Wild Parrots
I love seeing wild parrots–they make me so happy.
This morning I was sitting out on my veranda reading my bible and praying, in the street below a carpet vendor lugging carpets through the street on a cart called out to the house wives to prepare for winter with a new carpet. The subji valla called out the vegetables he was selling–and my eyes wandered across the street to a tree that sometimes serves as a resting place for green parrots. Then just as I picked up my things to come inside I looked and there was a parrot hanging from a pipe on the wall of the house on the corner just next to that tree. I watched it for a few minutes and smiled. It felt like it was a little gift from God to see that bird today. I found out that these are Green Indian Lorikeets. You see them flying around in the ancient palaces of Delhi and Agra as if they are the incarnations of the Mughal princes. When I was looking for information on these birds I came across this fun blog by Neha Viswanathan. Check her thoughts on the birds: within/without. I like her thoughts, but I still would like to keep some birds in a beautiful bamboo cage on the veranda or terrace!
Why India? Is there something about India that you believe with deepen your relationship with God?
A guy I got to know at a friend’s wedding , a few months ago in Portland, asked me, “Why are you heading off for India to serve and study Hindi? Is there something about India that you believe will deepen your relationship with God?”
And, I have been thinking about that question ever since. India is a spiritual land. Everything is seen as spiritual. Cows, monkeys, elephants, and most of all people–deceased and living. The magical memorial known as the Taj Mahal has a mosque aligned to it’s right. Punjab is home to the Golden Temple, of the Sikhs. Almost every hill top is crowned with a temple. In the east are Buddhist Monasteries. Delhi is home to Birla Temple and to Jama Masjid. But just like I do not believe there is anything literally sacred about “the Holy Land,” I believe that the only sacred land is the place where God dwells. In one way, God is everywhere, so all land is holy. But someday I believe that Jesus will return to this earth and fully establish his kingdom. India will be transformed, U.S. will be transformed, Jerusalem/Palestine, everywhere will be new.
For now, I think that the only thing that can deepen a person’s relationship with God is obedience. And, God called me to India. God called me before I was born. (See Why India?) So, I am here.
But before I moved to India, I lived in New Jersey and was studying and there in my beautiful house in a cute little town with all the comforts of living in the U.S.A. and there I was trying to live a life of obedience to God as well. Sometimes I would get off track and just go after what I wanted–like a boyfriend, a nice computer, a nice bike, a good time (not that those are necessarily bad things). But, most days I would spend time in praying and reading the bible and in those times God would nudge me back on track. And, if I was so far off that I didn’t hear God’s voice in those quiet times then my roommates or my other dear friends would call me out. Sometimes it was hard, sometimes it hurt–bad, but it was good. In New Jersey, I also helped my friends stay on the right path.
And the same will be here in India.
Why India?
In May I completed a Masters of Divinity (which is a formal degree in Christian Service) at a prestigious seminary and a month ago I moved to India. The question everyone wants to know is “Why?” Or here in Delhi “Qu?”
I was named after a woman who served the needy in India. After my parents visited India in the late seventies, their heart was captured with love for the people. So, when they had me they wanted to share that love with me and so they named me Amy. Throughout my childhood, my mom and dad would read books about people who served God and served the needy all around the world. We especially read about Amy Carmichael, Mother Teresa, Ramabai, and William Carey. But I was an artist and I didn’t want to go to what I then thought of as a poverty-stricken place like India, I wanted to see the in vogue places of the world like Paris, London, Italy, and New York.
Then in 1999, I was a senior in High School and my Dad invited me to accompany him to South India for a two week trip. I said, “Why not?” And from the first morning I looked out at the street below–I was in love. The bright colors, the golden brown skin, the tropical fruit, the crazy traffic, rich food, fabric, and smells captivated me.
So, my parents named me prophetically.
