Blessed Beyond Measure: Part 1- India

Arabian Sea

 This is the first time that I have had to break up one title into two part blog posts. Reason?! Too many blessings to put into one post. As I sat down to write this, the last part of Psalm 23:5 is what kept coming back to my mind "my cup overflows"(with Your blessings). The past few months have been a roller coaster ride for both Mr. Fernandes and me. We have experienced things that have not only strengthened our faith but have made us wiser as humans and love each other more deeply. My last post made it quite evident about leaving Bangalore to come back to my hometown of Cooch Behar and start preparing to become Mrs. Fernandes. Now as I sit back and think about how each and every event and situation had been linked to each other, and was just a part of God teaching us important lessons through all; it seems as if it was just a beautiful dream. Decision makings are never easy, and that is why it is so important to keep God at the center of every decision... or rather every thought I'd say. I am reminded of what King Solomon had written in this context in the book of Proverbs "In their hearts humans plan their course, but the LORD establishes their steps" (16:9). It is not easy to make decisions and even harder is to execute those decisions. But one can be assured of God's guidance if one knows that it is God's will that is guiding them.

It would make me appear super-human if I were to say every transition was smooth or accepting things are simple. But all I will say that the constant presence of God is what made every rough edge a lot more bearable. Knowing that He has certain expectations of us according to His scriptures encourages me (us) to take a step that I (we) would never take under normal circumstances. Mr. Fernandes and I have had our worries (in spite of the Scriptures telling us not to!!). But God has showed us, and still is showing us, that He has already taken care of everything. And thus, teaching us that becoming Mr. & Mrs. Fernandes- becoming a family for the glory of God isn't an overnight process, it is an everyday process. We have read a lot many books and listened to many sermons on the topic of marriage, but we can't learn anything unless we listen to God's voice. And the best way to do that is to spend more and more time with Him and His people. We might look for many forms of entertainment or hobbies to feel refreshed, but what the soul needs is regular doses of quality time with God. Both Mr. Fernandes and I might be too young to validate the point, but thankfully we have the company of older people, much older people from all around the world to testify to the fact that time spent with Him is time well spent.

Velsao Beach

From getting to have a beautiful little wedding to making trips literally across the country (and globe eventually) we could go on, just by God's grace and the prayers of His people. The power of prayer again and again showed us that "Our God is an awesome God". The persistent prayer of our parents, the unwearying prayer of the Lord's people was indeed the source of all strength and blessing. Getting married in the small city that I grew up in had always been my dream. Taking his wife around his home state of Goa was Mr. Fernandes' dream. And in God's divine ways, we got our dreams fulfilled. I have no reservation in admitting that had it not been for Mr. Fernandes I would have never seen how beautiful that small little state of Goa is- and not just think that it is how it has been portrayed in popular media!! No... Goa isn't all about the clanking of bottles and smoke of rolled up paper. May be one day, by God's grace I'll try to do my bit in breaking this myth about Goa, now that I am married to a Goan and have become a Goan my matrimony.

Some might think it is easy to love God when we have it all (because we need not put extra effort)... while some others might think coming close to God is for the times when we are all empty (and desperately need Him to fill us up). But truth be told one can forget God in either of the scenarios or choose to remember Him in highs as well as lows. As for me personally I feel it's better to pray as King Solomon prayed in Proverbs 30: 8-9

Remove far from me vanity and lies: give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with food convenient for me:

Lest I be full, and deny thee, and say, Who is the LORD? or lest I be poor, and steal, and take the name of my God in vain.