Blog
Articles, essays, and devotions.
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Faith on the Move
Not knowing all the details about my future made me nervous. The future was elusive, and it made me feel out of control.
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Raising Up Godly Children
As a new parent, I was overwhelmed when I read this passage from the Bible: Deuteronomy 11:18-20 (ESV): “You shall therefore lay up these words of mine in your heart and in your soul, and you shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall teach them to your children, talking of them when you are sitting in your house, and when you are walking by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.” I was overwhelmed because I felt the Bible expected more…
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Going Back Home – Part Three – Mixed Feelings
“Did you go home this summer?” asked a friend who was meeting me after a long time. It took me a few moments to catch up with her train of thought. Of course, she meant India! I told her I had had a great time with family and that I was glad to be back home, in America. Home. To many immigrants, home is more than just a physical house with four walls, it is a representation of all that is familiar and personal. Visiting home means making a trip to our former homeland. Home, to many of us, means a familiar country, culture, people, streets, smells, sights, sounds, and…
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Lament at the Border Wall
This article was written in response to what I witnessed and experienced at the San Diego-Tijuana border. The peacemaking trip was organized by The Global Immersion Project during the weekend of October 5-7, 2018. Dear God… You say that You hold the world in Your hands You say that You are King of kings and Lord of lords You say that I should come to you With my prayers and praise But I come to You now with an offering of anguish, anxiety, anger I come to You with questions, with lament beyond words And praise is hard in the midst of this turmoil inside Why have You…
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Going Back Home – Part Two – Being an Ambassador
I never knew I was an ambassador. Nobody told me that that was a huge part of an immigrant’s life. A few years ago, an Indian immigrant was in the news for shooting his professor and then killing himself. As much as I was saddened and shocked by the incident, I couldn’t also help thinking, “He makes us all (Indians) look bad. This is not who we are.” In a strange twist of events, it turned out that I knew the mother of the victim. We went to the same Bible study. I don’t know why but, after I paid my condolences, I apologized to her. I told her I…
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Going Back Home – Part One – At Home with Homesickness
I visited India about a month ago after having been away for a year and a half. I was pining for the smells and sights of Indian streets bustling with people, autorickshaws, and street vendors. I was craving for the noisy family chatter, with Indian Idol airing on TV in the background. I was longing for conversations with old friends, over chai and biscuits. I was homesick. In India, the monsoon did not disappoint. It quenched my thirst for home. I soaked myself in the spices of my mother’s kitchen and in the pollution of Uber-infested streets. I was drenched in languages that rained familiar words on me. I was…
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Ask or not to ask?
“What happened to your cheek?” I asked casually and instinctively. My friend appeared to be surprised at my question but recovered quickly. “It’s an allergic reaction to something I ate. It was so bad that I had to cover it up” she replied. I stared at the band-aid on her cheek, genuinely concerned for her. Not long ago, I had an ugly allergic reaction too. Like my friend, hiding indoors was not an option. So I ventured out with a band-aid on the bridge of my nose, embarrassed and afraid of attracting attention towards my problem. But nobody asked me any questions. None at all. When friends or strangers spoke…
