A Tribute

A cardinal once said "a mother is she who can take the place of all others but whose place no one else can take."

When I think back on how Amachie (my mother) influenced our lives I have to start from when she taught us how to eat, to her guidance on reading and studying the Bible. Over the years we have come to love her imagination, patience, and creativity in dealing with the everyday things of life.

When I think of the times she has had to get our house cleaned up after a battalion of kids had gone through it during the day, I can imagine that she could probably only keep her sanity by having her office more organized and in order. At home we strove not for perfection, but to learn to love and care for one another.

Amachie’s a good sense of humor when things go wrong, has helped all of us to cope with life’s ups and downs. Her ability to recount our pranks and laugh about them later has helped us to stay away from trouble and grow up much faster. Another of her ways to make us relax and enjoy the little aggravations of the day is to sing and at times clap our hands. Sometimes in our journey it is good to poke fun at our peculiarities, laugh at the depressing thoughts and tease out our trivialities.

Her strong personality and her accomplished career speak volumes about the number of young minds she was able to influence. The fact that both Thoman and Ansu followed after her in their careers speaks volumes to her ability to transfer her knowledge and skills to her children.

Although her career was second to her family, she was successful in both areas because of her determination to succeed both at home and at work. She opted for a field of medicine that allowed her to keep a 9-5 day so she could be around when we got back from play in the evening. As her children, we were able to observe first-hand that it is possible to successfully run a household with dual careers.

When she was called to serve as a lay reader at St. Johns church she was not afraid of what the traditionalists thought of such a role. She fought her way through the tangled issues of traditions and culture without flinching on an issue that was vital for the future of many women lay readers. She always affirmed the best in the cultural traditions.

She is always looking for refreshing ways to approach prayer. She has a spontaneous yearning in her heart to worship, admire, praise, and exalt God. She has an earnest desire to ask for nothing but to cherish her relationship with God, to focus on nothing but God’s love. She enjoys praying, reading, and reflecting on God’s word. She believes strongly in prayer and acting upon her beliefs.

Nature speaks to our senses without words. The glory of God is revealed to us through the works of His hands. The ears that are open can hear God speaking to us through the things in nature. Amachie loves nature. Picnics at college hill, Palamathi, Kailas, or Toad were an important part of our family life. She saw the greatness and goodness of God the creator in every bird that sings, over every hill, and under every rock. She enjoys a refreshing walk through the forest, or by the lake. Bird watching and planting trees and flowers are her hobbies. Simply lying on the terrace on hot summer nights enjoying the cool nightly breeze staring up at the starry skies above was another of our past times growing up.

Appacha’s commitment to CMC enabled her to channel all her passion and hope into an institution she had grown to love as a medical student. Convinced that in serving CMC she was serving the larger vision of Christ to serve the sick, poor, and needy, she was able to put her faith into action that didn’t come merely from her academic background but more from her love for Christ. There were many times when Appacha and Amachie could have made the decision to pursue careers that would have made them more comfortable and better off financially. Yet they stayed their course, they did not turn back on their love for God and CMC. When we let God open our hearts and minds we find that we can go a long way in accomplishing much both physically and spiritually.

It is hard to explain what it means to be a loving family. A loving family is one where a strong commitment to care for one another is an unwritten commandment. It is a call to sacrifice one’s self for the betterment of others. It is the unselfish act of putting the other first over one’s own needs. It is a love that is indestructible, patient, and forgiving. It is to believe in one’s children even when the world thinks otherwise, to continue to polish them and work with them until over time the rarest and brightest jewel starts to shine forth. It is to go beyond one’s heartbreaks and still love and care for one’s own even when all others have given up all hope. A parent’s love remains a mystery even today. We understand how much God loves us when we compare their love with God’s love for us. They constantly strove to make us not to just look at the things that are seen but also at those that are unseen.

Having children of our own has led us to see and understand the price they had to pay for the years they cared for us. Yes, today is a good time to say our thanks to Amachie for the pain she had to bear when we were born to the additional years of pain that she faced over the years. No matter how much older we have grown, Appacha and Amachie still wait, watch, and hope for signs of improvement in us, their children.

Their lives reflect the humility of not having striven after the vanities of this world. They lead simple yet happy lives with not just material things but also the spiritual. This is certainly the way to grow old, to live in a community filled with family and friends who love and care for you and you can care for.

Happy! Happy! Happy! Happy Birthday Amma!!