Angels in disguise..

“It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to put confidence in mortals .

It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to put confidence in princes “

Psalm 118:8

The psalmist seem to echo the thoughts of millions across the globe during these hard days ..

The first week of lockdown was tough ; I used to wake up every morning asking a question to myself , ” Is this a bad dream ? ” The heaviness of my heart only grew more when it would sink in that this was the new normal .. Added to that was the constant questions from my son . He wanted to know when this would all end .Now the lockdown has been extended for another 21 days .

I am quite surprised at the flexibility of his Autistic mind ! He seems to be quite content with this new reality. We are trying our hands at making desserts so that his cravings for ‘ something sweet ‘are somewhat satisfied. He is ,indeed my partner in crime in our dessert experiments!

We now have come up with a schedule for lock down days He loves to clean the house . And he does a thorough job of it ! It is definitely therapeutic as you see the results instantly. But what really cheers him are the video calls with his cousins . He enjoys his little interaction with them . He is keen to know if they are sticking to the protocol and staying safe ! This extends to his uncles ,aunts ,his teachers and friends .However ,we have the liberty(or shall I say right?) to call only our close relatives . They are more than happy to indulge him ; They appreciate his little attempts at sketching or baking with enthusiasm.

My son considers a lot of his former class mates as his friends . But his limited social skills have resulted in a one way friendship with his peers. It is saddening to see him concerned about the persons who , I am afraid do not think about him at all ..

But he counts my friends as his own too . My best friends. especially in the town we moved to , for the sake of his schooling, were very happy to have him around . Whenever I needed to go to a doctor , they took care of him . Sometimes they would invite him over when they made something that he loved to eat . I felt so secure in this new place . My husband joined us soon and by God’s grace was able to find a job even though it was recession times . The new job required him to take some official trips but it wasn’t stressful for me at all . God had already provided us a safety net of compassionate & loving friends !

Added to that were some of his dear teachers –It was really overwhelming to see how they had gone the extra mile to understand the curious working of his mind . His head teacher too had genuine concern about him ; I could visit the school anytime I wanted . She would patiently listen to my concerns and tried her best to address them . Sometimes it wasn’t easy for her . Not all teachers were gifted with an open mind ! She gave me invaluable advice about managing his adolescence too.

Life moved at a very slow pace at this new town – a quiet town with no traffic snarls. It didn’t have a mall when moved in . But green hills , emerald paddy fields and a shimmering river bordered this town . There were many hill stations within a hundred miles or so . A week end trip never looked so tempting!

Within a few months of relocating from our metropolitan city to this quiet town , I could confidently declare that it was indeed the plan of God ! And who has a better plan than Him who loves you the most ? My parents, who were truly worried about this major decision felt relieved too !

“Praise the Lord !

O give thanks to the Lord for he is good;

For his steadfast love endures forever ! ”

Psalm 106:1