AUNT MARY

Ninety-One years of a memorable life on earth ended on the 16th of August 2012. Aunt Mary exited earth whilst still in her sleep. I thought i'd celebrate her life on my blog since she would surely be an inspiration to you just as she has been to me!

Aunt Mary was the oldest sister to my mother-in-law and lived in Byculla, Mumbai all her life. She lost her husband whilst the couple was still in their forties. Raising her three young daughters all by herself was a gargantuan task but her firm trust in Jesus carried her through that rough patch in her life. Later, losing her five year old grand daughter (in the pic above) to a strange fever, shattered her beyond measure. Another death followed, and that was of her beloved nephew Anthony, married, with three little girls! These earthquakes in her life never shook her from her strong relationship with Jesus.

Aunt Mary never grumbled nor murmured whilst going through her 'tests' of faith. She always had an encouraging word not just for family but for everyone in the block. Once all her daughters got married, she opted to stay alone in her little room in 'Stone Building'. Her daughters visited whenever they could but she always had the company of great neighbours, young and old.Her neighbours will miss hearing her booming voice responding to the Mass on television!

The last time we visited Aunt Mary as a family was last December. She loved to speak in Konkanni although she spoke fluent English. Although i met her very late in life, she had a special liking for me. Whenever i would visit her, she would hug me and kiss me incessantly! She loved to sing 'Mandde and Dulpods' and cooked excellent Goan food. She had the memory of an elephant! She would enquire about everyone in the family in Dubai and pray for their well being.Whenever i joked about she completing a century, she would pull my beard and say that her Jesus was going to take her soon.

She told me she was never lonely. She could see and hear Jesus very clearly. One thing she would keep saying to me all the time - "Jesus is all you'll ever need!"

Corrie Ten Boom said, “You may never know that Jesus is all you need until Jesus is all you have.” Jesus is not quite all we HAVE, and so we are reluctant to say that Jesus is all we NEED. The problem, dear friends, is not that we have too little, but that we have too much!