Picture Perfect!

Growing up, I eagerly anticipated Christmas cards that had a family picture attached. It was fun to see how families creatively posed to produce the “perfect picture.” But there’s one Christmas family picture that tops it all. It's like no other. The background is not a brightly decorated living room but a modest stable strewn with hay. Joseph bends over the cradle; his face wrought with tension, for his fiancé had just given birth and rumours were spreading. Mary gazes at an unassuming animal feeding trough where she placed her firstborn son, hardly the cradle she had dreamt of. Ordinary shepherds from a nearby field peer into this picture, joyfully amazed; while dignified wise men, clutch expensive gifts in their hands.

An angel hovers over the scene as if to remind us—that this gathering of strange people divided in life are united by a single goal—the worship of their Saviour. To this helpless babe, the lowly shepherds come. To this royal babe, the affluent wise men come. In this wondrous babe, Joseph finds strength to face the gossip and Mary gathers courage to nurture her Saviour. For a child has been born—for us! The gift of a son—for us! He is our Amazing Counselor, Strong God, Eternal Father, Prince of Wholeness (Isaiah 9:6 The Message).

In our worship of the Saviour, we find strength to press on through difficult times and freedom to live life anew. In our adoration of the Servant King, we are united as one big family and community in Christ, though otherwise divided by ethnicity and class. As we take time to linger at the manger this Christmas, may its realistic simplicity and profound mystery infuse within our hearts a wondrous praise of the kingly babe. Picture perfect indeed!

Psalm 23- Rewritten

The LORD is my dance instructor,

He makes me glide across the floor;

He puts the rhythm into life, 

He makes my heart soar!

There are dances of joy, there are times when I'm tired and worn,
Through the highs and through the lows;
My dance instructor reminds me that I'm never alone.

Often I dance with a troop, with His glory all around;
But sometimes I am on my own,
with no beats, no music, no, not a sound!

But my dance instructor never leaves me,
He pushes me beyond my comfort zone;
He gently takes me into His arms 
and lovingly reminds me that I am His own. 

Whenever I move, I feel Him near,
Whenever I dance, I have no fear;
He's put a harp in my heart, His song of salvation and freedom,
And you can be sure that I'll dance my way, one step at a time into His heavenly Kingdom!

May I have the pleasure of this dance?

Here I come in total surrender, giving up everything I have and everything I want or everything I thought I needed. But it all seems so dim when you walk into the room. You fill it with a divine aroma, a fragrance that pervades deep into my soul. I breathe your fragrance, I gaze upon your face, I am blinded by the light that surrounds you. You gently hold my hand and softly ask me ,"May I have the pleasure of this dance?"

 I smile, lost for words. You gracefully sweep me across the huge hall, every step in proper time and beat, your steady strong hands gently leading my steps. We move with ease, we glide above the floor, above my fears, my weaknesses, above the 'imperfect me.' I now realize that I truly belong in your strong and passionate arms of grace and love. "Hold me tightly," I whisper, "Never, never, never let me go. I want to be in your arms forever."

 I close my eyes to the distractions, voices and temptations around and gently place my head on your firm chest, so secure in your everlasting love. My search is over, I have found 'You' - the Lover of my soul. I am finally home- home where I belong. I have found not just my 'Prince Charming' but You my KING! And so I will dwell with you always, safely and securely wrapped up in your loving arms. For my life is hidden in You, O Christ, forever.

Pressured to Perform!

Young peeps living in urban cities all over India are now faced with the daunting pressure to perform, the pressure to fit "in." If you aren't cool enough or socially popular, then you are in for some gloomy days. All of us crave acceptance and love. We try our best to look good, speak well and gain the approval of our family and peers. No one likes being left out! But is beauty only skin deep? Are we cool based on the way we dress, talk or act?

 Some think that popularity is possible only when they have a boyfriend or girlfriend tagging on their arm. If you aren’t currently seeing someone, then there's got to be something wrong with you or if you haven’t slept around as yet, then you are not 'cool' enough. Some go to the extreme of cussing, using foul language and supposedly "hip hop" lingo. And then there’s the web of technology that we young people so easily get mercilessly entangled in. If you happen to have some of the coolest techno gadgets in your grip, then you’re it! Your friend list on Facebook, Orkut, Twitter and other social networks will only explode when you are brand conscious, smart, talented, musically inclined, outrageously funky, weirdly cool, downright snobbish, fashionably unique and have a great profile picture that does not show any blemishes (most probably a picture that you have spent the whole night trying to edit using Photoshop). When you have all of these ingredients then Voila! You are a social success and you are sure to have a skyrocketing friend list!                      

Even though we all strive to be "in", we must confess that we are often worn out with trying to keep up with the Joneses! Sometimes we feel like breaking out of the status quo and just being ourselves. Well, we have all felt that way sometime or the other. We have all felt pressured to dress, talk or act a certain way just to be cool in society or just to "fit in."

Is there a way out of this superficial trap?  I mean who defines what is cool or not in society? Why should some kids be more popular than others? Who labeled the geeks as social failures and presumed the brats to be "in?" Who said that being rude, disrespectful or downright sinful was cool? Media, magazines, books, movies, friends and our very own urban metropolitan cultures have got us chained in the prison of performance. Only when we perform in a certain manner can we be socially accepted. HUMBUG!

 I believe that it’s time for us as a generation to stand up for the truth in our cities. We need to take the power of the transforming good news about Jesus Christ to the hurting world around us. But first, the change must begin with us. Paul in Romans 12:2 warns us not to conform any longer to the pattern of this world but instead to be transformed by the renewing of our minds. And that can only happen when we learn to consciously meditate on God's Word at all times. When we have His Word written upon our hearts, we will not feel compelled to give in to the peer pressure that buffets us from every side.

  We need to start looking at ourselves through God's eyes. We are wonderfully and beautifully created in the image of God. We don't have to perform to be accepted by God for He loves us just the way we are, warts and all! We are precious and honored in His sight! We are unique (that includes our funny noses, rough hair or chubby legs). The coolest thing about God is that He does not judge us based on our outer appearance but instead is concerned about the matters of the heart. A truly beautiful person is more than skin deep because beauty is from the inside out. You may have the latest fashion, the trendiest hair or the most "happening" lingo but if you are terrible on the inside, chances are that you have missed the mark all together. Remember the most beautiful people on earth are those who have made a difference in society with the power of God and will always be remembered for years to come. Fashion will come and go, but character will always remain.

So yeah, you are unique and wonderful the way you are (It's a fact, whether you believe it or not). So never try to be someone else in order to fit in. God loves you, believes in you and has a bright future in store for you (Jeremiah 29:11). While it's fun to have a makeover every now and then, try working on developing your inner character. God has given us His Holy Spirit to help us do, just that! May Christ be our "model" and may we become more and more like Him with each and every passing day. Trust me....it's worth all the effort! It's okay to be cool, fashionable and smart but never ever let it rule your life where you soon find yourself pressured to perform! I leave you to ponder on some of the lyrics of the popular song, "Dare You to Move" by Switchfoot (which by the way is my favorite band).

 "I dare you to move, I dare you to lift yourself up off the floor, I dare you to move, like today never happened before. The tension is here, between who you are and who you could be. Between how it is and how it should be. Where can you run to escape from yourself? Salvation is here! I dare you to move!"

 I dare you to move against the current! No one can ever be you....so be challenged to be all that God has created you to be! Go ahead! Break free from the chains of the pressure to perform...Be yourself and make a difference for God!

My Valedictorian Speech (March 2012)

It was a particularly stressful day. I was running between classes and the library, and had one meeting lined up after another. As I walked by the patch of roses that grow near Lydia Hall, the colours caught my eye and I found myself stopping to admire them. There were a variety of roses, each a different size, shape and colour. There were radiant whites, vibrant yellows, soft pinks, deep maroons and even speckled roses. Some were bigger and more attractive, while others rather plain.  However, when viewed together they were a sight to behold.  Their prettiness rejuvenated me and I finally found my stress buster—the rose garden of SAIACS. Whenever I stopped and smelled the roses, it always brought a smile on my face.

But my joy was soon cut short. The lovely roses vanished overnight and all that was left were thorny ugly looking stumps. I had heard about pruning and its many benefits but I was sure that the gardener had definitely overdone the pruning. The stumps looked bald and bare and I was afraid that he had killed them. I wondered if those roses would ever bloom again. All I could do was to wait and see. During the long wait, the gardener patiently fertilized and watered the rose bushes. Days passed, busy-ness set in and I soon forgot about them, until one day, I saw a little rose bud emerging tentatively from its stem. The roses were living again!

My dear Principal, Trustees, Faculty members, staff, family, friends, students and my fellow-graduates, life at SAIACS for each one of us as been pretty much like those rose bushes. We all co-exist together in God’s garden and make up one beautiful, egalitarian and caring community. But sometimes, even though we are blossoming together, we often feel lonely and forgotten. We battle with critical thinking, try our best to avoid the crime of plagiarism and struggle to fit our assignment within the allotted word count. Between following the student handbook and making sure we don’t stumble onto the lawn on weekdays, somehow- loneliness sets in.

And to add to our dilemma, some on campus seem to bloom bigger and brighter than the rest of us. They have got it all together—the grades, enviable communication skills, amazing talents, a great marriage, well behaved kids and a successful spiritual life. All that, while some of us still struggle to get our footnotes right.  Some of us slave away in the library from sunrise to sunset while others write a research paper in two hours flat. Life does not seem fair.

And if that’s not enough, God proceeds to take out his pruning shears. Just as we begin to get a grip on life, we receive a phone call from home with bad news, sickness plagues us, a loved one passes away, our laptops crash the night before submission, our thesis writing seems to go nowhere, friends vanish and academic pressure crushes us. We rush to pray but God appears silent. We find ourselves burned out, unappreciated and in a spiritual rut. We are like those bare, cut to the ground stumps—half dead.

But that’s not the end of our story. As we go through the long and often painful time of waiting on the Lord, we find that life at SAIACS isn’t that gloomy after all. Friday nights bring laughter and we find ourselves interacting with people we often don’t have time to get to know. Chapel week brings us together as cell groups and we discover and appreciate each other's creativity. Sports get us on the volleyball court and we discover talents we didn’t know existed. Evening strolls with friends, spending time with families on campus, cooking together on weekends, a smile generously shared and an encouraging prayer by a friend—these things refresh us. We begin to appreciate our differences and realize our uniqueness.

And then there’s our faculty who provide for the enrichment of mind and soul. We are watered daily by our chapel services and times of prayer. As we study God’s Word, we realize the privilege set before us and try our best to understand and interpret it correctly. We soon realize that we have grown spiritually, academically and relationally and find ourselves blooming once again.

My fellow graduates, we have been through the different seasons of pruning and growth together. We’ve had our share of tears and laughter. Though unique, each of us can sweeten the air around us with fragrance. A Hebrew proverb says, “As the gardener, such is the garden.” We serve a mighty God who will bring us to increased yield and full maturity as we step out from SAIACS in obedience to His leading.

Class of 2012: May we bloom wherever we are planted!