This is a true love story about my grandmother, as told to me by my father.
She first met him when she was a young student at a local convent school.She was young, and did not have many friends. He was her first best friend, one she could talk to anytime, who made her smile, and comforted her when she was sad. They shared so many great experiences. She thought that they would be together forever, and could not imagine being apart from him.
Then the inevitable happened. She made new friends and started to spend less time with him. She felt that she had grown out of this relationship and was bored with it now. She wanted to be free, and to try new things. She drifted away and they lost touched.
Time passed, she got married and had 5 children – 3 boys and 2 girls. Her children grew up, got married and had children of their own. Her husband passed on. She’s thankful for the life she’s been given and does not think that there is anything she should complain about. But now and then the feeling of emptiness creeps into her, and she cannot help feeling like something’s missing in her life.
Does she think about him, her first love? Perhaps she does, perhaps she wonders how life would be if she had stayed with him. Would she have been more fulfilled? Would she be happier? Now time is running out. Her health is failing. She feels helpless and she does not know where or who to turn to.
Her eldest daughter takes her to the temple to pray and get a blessing from the temple monk.
As she walked towards the monk, she thought about what he would say to her.
Would he read her fortune or tell her things that she does not want to hear?
Would he bless her with good health and prosperity? However, when he spoke, it was the last thing she expected to hear, especially from this Buddhist.
He said, I can’t do anything for you. Sorry I can’t help you. You have to return to him. You belong to your first love. You belong to Jesus…
Yes, the ‘He’ that I wrote of earlier is Jesus. Jesus loves my grandmother so much, that even when she was not seeking Him, He sought her. Through the most unlikely of all places. My grandmother has since passed on, and I am so thankful that she found Jesus before it was too late.
God works in mysterious ways.
