Moanaro Imchen
Mokokchung
Our life, as interesting or mundane as it can be, should be appreciated simply because we are living on borrowed time. Our life is but a mould of mud created by our Lord and the very breathe we breathe during our short life on this beautiful world is also the breathe of God. As such, as humans, we do dream big and in that process, very sadly, we forget the small things in life. Small things which do matter because if we think of the building blocks of life, starting from an atom to the grandeur of the whole universe, the whole universe- from the stars to the planets, the black holes and the super novae- comes down to the quintillions of atoms. Therefore, when it comes to human emotions- be it joy, sadness, anger, love, depression or the like- it starts small because we are just a part of the grand designs of the Almighty God.
I remember a warm beautiful evening as I was walking home from the office. I have to walk daily from my home to my Church, where I am engaged as a fulltime Church worker in Christian Education Ministry. I enjoy my daily walks because I know it’s good for my health and while traversing daily I get to meet different people and interact with them.
So that beautiful evening, this old woman, she must be in her seventies, she headed home with some heavy bags in her hands. She lived in another colony but I do get to see her, though we don’t exchange greetings often, during the morning and evening hours while I walk to and fro from my Church.
She was carrying some bags full of groceries- tomatoes, fish, Potatoes, Chillies and those vegetables that will be needed for preparing a nice Naga style dish.
“Otsü, let me help you this bag,” I requested (Otsü is Ao for grandmother).
She looked at me. Her face betrayed a sense of surprise. She was hesitant.
“I am going this way too, and this load looks too heavy.” I asked again. Her suspicious face somehow softened and asked me, “Who is your father?” I think this is a universal question being asked by all, especially the seniors, when they meet a new person.
I told her my fathers’ name and she handed me the bag containing the groceries. It was quite heavy. Perhaps, she was stocking up her provisions because there were rumours that time the situation would not be good especially with regard to the Indo-Naga political issue.
I did drop her till her house and placed the groceries in her clean kitchen. She thanked me and I was glad. It was a nice moment with that senior citizen. I am sure that my gesture of helping her carrying her package and small chatter along the route to her home lifted her spirits. It was I who felt the most blessed because that small feeling in my heart that need to help out, in any manner, filled my heart with a sense of self-worth as I left the gentle woman and headed home.
I am narrating this because people, like you and me, are by nature good at heart. Oft times, we do forget the little things in life and we don’t know or realize that we can be a blessing to others and the others can be a blessing in our lives too.
Our life is too complicated today. There is a tug of war between intellect and moral, and so is between good and bad. Thankfully, and by God’s grace, we have been given the direction to be Holy and to derive the everyday joys through the living Word of God.
Our actions speak volumes about how we truly feel, how much we truly feel, how much we care and how strong our faith is. If we care, we cannot help but show it in everything we do and say. If we do not care, we cannot help but show that as well. This is equally true about our faith. Demonstrating our faith by moving from inaction to right actions, letting Jesus transform our lives, valuing and protecting human life, respecting and helping people, overcoming our prejudices and resisting prejudices where we find them, and focusing more on contentment instead of coveting and sharing more than stockpiling are some practical implications for each believer, we learn everyday from Jesus’ teachings and His life.
In James 1:22-25, James stresses the vital connectivity between hearing and living. He maintains that listening to God’s word is insufficient. A believer who hears the word and does not act accordingly on the admonitions it contains, is merely engaged in self-deception. Hence, true faith is also demonstrated by meeting others’ needs. The things we do and say whether small or big, demonstrate how deep our faith is or conversely is not. God sees us and notes these things. The old adage: “Actions speak louder than words” is very apropos. Every individual has the potential to do good deeds in the works of God’s kingdom. Be one in a million to impact a million through your actions. Be a guiding star for many through your living testimony. Let Christ help you in transforming your life. Let Him help you to bring hope and strength through you to the people in need; do little act of kindness and be a blessing in your daily walks of life.
(Moanaro Imchen is an author, motivational speaker and resource person for Children Ministry. She is presently working as the Children Pastor at Kumlong Baptist Church, Mokokchung)
