Early Goodbye

Sonia 's husband was coming tomorrow to fetch her home, but this afternoon we got a phone call from him saying he met with an accident on the campus of the Lucknow University where he works and received cuts on his chin. Thank God , it could have been worse. His colleagues helped him and brought him home where he is resting. He got some stitches on his chin.

Sonia and Abner are travelling back home by the early morning train tomorrow.. We are sending a helper to accompany them. They would have left on Sunday otherwise.

This alarming news disturbed us but we take refuge in Romans 8 ;28 - 'everything works according to God 's purpose ' Maybe God prevented something worse from happening. Avinash(Sonia 's husband) also thinks so. Please pray for his healing. His is a physically challenged man, but very strong in spirit.

Three and a half weeks flew by so fast. We had a good time together. Sonia was a great moral support. We will miss her. But she will come in the winter for a week or so.



I got a very encouraging devotional from Joni Earickson Tada which I want to share along with pictures of our winter roses.

THE ROSE
I am a rose of Sharon, a lily of the valleys.--Song of Songs 2:

Some people claim the rose is the crown jewel of the garden. It's one of my favorites,and I enjoy capturing its intricacies with paint and brush. For all these reasonsand more I was touched by a poem sent to me a couple of years. Written by a missionary,it's called

"The Rose.

"It's only a tiny rosebud --

a flower of God's design;

But I can't unfold the petals

with these clumsy hands of mine.

The secret of unfolding flowers

is not known to such as I --

The flower God opens so sweetly in my hands would fade and die.

If I cannot unfold a rosebud this flower of God's design,

Then how can I think I have wisdom to unfold this life of mine?

So I'll trust in Him for His leading each moment of every day,

And I'll look to Him for His guidance each step of the pilgrim way.

For the pathway that lies before me my Heavenly Father knows --

I'll trust Him to unfold the moments just as He unfolds the rose.

As the poem suggests, we can't grow the moments of our lives any more than we canpeel back the petals of a rose. As we look to God's leading each moment of the day,we can trust him to unfurl each hour just as he unfurls the rose. Little wonderthe Lord is called the Rose of Sharon. Like that glorious flower, we just can'tget enough of watching his glory unfold in our lives.Can you trust God to unfold a lovely plan for your life? Can people see Jesus moreclearly in you as you bloom? What changes do you need to make to be able to answer"yes" with confidence?
* * * * *
Sun and shower, bud to flower, a rose is like my heart --
I lay it bare, unfurl with care, each fragile fold, each part.Rose of Sharon, I take care in offering my praise --It's yours for pleasure, yours forever, a flower for your vase.

We can 't understand why God sends interuptions into our lives and our plans are upset but we can accept them as part of unfolding our lives.