:32b)

I know it is hard to let a day pass when we’re in the midst of our afflictions and sufferings.  Yet we have HOPE, amidst our intoxicated living, through Christ Jesus!

With my little ones: In the same shade

Reflecting back on what has happened to me when I first take up almost the full job of looking after our two children; my three-year-old son and eight-month-old daughter, then.

I had undergone right Amygdalohippocampectomy on December 14, 2015, and the unexpected huge repercussions that happened early in January 19, 2016 that nearly ended my life, here on earth.  Now the time has arrived for me to spend most of my time with my two children again.

Left my permanent job with the sole purpose of looking after my two children, life has been more of a blessing than sadness.

I had spent, most of my childhood days, missing my parents, as I have the chance to stay with close relatives, for the purpose schooling and helping them or them helping me.  Many tears have been shed by me because I had missed my parents so much.

So, it has been my goal that once I had my own child I will not leave them whether they are with somebody or not as long as possible.  I want them to have me by their side in whatever they need and witness them as many as I could.

In that way our emotional attachment and understanding might reach the necessary level needed by a normal human being.  However, I do not want to be a possessive Dad, throughout my life, either.

They are my (our) hope for a better future.  Even if I didn’t succeed in trying to mold them into a good human being, I will simply say, I ‘d tried my best.  I gave them my whole time, in this short span of life.  Furthermore, it is more important for me that they live their life in the likeness of God.

On the contrary, I have this fear that I might not be able to provide them their financial needs.  Also, there is also this fear that in my old age I might not be able to take care of myself and left alone by myself.  There is no guarantee in life that every good or bad thing is going to happen.

A life, once lived, will not come back, as they say.  I may regret or I may regret not, that is in the hands of the Heavenly Father.  Sometimes, I did missed my office-goer life.  “Fight the good fight”.

Yes, it is important for me state that I am not a single parent.  My wife is working hard to put bread on the table every day.  Work culture in our city was hard.  No reasonable off-days when most needed were common.

Happy Father’s Day!

*Re-published Sept 2016

Counting Depreciation Values: For Appreciation

When you are buying or selling used assets, calculation of depreciation values for that particular asset is vital.  Let me put it this way, to get the best values out your used assets, depreciation needs to be calculated.

During my time in the Banking Sector, I’d witnessed some automobile companies setting up camps in the vicinity of our branches.  While they are doing their job, it is something that sounds very attractive because of the so-called ‘buy back policy’ or ‘exchange policy’ for vehicle owners.

However, certain customers, who did not have much exposure in the financial sector, are left stunned and disappointed when they are told of the roughly calculated depreciation values.  It is because the value of their used assets has been reduced before their very eyes.  They could not believe it.  So, some back off from selling and exchanging their assets while some made good money out of it.

For someone new to this term, Depreciation is an accounting method of allocating the cost of a tangible asset over its useful life.  Several important factors are taken into account while counting ‘depreciation values’.  Let’s simply lists them out, without further explanation.  They are: Initial Costs, Residual values or Scrap values, Useful life, and Rate of Depreciation.

Especially for moveable assets, depreciation rate was far higher.  Depreciation started right from that day when you proudly rolled out your car from the dealers.  In my city, the roads are not always in their best shapes, which gave you bumpy rides at times.  Further, the over populated vehicles in the city left you with some scratches and dents on the vehicles.

Here the ‘useful life’ mentioned while counting depreciation is worth considering.  At every condition of the assets, there still is something useful found in the assets.  While disposing off your used or scrap items, you get paid for that very little amount of the ‘useful life’ counted, despite the small amount it could be.

One, please do not write off people before they are lifeless.  Although they are of no used to you, they still occupy the core of some people’s heart.  We must mind our tongues while dealing with others.  Before we know, sometimes, we degrade some people more than they’d deserved.  Even in their worst condition, there must be something appreciable, if we dare to explore it.

Two, there are some people who could still nurse the little appreciation we gave them, even in their worst’s condition.  Be it mental or physical health, someone could still find ‘useful life’ in their futile life while counting their depreciation values.  Unwanted depreciation, in reality, cannot be avoided.

Natural calamities, for individuals, are unpredictable.  Let God guide you in every sphere of life.  Invite Him in your life and let Him have you.  Even beyond you can ever imagined, you will be guarded.  But if something depreciating still happened there must be a reason from God, which are left to be understood in our life or afterwards.

Tree fell on a car

Last week, when suddenly, a thunderstorm strikes our locality an old tree fell down near our parked car.  A bit shocked, we checked our car if there was any damage caused by the falling tree.  We are relived, when we found out there is just one small scratch on the bumper.  This is the ‘appreciation’ we got while trying to count the ‘depreciation values’ while cleaning our car.  We are saved by His grace.

Lastly, this practice, of counting depreciation for appreciation, is applicable in our lives too.   Sometimes, we must reflect back at our lives and count the ‘useful life’, which are already used or still left in us.  We must also learn how to appreciate our life.

Reflection of me

‘Now you look like a real Mister’, echoed my son in the back of the room.  I was dressing up for the day.

By this time, I knew someone was always watching my behavior.  What comes from my mouth and what I did are going to have impact on my child.

Parenting was not an easy task.  There is no certain written code, for success, in the program.  While they are young they learn more from what they heard or seen.  They did not have that processing needed for filtering as of now.

It seems we are playing the game of ‘copycats’, if there is such a game ever.  In reality, it is not a game.  I am the main role model for my child at the moment.  I am happy with that.  In the meantime, it is time for me to guide in choosing a role model outside the house, for now and when they grow up.

Which book to pick up first in the morning, they knew already.  How did Daddy start his day?  You ask your little ones, they will have the answers.

Sometimes I think children are the reflection of us, at least before they become intoxicated with the outside world.  So it is important to act thoughtfully, which was rather much easier said than done.

Although studies do not show most of the bad behavior of the child does not reflected from their parents, it is worth a try.