Jeremiah 29:13, The Message
“When you are serious about finding me, and want it more than anything else, I will
make sure you are not disappointed.”
Let me tell you a bit about how I got here(the love part) in the first place.
This is part one.
I go to a small Christian school. Every Tuesday and Thursday mornings we have chapel. There is always something to be entertained by, whether the speaker, musician, or twitter feed via #AUchapel. The brought India to my mind, was a day that several students and faculty talked about a missions trip to Calcutta, India. Of course I have heard of India before and had seen one or two Bollywood movies (however, just as all the movies made about the US are not a true reflection of our country, I can’t bring myself to believe that these are a true reflection
of theirs either). But this was the first time I had heard about India in a way that moved me I had heard about the utter destitution of the slums. I had seen the tears roll down the cheek of a man who had held a boy who had very little hope and even less of any idea of normalcy. Something inside me changed that day, and I know that this is a generic thing to say but I literally cannot
think of any other way to say it. Something in my heart, perhaps a part I had given up on, or more likely an area that I had been scared to love with before became awakened. India started to inhabit my thoughts more and more. I cannot tell you how many books I have read, how many articles I have skimmed, how many people I have talked to about this country that I can hopefully one day call home.
I go to a small Christian school. Every Tuesday and Thursday mornings we have chapel. There is always something to be entertained by, whether the speaker, musician, or twitter feed via #AUchapel. The brought India to my mind, was a day that several students and faculty talked about a missions trip to Calcutta, India. Of course I have heard of India before and had seen one or two Bollywood movies (however, just as all the movies made about the US are not a true reflection of our country, I can’t bring myself to believe that these are a true reflection
of theirs either). But this was the first time I had heard about India in a way that moved me I had heard about the utter destitution of the slums. I had seen the tears roll down the cheek of a man who had held a boy who had very little hope and even less of any idea of normalcy. Something inside me changed that day, and I know that this is a generic thing to say but I literally cannot
think of any other way to say it. Something in my heart, perhaps a part I had given up on, or more likely an area that I had been scared to love with before became awakened. India started to inhabit my thoughts more and more. I cannot tell you how many books I have read, how many articles I have skimmed, how many people I have talked to about this country that I can hopefully one day call home.
Injustice is happening all over the world, that I know for sure, but as I started to study the injustices in India, my heart became so heavy that at certain moments it became hard to breathe. I read a beautiful book by Naomi Zacharias called The Scent of Water about many
of her experiences traveling, several of which were about my beloved country. She described it as a country that was filled with the most beauty you could ever imagine, and the most heartbreak.
I had decided from that day in chapel that India was something I wanted, no, NEEDED to pursue. There is a little voice inside my head that sometimes pops up when I hear people say “God put it on my heart”. It is a questioning voice, an often cynical voice that asks “did God really put that there or did you just want it so badly, you changed your voice to His?” Until this point over a year ago, I don’t know if I could have ever said that God put something on my heart. But he did with India. Not only was it on my heart, but on my mind, my journal, my prayers, my pleas, my lips, and the ears of practically every person I came into contact with. Through a few letdowns, the misunderstanding of many, and the overwhelming promise of the One, I received hope And eventually, I received a dream come true.
of her experiences traveling, several of which were about my beloved country. She described it as a country that was filled with the most beauty you could ever imagine, and the most heartbreak.
I had decided from that day in chapel that India was something I wanted, no, NEEDED to pursue. There is a little voice inside my head that sometimes pops up when I hear people say “God put it on my heart”. It is a questioning voice, an often cynical voice that asks “did God really put that there or did you just want it so badly, you changed your voice to His?” Until this point over a year ago, I don’t know if I could have ever said that God put something on my heart. But he did with India. Not only was it on my heart, but on my mind, my journal, my prayers, my pleas, my lips, and the ears of practically every person I came into contact with. Through a few letdowns, the misunderstanding of many, and the overwhelming promise of the One, I received hope And eventually, I received a dream come true.
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