- on my mum n dad's 25th weddin anniversary -

My brother from Chennai (India) and Myself from Brisbane (Australia) wrote this for the two people, after God, who created us :) .. Ma and Pa celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary on 21 nov, 2008 - minus Sam and I.....We couldnt make it for the celebration, but this is what we had to say to them and to all those that gathered!.. Read on! :)

a sharing from both of us- for both of them

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Good evening everyone,

A famous poet says, “LOVE GROWS DEARER AS WE AGE” and this we can see in the life of our parents. Married for 25 years now and still very much in love.

At this point we would like to quote 1^st Corinthians chapter 13, verse 13 which says, “Now abide faith, hope and love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.”

Today is a very special occasion for our family and is indeed a very special time for all of us.

We often think of couples who have given up on marriage, who are unwilling to endure through better or worse, sickness or health, poverty or wealth, not being able to compromise and finally ending up at the doors of the court, but Today, my brother and I, thank God Almighty for all the love he has showered upon our parents for the past so many years. Deep faith in God, lifelong commitment, loyalty and self denying love are the themes of their marriage. Mum and dad are a perfect example of God’s unfailing love and constant presence.

We believe it has taken immense trust and faith in each other to keep them together for 25 years. Living away from one another has not been easy. Dad has been the pillar of support and strength to mum, which combined with God’s grace and mercy, has kept them both going for so long. Hats off to our parents for standing by each other in times of trials and hardships.

Our family has been through times of happiness, times of sorrow, times of difficulty and times of achievement. We thank and praise God for putting us through tough times and making us realise that Christ is the Solid rock on which we stand. We are sure that today mum and dad are so full of praise to the Almighty God because it is he who brought them together 25 years ago, and it is He who has kept them together till today. We have an assurance from our heavenly father, that he will see them through all times in their lives. Even as four of us are in four different places, we believe God has a purpose for our family.

Field posting, night duties in the hospital and national conferences have not shaken this relationship that God has so graciously bound with love. Sam and I are reminded of the times when mummy took care of us while dad was posted to field area at Srinagar and she single handedly took care of us, never ever did she let us be sad or feel that dad wasn’t around to provide for our needs. Mummy worked so hard to keep us happy every single day. She did all that it took to ensure that the family was together all the time. At that age, little did we realise how much effort it took to bring both of us up without dad being around. Today, when both Sam and I are away, we cannot help but thank our parents for the guidance they have given us, for the wonderful way in which they have brought us up and for equipping us with the word of God while we were still young. We look back and realise all that they did for the both of us and at this moment we would like to thank mum and dad from the bottom of our hearts for being such fantastic parents to us, being our friend and our guide. There was never a day when they gave up on us or stopped believing in us. They have been encouraging, loving caring, comforting and understanding towards us and they prepared us to be strong courageous children. Whatever we are today is because of the upbringing and nurturing from our parents. Nothing can be forgotten or erased from our minds. Tears of joy fill our eyes on this special day when we cannot be physically present with mum and dad, however, we believe that we are united in spirit.

Mum and dad, here’s wishing you both a very happy 25^th anniversary. May the Lord bless you with many more and grant you your hearts’ desires. We thank you for all that you have done for the family and we look forward to seeing you both real soon. Love you both more than words can ever express. Have a great day. We miss you both and we can’t wait to be together once again.

We would also like to thank all our family and friends who have ceaselessly prayed for the four of us. Thank you ever so much. Please continue to uphold us in your prayers just as we pray for all of you.

Enjoy the fellowship

Love to everyone,

Sam & Rebecca

CHAT FRIENDS can change your world around :)- it has happened to me :D

we met 5 years ago!

we met online- in the cyber world! :)

thanks to the YM!

we've been in touch - 5 years and counting! and trust me when i say this- these guys are for the keeps! :D

being there for me, listening to me, making me smile, supporting me, and completing suiting the definition of a "friend" - this is what Zohaib and Shane are to me!

Much much more if i could put in here !

Endless phonecalls, nonstop crazy funny chats on any messenger , 1paisa local sms and 2 bucks std sms- i did not care :D i had to keep it going :D , its been fantastic ! :D

Life is sooo complete with these two adoreably adorable men in my life ! aha!

distance did make the heart fonder! - since this was all online- we did not meet for a long long time!

Zohaib and I bumped into each other at a food court, way back in 2004 ! the shy guy that he was; he spotted me and sent his friend to ask me if i was Rebecca !! and well, yes it was me! and it was him! :) the entire "online" relation began to get real :) its been the best so far ! :) .. [you can lean on me, my love will still remain!]

shane's an extreme case !! we've never met, but there' is not one day when I feel we've still not seen each other in person! :) the relationship has grown so beautifully-- distance which existed in the past, and that which still exists, doesnt seem so obvious now! :) However, im soooooooooo eagerly waiting for that one day when Shane and I will meet and sparks will fly, hahaa! :) well, not really, but yes! We're gonna meet :) Are we not, shane? oh, btw's we've planned to meet in SriLanka ! :P Ask him! He promised to take me there actually :D :P haha! - aww is he cute or what !! :D

once again, thanks to technology- I talk to them when i want to! :) i love to listen to Zo's chirpy "Heyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy" and Shane' s ever naughty "Hellewwwwwww" .. they really are the best people i've come across ! :) they're close to being perfect :) and there is absolutely nothing i would want to change about the two of them! :) lovely in their own ways - to the world they maybe be just other guys, but to me, they mean the world :)

And i know for a fact, that no matter what - we're always going to be friends :) you know, the friends for life thing? yep! pretty much that ! :)

zohaib and shane- you guys are my favourites! :) at the top spot in my life ! :) When i look back into the past, when i rem'mbr those days we met online .. i find it difficult to believe that we've come this far with an online relationship! or well, we're just too posh, aren't we :D :D - thanks guys for meaning so much to me! :) what would i do without you both? :P or in michael bolton's words - tell me how am i suppopsed to live without you ? :P

Hugss! Miss ya both heaps! :(

- and this is a tiny little thing i wanted to write for you both on my blog!- so it stays here *forever** - :)

As the year 2008 faded into the midnight sky.. the family said a prayer!

What do we do on New Year's Eve?

what is the first question someone asks you when you are entering into a new year ? Now doesn't the question sound familiar to you ? Yeah yeah, i know ! so who had Whiskey this time around ? err, whiskey with juice? is that even a combination? ha! im bad at this!

So, what did you do on New Year's Eve 31.12.2008, knowing what happened in your personal life? at work front ? in the country? Hmm ?? and you raised a toast for all that ?? for what happened in mumbai ? for the financial crisis spoiling the market ?

it is not wrong to drink, im not askin you to give it up! well, what were your reasons for raising a toast on new year's eve? [consider all that happened around you]

my family and i- prayed ! :)

We were 12 of us , at home on New Year's Eve! we had the drinks locked up! we had our party shoes in the cupboards! we prayed ! for the good and the bad, for sickness and good health, for financial stability or times of anxiety, for food and shelter, for clothing and protection ! the family members went through hospital admissions, health infections, job insecurities and all the bad things you can think of right now- but that did not stop us from THANKING God for being merciful unto each of us ! Today we are living and we ought to be thankful for the very breath of life we have within us.

My mother told me two things to pray for always-

1. the gift of life

2. committing into the lord's hands

and trust me.. its always always worked ! and it does for those who fear and trust in the Lord :)

New Year's Eve was just one of those nights, just one night, that gave us an opportunity to come back to the Lord with hearts full of gratitude! :)

What was your heart's cry that night ?

We, as a family, prayed ! and hence the sayin, a family that prays together, stays together! :) Doesnt that make you smile! it fills my heart with joy, knowing of the promise we have , as a family, in our God. ! :)

Think about it ! :)