Dawn Kuruvilla

Deep in every God-created human being, bearing the insignia of humanity in the image of God, there is a longing for life not to be meaningless. Not be trivial, frivolous, inconsequential. I read recently this quote from the crime novelist Agatha Christie (1896–1976): "I like living. I have sometimes been wildly, despairingly, acutely miserable, racked with sorrow, but through it all, I still know quite certainly, that just to be alive, is a grand thing." I think this is wonderfully true. To be a living human being is a grand thing. Haven’t you all had those rare and wonderful moments when you are standing by a window, or door, or anywhere, and suddenly, unbidden, and powerful comes the awakening: I am alive. I am alive. Not like a tree or rabbit, but like a human being. I am thinking, feeling, longing, regretting, and grieving. Alive. Made in the very image of God. And this is a grand thing. Robin Cavendish decided to live and that too not in some vegetative state, but in his own words-"truly". But the sad part is he chose to give up at the end. I wish he could have fought till the end and not be the master of his life but submit to the grand weaver who miraculously gave unbending resolve and unwavering persistence to his wife to be with him,even when he was hopeless to start with. We should not choose to die and take voluntary measures to accomplish that like pulling the plug was for Cavendish, simply because life proceeds from God and He only has the right to take it. Our souls are eternal anyway. Thats why C S Lewis said: “There are no ordinary people. You have never talked to a mere mortal. Nations, cultures, arts, civilizations - these are mortal, and their life is to ours as the life of a gnat. But it is immortals whom we joke with, work with, marry, snub and exploit - immortal horrors or everlasting splendors. This does not mean that we are to be perpetually solemn. We must play. But our merriment must be of that kind (and it is, in fact, the merriest kind) which exists between people who have, from the outset, taken each other seriously - no flippancy, no superiority, no presumption.” Beautiful story. Held my wife's arm throughout the movie. I would never be able to outgive her for her generosities and kindness towards me. Thank you God.