'EXODUS' IS OUR OWN STORY

In the Old Testament, the chapter ‘Exodus’ is a very powerful and inspiring story. The legendary film-maker, Cecil B. DeMille, brilliantly told this story in his memorable film – ‘The Ten Commandments’.

For the uninitiated, ‘Exodus’ is the gut-wrenching story of Moses. Born as a Jew, left in a basket by his mother in river Nile in order to save the child from being slayed by the Pharaoh of Egypt, only to be picked by the princess and raised in the very palace, without Pharaoh realizing that the baby was a slave child –  Yes, it’s the story of Moses, who the Pharaoh loved more than his own son… How he helped the emperor build the magnificent city, through the blood, sweat and tears of the slaves – unaware of the truth, that the slaves were his own blood… Then, how, one day, God beckons Moses and hands him the mission of setting the Jews free from the shackles of Egyptian slavery, lead them back to their ‘Promised Land’… Oh! that dramatic, hair-raising story… which takes forty long years in the wilderness to unfold!

Only Moses knew about the God’s plan. Only he had been to the ‘mountain-top’ and ‘seen’ the ‘Promised Land’. This vision had instilled in him the strength to lead his folks through all the harrowing times in the wilderness. Ironically, he did not live long enough to reach the ‘Promised Land’…  And, he did not know about this plan of God!

In a way, ‘Exodus’ is our own story… The story of finding our ‘Promised Land’ through our own wilderness. I am awed by this story!

I had taught these two brothers – let me name them Moses and Aaron. Like all other young kids, these two, too, liked to enjoy life to the hilt, while their parents slogged extremely hard to keep their heads above the water. Then, one fine day, right in the middle of the academic year, I was surprised to learn that my two students and their parents were migrating to the US for good. Apparently, one of their close relatives, long settled in this land of gold, had succeeded in arranging this migration plan. The next thing I knew was that off they were to the US. The boys’ mother, a devout Christian - and a very sincere, hard-working and affectionate lady - communicated with me once they landed in the US. She explained to me about the frantic days they had to deal with just before migrating. She was, also, apologetic about the inconvenience they had caused me… There was a small unpaid fee of the boys. She was apologetic about it, too.

But, I had calmed her down saying that it was not at all an issue… I had wished them well.

Some six months passed by. Two days ago, in the afternoon, I saw this message from the woman…

“Hello Sir, are you upset with us? Hope you are keeping good health. If there is anything pending from my side, please feel free to say; because, we were so busy with our immigration, that we didn’t get time even to breathe then. Now we don’t know when we will ever visit India. I do want to tell you how indebted we are to all our friends, family, teachers and everyone who made it possible for us to get here. With everyone’s prayers, God has blessed us. Two days back, our two sons and I got our Green Cards. It was crucial as we were so worried, thinking… ‘Six months gone, what is our future here?’…  since we don’t have any money to come back and start all over again… Only God is with us.

Please forgive us if we have made any mistakes. It was unintentional. Thanks Sir.”

I replied:

“Hello ma’am…Please relax! If at all you, Sir and kids owe me anything, it’s a warm, loving hug… The rest is all meaningless. My love and best wishes to all of you. All will go well, ma’am. Time takes care of everything. Love.”

The woman wrote back:

“Nice to hear from you Sir. Yes, everything else is meaningless in this world. I was looking at the Green Card… The colour is green… The card has so much power, that people want it so much! When I look at it, it’s like any other card – Pan card or Aadhaar Card… Just a card. People are telling us, that it’s a miracle we got it easily… People wait for it for ten years or more. Yet, it’s just a simple but powerful card. But, again, all meaningless… Struggles are the same; but, it’s different part of the world. Miss my India.

We just don’t know, Sir, how or why we are here! Life is a mystery!”

I replied:

“The answer will unfold on its own, ma’am. Meanwhile, profusely say  ‘Thank you’… ‘Thank you’. Life is short!”

She wrote back:

“Yes Sir. When God moved, He just took us and planted us here, all suddenly. I am just taking one day at a time. Thanks Sir. Going to sleep now… 1.20 a.m. here. Grateful to you.”

I signed off:

“Goodnight, ma’am.”

The story of Moses shall always remain a great mystery to mankind… God’s plans are known only to Him. “When God moved, He just took us and planted us here,” the woman wrote to me, “We just don’t know, Sir, how or why we are here! Life is a mystery!”

None of us know – why and how we are here! None of us know what God’s plans for us are. But, we all are on a constant migration to our respective ‘Promised Lands’…

Yes ma’am. Life is a mysterious ‘Exodus’ through the wilderness. We were just destined to cross our paths… That’s all!”

GERALD D’CUNHA

Pic.: Desiring God