Salome's Scribblin' book

  This is an account of the trip to Torna Fort, 1408 meters high on 2nd September 2012. The difficulty level of trekking is medium.   We, a group of six girls, started out early for the much-awaited trek trip. The previous night had been a busy one for us- preparing food and packing, buying tuck, and choosing the right outfit for the trip. We reached the pick-up point, Fergusson College, where the rest of the trek group would join us. A bus had been arranged to a village, Velha, at the foot of the hill we had to climb. For the first time, I was away from the busy roads of the city of Pune and enjoyed the view of the beauty that surrounded us. We dropped by a small eatery where good chai and poha were served. The agency that organized the trek was TrekDi, which had a group of folks who were all for an adventure of all kinds. During ice breaking, I realized, of all the group members, we were the ones trekking for the first time ☺ . The climb began. The first half an hour I ...

  It was a usual day at work when a young lady inquired at our registration desk if she could meet the Obs/Gyn Consultant. It was well past the OPD timings (2:30 pm) and the staff explained that she could go to the Emergency Room if it was an emergency or meet the doctor the following day. As she insisted she wanted to consult the doctor, the staff inquired further, and she was quite reluctant. I was in the same room as the staff and the only woman in the room at that time when she called out to me and said, "Can I talk to you in private?" I went out to meet her. With a smile, she said, "I want to abort." She pointed out to her one-year-old son, held in his father's arms, and said, "Uski wajhe se hi mujhe karna hai (he is the reason I want to abort). While a sea of thoughts flooded my mind, I politely asked if she had bleeding, etc.—any complications that might need immediate intervention just to ensure whether her case was urgent (I am not a medico). ...

  Who doth the soul satisfy? Raging tempest in the heart still, The restless, troubled, broken ease. Nothing of this world does pacify The longings yet to fulfill The thirst that ne'er does cease. Only You, O Lord can satisfy, With Your peace our hearts still Our souls from their burdens release.

I have carried this baggage for too long. It's time I let go of it and walk free.  A Caring Aunty from church accompanied me and my hubby to a hospital to have me examined. The reason - It was two years past our marriage and the expected bundle of joy had not arrived. I am so grateful for the love she had for us. Like a mom, she took me to the doctor's office.I've heard stories from colleagues who went for treatment month after month.But what followed next was least expected. The lights went off as I lay on the table for the TVS.The doc began the exam with her magic wand and, I yelled in pain,"It's painful, it's painful."  Everyone in the room gave me a weird look. It was not supposed to be that way. The next time I complained of pain, I was told 'could be psychological'.By this time, I began having nightmares the day before my exam. It was like every time the doctor gets to work with the wand, I would shout rather yell in pain like someone abused....

Very often, after a Sunday service or a prayer fellowship we say / hear others say,"What an encouraging Word!", "Surely the Lord is in our midst". We grew up reciting our prayers- 'where two or three are gathered together in my Name, I am there.. '. Are you sure The Lord of hosts is there? I must admit there were times I doubted His presence when I prayed. Do we have the same church-like or fellowship like experience in the privacy of our homes, in our prayer closet? Are we aware of His presence every time we pray? Not everyone can stand before His holy place.There are prerequisites; as King David says,"He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to an idol..." (Psalm 24:4). Wouldn't our homes be heaven on earth if filled with God's presence, for there would be no room for the deeds of darkness when righteousness, peace and the joy of the Lord flows. David, having known the preciousness of God's presence, cr...

Allow me to ask a few questions before I go to my side of the story- What/whom do you believe in? Why do you believe what you believe? Is your God alive? If so, did you have an encounter with Him in this journey of life? If not, how do you say He exists. There is a sea of people out there who say 'God is a joke' or 'He's an invention of mankind'. Have you built a God based on your imagination or the theory which has been passed on to you by your family or some men of God? Our faith can't be based on someone else's.  It was not till I met a Jehovah Witness believer that I asked myself the reason why I believed, what I believed. She told me,"You can't pray to Jesus. He is not God. Jesus Himself asked you to pray to the Father(Jehovah) in the Lord's prayer." With the knowledge I had then, I couldn't convince or prove that Jesus is God. I used the references where Jesus tells 'I and the Father are one'. It made no sense to her. Late...