Jehovah Jireh: The Lord who provides

When you go to church, usually you hear a lot of testimonies and most times you wonder whether something like that would ever happen in your life. The thing is God does so many miraculous things in our lives that we sometimes don’t even realize it. But when that realization hits you, only then you see what a faithful God we serve. Today something similar happened to me. I joined an IIT for my Masters course with great expectations but I found the experience to be a little underwhelming. You have to run around a lot to get permission to use any facility even in your own department and getting permissions to use other department's facility is a nightmare. Anyway so yesterday after a lot of mails and waiting in the respective profs cabin for the permission for a particular facility, I finally got my tests done. Once I got the results I realized I made a big mistake in the sampling and hence my results were not usable at all. My heart literally sank because I knew there was no way to rectify this blunder of mine. I was not in a position to go ask for permission again because I knew if I try I would definitely be kicked out. So here I was completely distraught and somehow God reminded me that a month before I had made a booking to use this particular facility in some other lab but never got a slot for the same. But again I felt that there is no way I will get a slot today itself. Even if I go I would probably be humiliated or turned down. So I was very much hesitant to even ask.

I asked God for direction and the Lord showed me Philippians 2:16 and I felt that the Lord is telling me that I will not labor in vain. Believing in the word that God just spoke to me I went to that lab all the way praying for His guidance and His spirit to take over. And Lord answered my prayers. The person who was operating that instrument didn’t turn me down but helped me out immediately and performed the test for me which is completely unexpected, going by the way things usually go here. I literally told the guy there that I didn’t think you will help me.

 Just thinking about it now I realize that not only did God help me out in convincing the person in-charge to do the test for me but also that He knew one month before that I would need this test done today. Because to use any equipment in that lab we have to do online booking, get a form, get it signed from guide and submit there. I couldn’t do the whole process today because my guide is not here right now so there wasn’t any way I could get her sign. But the Lord’s planning is impeccable because a month back itself He made provisions for my work that I had to do today. With the form that I had got signed from my guide a month back I could use the instrument.

It is such a motivation to know that we serve a God that is so good and faithful. He makes a way for us when we don’t even think it exists. This was a big reminder for me that whatever happens my God is in control. Many a times, we feel discouraged when things don’t seem to be happening and everything keeps falling apart but during those times we must believe that our God knows better. He can see the full picture and knows that these tests and failures are necessary for the greater good. He shapes and moulds us so that we can become better versions of ourselves. I hope this comes as an encouragement to anyone who is feeling demotivated or burdened with the struggles of life. The lord will not let our labor be in vain.

My thoughts on Women's day

So yesterday we celebrated women’s day. Well it is nice you know to have a day dedicated for yourself. Last year when I was working we celebrated women’s day at our office too. We got to wear casual dress and all our PCs had a happy women’s day screensaver. Well what more could we have asked! I mean a screen saver! And to top it off we get to wear something other than uniform! I mean what more could a woman possibly want with her life. Am I right?

Now I just saw a video about how this women’s day we women should get to flaunt it if we have it. By “it” I mean our cleavage. Somehow it made me feel a little confused. When did women’s day become about the freedom to flaunt our assets? I always thought that it was a day to celebrate women and the fact that we too are people who are allowed to have dreams, aspirations, to have the right to be born! I understand what the video wanted to convey, don’t take it the wrong way. I totally agree that it is OUR body and it is OUR choice to do whatever we want to do with it and when we do so we should not have to worry about prying eyes or predators lurking around in the corner. I totally get it. My concern is that this isn’t what it’s only about!  It is a celebration for equality. We have come a long way from the first women’s day celebration but there are still issues that we women face every single day which are far more important than the freedom to flaunt our breasts. And this day is supposed to be about that. One thing that I did like about the celebration in my office was that they themed it around pledge for parity. Now that makes sense because even today there are opportunities we women don’t get just because we are considered the “weaker” gender.

Now you would have my support if you start a campaign for equal job opportunities, or education because believe me there still are households where a boy is given preference over the girls for a good education. But if you make it about how I should be able to wear revealing clothes then I guess you missed the whole point of celebrating women’s day. Like if given a choice what would you want the right to walk around with a deep cut blouse without anyone batting an eye or the right to have education or may be the right to vote, or no gender discrimination, the right to decide whom you wanna marry, the right to be recognized for the efforts we put in every single day at our work place, in our house. This list can go on. I think it’s more about letting women know that we as individuals have a say in our lives that we can be whatever we want to be. Let’s not make it as trivial as the freedom to wear a plunging neckline.