Till We Meet On That Beautiful Shore

Last week, on the 18th of January, I was returning home after the Womens' fellowship at Church when I received a text message that read 'Uncle Ashish Joseph from Lucknow was hit by a car yesterday and is serious in hospital. Please pray for him.' Uncle Ashish and his family were our neighbours during our 5 year stay in Lucknow. Not a day went by without wishing them a 'Good Morning' or 'Good Evening'. Their family was the first we'd reach out to for anything from emergency to whereabouts of a nearby store or electrician or caterer. I thought I'd get home and pray for uncle.

After supper, I turned on my mobile to check messages and updates and this time I was shocked as I read the following- 'Sad to inform you about the demise of Uncle Ashish'. Uncle had gone to be with the Lord even before I went on my knees. I was teary-eyed and all I could say at that moment was, 'Why God?' It was hard to take in.

 I was reminded of Uncle's wonderful family- Aunt Anjana, Daadi(grandma), son Cheenu and daughter Alma(Chinky). We, as a family loved their family and especially their little daughter Alma. She loved my sister Tephi very much and cried a lot when we moved from Lucknow. More than the others I was pondering over Alma. I had met her a couple of times when I came home during holidays. She was sweet, smart, intelligent, thoughtful and eloquent. More than cuteness, for a kid her age, she was polite and her words were filled with grace and wisdom! Trust me I haven't come across a kid like her. Chinky would come home then and ask my Mom, 'Kya me kuch kar sakti hu?' (Is there anything I can do for you?) Mom would give her small tasks like arranging the books on the table etc. When offered snacks or cookies, she would ask,'Can I have this?' Strange it was hearing those words come out of a little girl's mouth. She even gifted me a hand-made greeting card for my wedding which I have kept in the show-case at home. She loved the Lord dearly and wrote songs about Jesus and set her own tune to it. I was saddened by the sudden death and wondered 'Why did it please the Lord to take Alma's dad away from her when she was this young?' I could only pray for the family's comfort.

Hand made greeting

Card

My parents and sister began their journey to Lucknow from Ajmer very next day. I was anxious to know how the bereaved family was doing. Mom rang up and narrated a few things after spending some time with Alma's family which touched my heart. Here is what had happened- Little Alma did not shed a tear drop when her dad's coffin was brought home.Wasn't she sad or broken at the loss? She told her family, 'Jesus can bring Daddy to life just as he brought back Lazarus from the grave after four days'. Hearing this I was astonished. That Sunday I had shared the story of Lazarus to the Sunday School children. Oh My! The faith of this little girl now 8 years old amazed me. After the funeral service, the coffin was lowered to the ground and covered with sand, Alma looked sad. May be she understood Jesus had taken Daddy to be with Him in heaven. Later a memorial service was arranged to 'Celebrate the life of Uncle Ashish'. My Mom mentioned Alma wanted to sing a song at her dad's memorial service. 'Why are these people crying? Dad has gone to be with Jesus after all', said Alma. I was filled with joy to know how the family was sailing through this difficult phase.

What a blessed assurance we have in Jesus! And the Hope of Resurrection is probably the greatest hope.