Tender LOVE

It’s been a while now and we have gotten used to the term girl power and with Beyonce’s-who rule the world, well you understand what I am trying to emphasize?

Women, girls all like to believe that they are the power? Women want to do everything that men do and in time supersede them. When men are men and women want to be the man, then that is a question?

A woman is the one who binds the family with her love and care. Now that is extreme power, if only a woman could ever understand that. A wife lovingly supports her husband. A mother watches over her children. But when a woman decides to be the man, it causes a disruption in the flow of life.

Mary a simple girl-a human being,

Mary’s Yes-Mary’s obedience to God made her, who was filled with grace, to receive the Son of God-Jesus in her womb,

Mary’s obedience to Joseph-her husband. 

Mary the mother of God, our Lord Jesus Christ, stood silently at the side of her crucified Son.

Mary’s silence in suffering. Mary’s simple life-simple ways… Mary, the perfect woman, the Queen of Heaven!

As human beings, we always have a 1000 reasons as to why something did not work out or how everything went wrong. We question God? We are never ready to be still, least of all wait on God. A simple girl, Mary, did not choose power. Mary chose to do the will of God. Power was given to Mary, the mother of God-Queen of Heaven!

The devils lure and bait. Once a woman sets her sight onto achieving, family will always be an obstacle. The craving will be to move higher. Failure as a family-is failure to love. In a Christian family it is a failure to impart the love of Christ. At the present time there is a meltdown of what it means to be a family.

This does not only include professional life but one gets to notice this in other sectors too. Take for instance the church going women. They can’t be left far behind. They leave all their home-work, including husband and children for their so called love of God. 
Marriage means commitment. Family means responsibility. Love of God means love of neighbour. That means, when all the work at home is completed, you can then proceed to help with Church acivities. When your heart is filled with the love of God, everything that is done will be in fulfilling all obligations. 

Some if not all, of the women who participate in most Church activities, are more in the Church and hardly at home. You will see them as lectors, Eucharistic ministers, cantors and what not. They will be in almost everything and someday they will pass this legacy to the daughter. Most of what I have seen. The chair is for keeps. They won’t let go.

Sometimes we read about incidents, in the newspaper that a man shot his family and himself. They looked so happy and so in love. And then everything went wrong. 
If you look at the snap, you would find it hard to believe that a loving family had such a tragic end. Snaps don’t tell anything, do they? Some people could come together and so wonderful in a snap. Snaps don’t tell of the violence, hatred and troubles that a family undergoes? I don’t believe in snaps. 
Look at the people who are getting married. They are being directed to dance to the cameraman. They will obey him, but the same they will find difficult with each other. Things are made to look picture perfect, but are they? In love and four years later it’s constant bickering. 
Don’t tell a story by a family portrait. The greatest love story has no snap. But the story lives on, in you and me! Do you understand?

There are so many temptations. The devil will use everything he has in his arsenal. He won’t stop. He started with Eve and now he has a whole army of women who want power and the freedom to express themselves. 

There is a kind of woman who is thirsty for power and wants everything she sets her eyes on. And she will get this one-way or the other.
The other kind of woman grew up with feelings of resentment, anger and bitterness. There is a lack of tenderness, there is a lack of understanding of what love is and what love can do and the need to sacrifice oneself for the greater need of our loved ones.

How often one hears the lines, ‘my life, my way’. And you have Frank Sinatra sing, I did it my way. That song must have been a chart buster and a number one for the longest weeks. Because everybody wants to do, whatever it is, their way.

We have, Dr. Alban and Bon Jovi singing ‘It’s my life’. Well who can argue with a music like theirs?

It is only when we submit ourselves completely to the will of God, then we will experience the Peace, the world can’t give and the world can’t take it away.

More and more of Jesus, I want more of Him. More and more of His great love, rich and full and free. I want more of Jesus, so I’ll give Him more of me. A hymn I remember singing. I am not too sure, if I got the words right.

When we are tried in life, some people tend to grow bitter.

It’s been sometime now. There were certain privileges given to my younger brothers, courtesy my parents who have been kind to them. I wont go into what it is. I am happy for them. But there is a lesson in everything if we are only willing to learn and at times to let go.

All I wanted was to watch those 30 little fingers and 30 little toes grow. I have never thought of my life ever. My only prayer for me, was when I was 9. I prayed for some years after that, then I stopped.

Can I be bitter? I was hurt. I have never had any kind of expectations or desired for things from anyone. But no matter how unfair things are in the world, it is different when it is ones parents. At least so I thought. And then God made me understand, John 3:16 ‘For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son’

Don’t get me wrong, my parents would not mind spending on me. But if there is a lesson for me to learn, their hearts had to be made tough. And everything is a lesson that we must learn, always asking for God’s help and His way to discern things. And always being submissive to His plans for this life, God has been so generous to give to me. It is not my life, but rather His gift to me. 

And I began to realize how really, truly naïve I was. Here I was crying that I am not loved and Abba Father, did not withhold from giving. He gave His best, His only Son to the world, to die for us, to redeem us from sin and to give us a promise of Eternal Life. And what a Gift it is.
God allows a situation in our lives. He allowed this trial for me. God allowed for my parents to have a heart of rock when it came to me. If I did not go through this pain, which was necessary I would never understand this important lesson. I have heard it been said but to trust and believe John 3:16 is far different from what we think.

I realized LOVE is the complete giving of oneself. You hold nothing back. And that is what Abba Father does, He held nothing back from you and me. He gave us Jesus, He gave us Himself in and through Jesus. And so that we are in perfect sync we are given the Spirit of God as our Counsellor.

Abba Father, gave me all. He held nothing back. And I, what am I? I will give my all. I will hold nothing back.
I spoke with my parents, told them everything I understood, I know they too understood everything I said. I was free!
God did not withhold His best. God freely gave with no conditions attached.
John 3:16 GOD LOVES US! 

When I learnt what God had for me, when I learnt what John 3:16 should mean to me, when I learnt to rely on God and not circumstances-God bought my mom to sit with me and explain. And my mom did more for me than I had ever expected. God always has our best.

The Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit-The Trinitarian God in perfect unity.

Jesus Mary Joseph-The Holy Family in perfect unity.

When we think we possess something, we forget the reality that even our very own life is not ours. We cannot live a second longer than the time allotted for our stay here on Earth. What do we control? Absolutely nothing. When I am nothing, I will learn the truth that LOVE with all its tenderness is the way to God.

We all have very good reason to be kind to one another and show compassion!

“Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamour and slander be put away from you, with all malice, and be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.” Ephesians 4:32

“love one another with brotherly affection; outdo one another in showing honor.” Romans 12:10

In the present world, how often do we come across people who are rude, hard hearted, mean, aggressive, arrogant to name a few. How often do we yearn for people who are soft-spoken, gentle and kind? Do we meet such people ever? I like to ponder.

You cannot become kind hearted if you are in the company of people who are bitter. You will miss your way if you keep watching violent movies or participate in groups with violent behaviour. If you keep listening to music that is aggressive or are in the company of people who are aggressive then, you will most likely follow it as the road to life. After all you become what you most likely listen to.

I love to watch the movies that depict kindness in people, I love to listen to that kind of talk. It soothes the heart.  

To be tender-hearted one has to be understanding and have a compassionate heart.

We are imperfect people. We have our ups and downs. We commit mistakes. But when we walk, in this road to life, we must try to be perfect, just like our Father in Heaven, Who is perfect. And when we realize our shortcomings, we must remember to have compassion on our brother or sister, who fall short.

“Tender,” in the Bible refers to the heart that we need to seek. A delicate person that is always gentle and kind to their friends and family.

We all want someone who will reach the very depths of our heart.
A sensitive heart-  
It is the affection that God shows us as a Father.
It is the spirit of giving that is cheerful.
It is always putting others ahead of oneself.

A righteous man knows the rights of the poor; a wicked man does not understand such knowledge. Proverbs 29:7

The way we look at helping the poor and our depth of generosity shows our hearts.

We are told, not to harden our heart.

We are told, not to hold on to what we have.

We are told, to give all that a person needs for whatever he lacks.

That person who needs help, could be someone within or outside the family. When you closed your heart to your neighbour, you closed your heart to God. That mercy I to others show, that mercy Lord show to me. When we fail to show mercy, we fail to be the face of God to the oppressed-to the person who needs us the most. That person could be a brother/sister, close relative, friend, total stranger (for all-NEIGHBOUR). When we fail to love our neighbours and we say we love God, WE LIE. We become hypocrites.

There will always be somebody we could help and therefore there are always opportunities to be tender, to be kind with brotherly love, in honour preferring one another.

I must humbly consider others more important than myself. It is grace-It is much more than talking about helping another; it is doing something.

A man should start with his wife, with whom he is often not tender. A woman should start with her husband, with whom she can be bitter and insensitive.

Bitterness is the death of tender-heartedness. We need to learn God’s compassion, loving kindnesses, and tender mercies.

We need to be like children. We are astonished by their innocence. From them, we need to learn to let go.

For you were called to freedom, brethren; only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love be servants of one another. For the whole law is fulfilled in one word, “You shall love your neighbour as yourself.” But if you bite and devour one another take heed that you are not consumed by one another. Galatians 5:13-15

At the end of the day, what is it that you look forward to? Do you like to speak and what kind of conversation do you like to have? It is so important for someone to listen as we speak and understand us and be gentle with their comments.

What is that you look forward to when you speak with a person? Is it the words? Is it the gentleness that makes them so wonderful to speak to-listen to?

Simplicity makes a person more true to what he speaks and his approach to others.

Humility at heart. That every person I come across is important to God and must be treated with utter and complete love.

Lead by example being tender hearted always and let love pave the path to a loving tomorrow.

Please continue to read…

Tender LOVE 2