Ever Hopeful!

Some years ago, at the peak of summer, I took my then 86 year-old father to hospital as his health had been deteriorating. I was hopeful that his condition would improve and that he would get better and stronger, but God had other plans. He did not come out of the hospital alive.  

My father had two close friends—let me call them Uncle La and Uncle Ja—who were more or less his age. The trio had been through their college days in the same city, having stayed in the same hostel then. Even decades later, when they would meet they would share memories of ‘the good old days’.

It has so happened that this year, Uncle La, who is now in his late 80s, has been quite unwell. In past years I have had some very fruitful opportunities of interacting with him in the context of writing work he was engaged in. In those days, although he was already quite elderly, he was rather ‘fit and fine’. But today, when I walked into his office, I saw his cabin shrouded in darkness, his laptop lying unused, and the visitors’ chairs empty. A sense of gloom descended on me. Uncle La’s physical condition is now really quite grim.  

Later in the day, I was fortunate to be able to visit Uncle La at his home, where he is being monitored medically and being taken care of. I found that he is not in a position to talk or even think, as he once used to. Yet, I could see on his face the will to accept the condition he was in and not give up.

This I consider a great virtue, and it is something I encountered in my father’s case, too. This quality, of dignifying acceptance of circumstances that one is put into and that one cannot change, may not come easily to many people. Take my own case, for instance: I panic sometimes in the face of even minor sort of situations, with my heart racing rapidly, be it putting a kitten into a basket to be vaccinated or passing by a hostile neighbour!  I feel as if my end is near! In such moments, how I forget to feel the presence of God Almighty, who, I must know, is taking care of me and is with me in every situation I encounter.

This brings me to make the point that faith in the Almighty and often remembering Him was something that was something intrinsic to my father’s way of life and is still the case with friends, Uncles La and Ja. They were punctual in their prayers, and in their conversations, they often referred to God. I suppose that the resilience and strength they had within to handle their life’s challenges came from their firm faith in the Almighty.

The trio also did not give up on life even as they grew really advanced in age. My father was particular about dressing well and neatly even towards the end of his earthly sojourn. The same was true of Uncle Ja, who would turn out in a smart suit even in the heat of summer. And, of course, Uncle La, being a well-known public figure, was very prim and proper when it came to his outfits.

After visiting Uncle La at his home earlier today, my spirits were uplifted as I recalled that precious thing called hope, the human will to live, the Will of God that works throughout, prayers that heal, and the importance of holding firmly the rope of God that can help us navigate life.