As it goes, being born and brought up in an Indian middle class family, I was raised with the idea of “jugaad”.. it is a Hindi word which can only be relatable to every Indian out there who adjusts with what life has given them. We ration out everything so as to get the entire value for money, whether it is using the same car for a decade (it gave awesome service) or saving the plastic containers of take outs for using to store spices (environment friendly too). I learnt to save electricity and water as a kid by not wasting either when not using and even used my old notebooks or envelopes for making decor or shopping lists, shoes were bought from a local store and then strengthened by the cobblers stitching to last longer, we siblings split up a bottle of coke and drank only when we had a reason, using the toothpaste till the tube was flat as a stick, so and so forth!!
I learnt to make use of what I had around and never waste, be it food or any resource available. While as a teenager I felt the pinch harder when I could not afford the fancy stuffy friends had, I convinced myself that I was way to ugly to fit into those outfits anyway. While I earned my stipend as an intern at medical college, I finally felt the happiness of shopping stuff and not being guilty about the price. I still rationed my money and spent wisely until I was a resident and had no time to spend any of my earnings except on food and some online shopping. While I saved every penny I had to buy myself my car, I still was accounting for every amount I over spent and would always make a mental note of how much more can I save and ration out my savings on stuff I didnt really need.Well that is just how we humans think! We act miserly about our money or our virtues and instead of them multiplying , it just ends badly with us being sour and unhappy.
He does not ration his gift of the Spirit.
No he does not. He showers His love and wisdom on the faithful so abundantly that we fail to keep up. While I am constantly being reminded of the hand of God through every little act everyday, I realise maybe I am noticing and opening my eyes to the gifts of the spirit now as I have a better understanding of them.
the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey him.
While I came across this sentence while doing the 28 day Acts of apostles reading with my group of catholics online, it did not resonate with me as much as it did today. As we try our best to obey the Lord, he does not give out his blessings in measures according to our obedience or sin, or adjusts with what we have and says ” oh since I gave you blessings last christmas, us that till next one ” No !!!!!
So let us stop being stingy in our behaviour to others and our prayer life and let our hearts open to the lord and be generous with our love to Him.
Prayer:
Help me Lord to open my heart to everyone who needs my presence and care. Help me to be generous like you with the Holy spirit and grant me the power to love more than judge.
AMEN
