When our regular maid had to go home on an emergency, in Sep 2017, the agency gave us a replacement. That is how we got acquainted with Gomathi Chechi (Chechi is the Malayalam word that we use to address an elder sister).
She was a small woman , about 65 years old, a little hard of hearing, a bit forgetful (a couple of times, she turned on the gas stove, but forgot to light that!), diabetic and not exactly a good cook. All together she would not qualify for the ‘Best Maid’ title by any stretch of imagination. She had no insurance coverage, job security or pension and did not have any special employable skill set as such, the typical things that, I tend to think, are necessary for peace of mind.
But she had an intense relationship with God which she nurtured diligently by reading the Bible regularly and spending much of her free time in prayer. Her love for God manifested itself as a cheerful disposition and an intense affection for all of us including our dogs and our little kitten. She had pet names for both our boys aged 14 and 20.
She left us when our regular maid was ready to come back. On the day she left, I overheard the prayer she prayed before leaving, as she had the habit of praying reasonably loudly. She thanked her Lord for the affection that my wife had for her and also petitioned the Lord to bless our family, especially our sons and did not forget to mention our little kitten also by name.
Gomathi Chechi’s approach to life and its challenges poses a question to my world view. Whenever I come across people in difficult situations I immediately think in terms of addressing that in terms of money, medical treatment or some other tangible thing. But looking at the scale of the problem (a short visit to an cancer ward or an inner city slum will give you an inkling of the scale of the problem), it is unlikely that we will ever be able to address all the issues in the world in that manner.
In addition to this, there are totally unanswerable things like accidents and suffering. Did she get it right? Is it rational to trust in Jesus Christ and be convinced, like Lady Julian of Norwich, that in the end ‘ All shall be well, All shall be well and All manner of things shall be well’?
Jesus Christ is easily the most dominant figure in all history .. opines H.G. Wells about Gomathi Chechi’s Lord. Jesus was born into a Jewish family when the Jews were under Roman rule. At that time, it was perfectly legitimate for a Roman soldier to stop a civilian on the road and demand him to carry his kit for a distance of one mile (Jesus told the Jews that, in such cases, they should be ready to go an extra mile!). When He started preaching He had surprisingly little to talk about the oppression or the general poverty as such. Joseph and Mary, his parents were poor (let us remember that they could offer only a pair of turtle doves for redeeming their first born child, which was a poor man’s alternative to the stand offering of a lamb). He spoke to the poor to trust in Him and do good based on that trust.
Are we fooling ourselves? Isn’t it better to be reasonably rich than to be poor? To have a government pension than trust that God will provide? Isn’t that what we consider to be a blessing? But Paul exhorts us to have the same attitude that Jesus had and also states that his desire is to die like his Master died.
The whole of the New Testament echoes this sentiment. That the kingdom values go beyond the prim and the proper. Jesus says that this is the treasure hid in the field for which a man will be ready to sell all his possessions. This insight is what made Moses despise the luxury of Egypt and choose to be with his suffering kinsmen.
This trust truly liberates, we observe. We find poor people ready to give generously for any good or share their house or meal with others. Jesus noted and admired this quality of a poor widow.
So the Lord Jesus beckons – to walk with Him, to trust Him and return good for evil, and blessing for cursing and be the salt of the earth. This is what Gomathi chechi has apparently found and this is the faith which conquers the world. I desire and pray for an abundant measure of this for all of us…….
My two bits 