Happy New Year. It is a time to transform oneself and to encounter life anew.
I want to start my new year’s editorial with this testimony written by a doctor who worked in Africa. It speaks to my heart.
Isaiah 65:24: – “Before they call, I will answer.”
One night I had worked hard to help a mother in the labour ward; but in spite of doing all that we could do, she died, leaving us with a tiny, premature baby and a crying two-year-old daughter. We would have difficulty keeping the baby alive; as we had no incubator (we had no electricity to run an incubator). We also had no special feeding facilities. Nights were often chilly with treacherous drafts. The nurse went to stoke up the fire and fill a hot water bottle. She came back shortly in distress to tell me that in filling the bottle, it had burst (rubber perishes easily in tropical climates). “And it is our last hot water bottle!” she exclaimed. “All right,” I said, “put the baby as near the fire as you safely can, and sleep between the baby and the door to keep it free from drafts. Your job is to keep the baby warm.” The following noon, as I did most days, I went to have prayers with any of the orphanage children who chose to gather with me. During prayer time, one ten -year-old girl, Ruth, prayed with the usual blunt conciseness of our African children. “Please, God” she prayed, “Send us a hot water bottle today. It’ll be no good tomorrow, God, as the baby will be dead, so please send it this afternoon.” “And while You are about it, would You please send a dolly for the little girl so she’ll know You really love her?”
As often with children’s prayers, I was put on the spot. Could I honestly say “Amen?” I just did not believe that God could do this. Halfway through the afternoon, while I was teaching in the nurses’ training school, a message was sent that there was a car at my front door. By the time I reached home, the car had gone, but there on the verandah was a large 22-pound parcel. I felt tears pricking my eyes. I could not open the parcel alone, so I sent for the orphanage children. Together we pulled off the string, carefully undoing each knot. There were brightly-coloured, knitted jerseys, knitted bandages for the leprosy patients, raisins and other dry fruits.
Then, as I put my hand in again, I felt the…..could it really be?
I grasped it and pulled it out. Yes, a brand new, rubber hot water bottle. I cried. I had not asked God to send it; I had not truly believed that He could.
Ruth was in the front row of the children. She rushed forward, crying out, “If God has sent the bottle, He must have sent the dolly, too!”
Rummaging down to the bottom of the box, she pulled out the small, beautifully-dressed dolly. Her eyes shone! She had never doubted it! Looking up at me, she asked, “Can I go over with you and give this dolly to that little girl, so she’ll know that Jesus really loves her?”
True transformation begins only when we have the simple faith of a child. That’s why Jesus said, ‘become like children.’ Such child like faith begins with a spontaneous encounter of the divine, in you, around you and in others. Life I believe is a series of encounters which happen only when I trust and trust is essential to any relationship. The divine exists only in relation and another name for relationships today is network. After all, this true story of childlike trust from Africa was available to me only because of the social media network. Social networking is not bad or good, it is the way I use it that makes it either. This issue of Magnet with Social Media – To Transform & Encounter as its cover story contains numerous live examples of encounter – encounter with God, encounter with human pain, encounter with goodness embodied as human. May you experience life in all its colour and authenticity as you read through the pages of this issue of Magnet. Wishing you a bright and Joy filled 2023.
I am happy to introduce our new writer for our psychology column Fr Dr. Joseph Jeyaraj Swaminathan, SDB. He trained as a Person-Centred Therapist (PCT) at Salford University, Manchester, UK and has been practising PCT, family counselling, youth and trauma counselling. He is the founder of Niraivagam – the Don Bosco Institute of Psychological Services, which is at Chennai, and is presently its director. Fr Joseph Jeyaraj is an experienced writer, visionary and exemplary thinker as you will see already in his first article in this issue of Magnet. It is indeed our privilege to have him as a regular columnist.
Pushpa Joseph
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