Observations:
I asked myself who are the characters involved?

I asked myself what was the role of the ‘men from the house of Jairus’?
They came to Jairus, the synagogue ruler who was with Jesus to tell him, “Your daughter is dead, why bother the teacher anymore?"

Interpretations:
I asked myself what could have been going through the mind of Jairus when he heard the words, “Your daughter is dead, why bother the teacher anymore.”

Jairus could have thought what had happened few minutes ago with his encounter with Jesus:
“Then one of the synagogue rulers, named Jairus, came there. Seeing Jesus, he fell at his feet and pleaded earnestly with him, "My little daughter is dying. Please come and put your hands on her so that she will be healed and live." So Jesus went with him." (Mark 5:22-24, NIV)

Jairus would have been in so much pain and agony after hearing the words from the men regarding his daughter. It would have been that much more painful to him because He knew it was God’s will to heal his little dying daughter when he saw Jesus, fell at His feet and pleaded earnestly with Jesus which is equivalent to praying to Jesus regarding his little daughter who was dying, and received an answer from Jesus. Jesus was willing to go with Jairus to his house to heal his little daughter who was dying.

Emotions could be rolling like a blazing thunder through his mind thinking, this cannot be happening because he was so sure it was God’s will to heal his little daughter. If it was God’s will then she could not have died. He was still with Jesus and knew that Jesus was going to his house. Now he is told not to bother with the teacher anymore because the men were telling him indirectly it was not God’s will to heal his daughter.

As a human being it could have made him wonder and doubt, was it really God’s will to heal my little dying daughter or not. Because if it was, she would not have died like the men had told him.

Whatever may have been going through his mind, Jesus would have known about it and Jesus addressed Jairus, the synagogue ruler in front of the men who had told him the bad news.

Observation:
I asked myself what the role of Jesus was?
Jesus was on his way to see Jairus’ little daughter who was dying. On the way, though he encountered a woman who wanted healing from Jesus. Jesus stopped to talk to the woman, addressed her as daughter, telling her to go in peace and how her faith had healed her from her disease.

Now after Jairus heard the tragic news about his little daughter, Jesus addresses him in front of the crowd by doing two things:

Interpretation:
I asked myself what is the significance of Jesus ignoring the remarks of the men?
Jairus believed it was God’s will to have Jesus heal his daughter and he believed so much that he stuck with Jesus while Jesus was coming to his house. Now, people Jairus knew come to tell him figuratively it is not God’s will for your daughter to have lived so don’t bother the teacher anymore.

Jesus must have been annoyed with the men. Usually when someone is annoyed or not telling the truth, they are told to be ignored. Jesus tells Jairus to figuratively ignore the men in front of the crowd. In other words, Jesus is telling Jairus to believe what he believed all along after seeking Jesus in prayer. What Jesus wanted Jairus to believe was that it was in God’s will to see his little dying daughter better as he had believed regardless of what was happening around him and how the circumstances looked. This is evident by Jesus confirming to Jairus what he had come to believe by two declarative statements:

"Don’t be afraid and just believe!"

In other words, no matter how the situation looks around you, Jesus was telling him to have peace that his daughter will be alright! This is exciting to know!

Jairus did believe in what Jesus was telling him. This is evident because they proceed to the house of Jairus.

To be continued.....

Implications:
The pain of a broken relationship will not be able to be expressed in words, many times, especially when that relationship dies. For those of you who have been through a broken relationship know how painful it can be. It can be especially painful and confusing when you pray and believe that the Lord will heal so and so or  wants you to marry so and so but it does not happen. This is where my broken relationship journey began. I was excited to marry so and so but the moment I mentioned marriage, the person's response was, 'It is not you, it is me. I just need more time. I am not going to pursue anyone but wait on God. I will call you when I am ready.'

I tried to convince so and so that we were meant to be married as I walked and talked on the phone all the way from Point State Park to Squirrel Hill. It was America's Independence Day when people celebrated freedom. But I was in bondage experiencing death of a relationship. Finally, when I thought I could be married, that door was being shut right in front of me. She never called me even though I hoped she would.

As I slept in tears praying, I got a dream where a white figure was going up to the mountain. When I woke up, the words of Jesus, 'Don't be Afraid, Just Believe' kept coming to me.

It is then I realized that these were the same words that Jesus used with Jairus when he had sought Jesus to heal his dying daughter but then Jarius was told, she is gone. Jairus's daughter had died but Jesus tells Him, ‘Don’t be afraid, just believe’. My hopes for a marriage had died and Jesus was telling me, ‘Don’t be afraid, just believe’.

Now, I thought about the dream and realized it was Jesus going up the mountain to pray to spend time with God for wisdom and direction. It is then I realized that I need to first and foremost spend time with the Lord Jesus for His wisdom and direction before I pursue any marriage prospects. It occurred to me that I had never read the Bible completely to know the heart of God. So, that day I decided to read the entire Bible in 40 days between July 4th (America’s Independence Day) and Aug 15th (India’s Independence Day). While reading the Word from Genesis to Revelation, I asked the Lord to give me 40 questions that I could ask anyone I was pursuing. I also got a signature verse for my life from Acts 20:24: “But life is worth nothing to me unless I use it to do the work assigned to me by the Lord Jesus, the work of telling others about God’s mighty goodness and love.”

Now, after reading through the whole Bible, I decided to put my profile on Shaadi.com as my loving mommy and I prayed. Of all the heartbreak I went through, I made my criteria to find a bride so difficult that I knew the one I married had to be from the Lord for me. My primary criteria was 4-fold:  

1. That she had to be Born-Again being beautiful on the inside and outside loving Jesus more than me. In this criteria, I was also reminded of what Edwin, Marie, and Pastor Hugo wanted me to keep in mind:  ‘Charm is deceptive and beauty is fading but a woman who fears the Lord is greatly to be praised.’ (Prov 31). Also, Pastor Hugo reminded me even after marriage too as we love our wife through the years she will become more and more beautiful to us. How true that is!

2. Her age had to be within a certain range including her weight.

3. Her language had to be Telugu.

4. Her location had to be willing to live in the U.S.

I did not care for her caste, her economic status, her academic status, her career status, etc.  Regardless of those, what mattered was if she loved Jesus more than me.

Then, all the 36 questions had to be answered to my satisfaction. When all 40 questions were satisfied within a 2.5 year span of online courting through email alone, we finally decided to talk over the phone.

Even then, I had to be sure that she is the one that the Lord wanted me to marry. So, I needed the blessing of Pastor Hugo at the time to give me the okay to marry her but that alone was not enough.

 I needed the blessing of my mommy to marry her too.

How loving and caring both my loving mommy and Pastor Hugo have been. They were able to go through the 248 page correspondence regarding my responses and her responses. Finally, Pastor Hugo says to me, ‘Just because you have not seen her in person, when you see her in person, don’t lose her and then come crying back to me’. So, when I went to India for the first time in 25 years, the moment I saw her, I told her that I wanted to marry her at Bakers Inn on Friday, July 23, 2010. To meet me, she had arrived from Saudi Arabia after finishing a 4 year contract as a Registered Nurse. How amazing that the Lord knew the perfect timing for her contract to be over too. 

My loving mommy told me not to lose her too that she loved everything about her. Amazingly, in the Lord's timing, she happened to be in India visiting her brothers.

Before coming to India, the one I was pursuing told me, ‘Ramesh, if the Lord Jesus  meant us to be together for life, no one can keep away what the Lord wants for us, no one will close that door. He will keep the door open that cannot be shut. But if the Lord does not want us to be together for life, He will shut the door. I don’t want you to be sad and sorrowful if it does not work out. You have not seen your relatives for 25 years so enjoy with them. Your trip to India won’t be wasted. My family and extended family have to give the approval for marriage. Then, my community has to give the approval for marriage. Finally, my pastor has to give the approval for marriage. They all will meet you. I was so nervous but confident too that if it worked out, it was from the Lord because of all the hard criterias both of us put on each other.  I was so happy my mom came with me to meet her community. I could not speak proper Telugu because I grew up here so they asked the one who I was pursuing to translate my English.

One week later, both of us were married on Friday, July 30, 2010 with both of our mommies by our side. Our Lord had the perfect timing for our marriage. ‘Don’t be afraid, just believe’ was taken to heart and Jesus did more than I could have imagined in His timing. Today, we celebrate our 11 years, 1 month, 18 days of marriage.

What I had asked of the Lord and what He decided to give me are beyond comprehension:

I asked the Lord for a ‘Born-Again beautiful on the inside and outside’ person to be married too. What I got is a PLUS wife: Prayerful, Loving, Understanding, and Supportive wife who loves the Lord Jesus very much, has led worship in Indian churches, been on TV singing for the Lord, led prayer groups in Saudi Arabia, shared the Gospel with Muslims in Saudi Arabia, and been such a blessing to share the love of Christ with internationals here in the states. I did not ask the Lord for all that but in His grace, He gave it to me. Thank you Jesus!

I asked the Lord for a certain age range and weight but what I got was better than I expected. [Now, after pregnancy, I did not even care what her weight was because she is so beautiful to me]

I asked the Lord for a wife who would be willing to move to the U.S leaving family behind in India and do ministry with me in the states. What I got is a response that is similar to what Ruth told Naomi: ‘Where you go, I will go, your God will be my God, your people, will be my people'.  She told me, we will do ministry together and I will join you at Oakland International Fellowship if that is the will of the Lord for us to be married.

I asked the Lord for a Telugu speaking wife because of being the first male person in our family generation line that I could think of that the Lord chose in His mercy and grace to become His. I was the first male to convert from Hinduism to following Jesus Christ on February 14, 1985. Since that day, the Lord has not removed my desire and calling to do ministry whether online or offline. I wanted to spiritually shepherd a Telugu Christian family who love the Lord Jesus everyday of our lives. What I got from the Lord is a wonderful wife who not only spoke Telugu fluently but could speak Hindi, Malayalam, Arabic, and English singing worship songs to the Lord in different languages as she and I raise our children.

Now, I am so thankful that a broken relationship was broken because without that broken relationship, I would not have found my precious wife Chandraleela and have two precious daughters Esther and Evangeline.

I have the best in-laws any husband could hope and pray for. My Chandra has the best in-laws too even though there are growing pains at times :) This all is because of the Lord's grace and His perfect timing.

In the Lord’s timing as the song 'In His Time' goes, He makes all things new!

Does that mean we have a happy marriage with sunshine and light all the time?

I wish I could say that we have a perfect marriage but we don’t. We need the Lord's help and guidance everyday as we spend time with Jesus in prayer and His Word.

My wife rates our marriage on a scale of 9 and says without the ‘HOT TEMPER’, it could be so good. I beg to differ. She is too kind to give me a 9 out of 10 to be married to me. I know I am not the husband I want to be for my wife because I give myself only a 6 out of 10.

So, I pray to Jesus and finish at least 1 marriage book per week so I can be a better husband each and every day as I seek the Lord Jesus. I know in His timing, my hot temper will go away but I need to do my part so this temper does not wreck our marriage's happiness.

One day in a Southern accent my daughter Esther told me, ‘Daddy, I have been praying for you. How long must I keep praying for you Daddy for your temper to go? I have been praying but I am not seeing any results.’ 

Then my wife says to her, ‘Keep praying for Daddy my darling’

I know just as the Lord helped me in marriage, He will help me to overcome my short-temper as I claim the promise, ‘Don’t be afraid, just believe!’

I ask you now dear friend, whose T.I.M.I.N.G are you waiting for in life?

Dear friend, Jairus did not follow what the men had told him but continued to follow Jesus and His timing. That is exciting to know friend. Many times when we sense God’s will for something, we could be so excited and thrilled. When there are obstacles hindering that will, we can become confused. But our Lord is not an Author of confusion. If you believe in something to be God’s will for your life, and go out in faith, He will rectify the situation so you will have blessings His way.

And friend, if there are areas in your life that you are struggling or areas in your life you are looking for an answer such as your hopes and dreams to come true, know this: You are loved by the Creator of the Universe who created you. He knows what your hopes and dreams are and even when you think they are dead, if Jesus wants them to come true, nothing can stop that from happening so rejoice. Jesus will not abandon you to go your own way. There will be times He will take our hopes and dreams and fill it with His hopes and dreams for our lives which will be that much more fruitful.

Wait on the Lord Jesus and don't give up. You may feel so and so is definitely what God's Will for you is but now you see obstacles and even a sense of feeling that 'this dream is dead why bother with it anymore' but don't go on that path and give up. Our hopes and dreams in the Hands of the Father can never be dead but resurrected as we hold on to Him and wait on Him. One of my favorite waiting song of prayer is, 'While I Am Waiting'.

At other times, when our hopes and dreams are not aligned with God's Will and we seek after Him, He will provide us with better hopes and dreams that will give us the joy of the Lord.

So, in every situation, God’s will and timing need to be aligned. Friend, whatever God’s will for us is, He will give us His peace and we can go on. We should not expect God to speak to us immediately too for He expects us to do our part in faith and wait on Him. Usually through circumstances or communication (His Word, His Spirit through prayer and fasting or through His people), He reveals His will in careers, academics, or relationships and any other situation you are faced with.

It is not important just to know God’s will for an area of your life but also know His timing and rest in Him. When His will and timing are perfect, what we believe to be God’s will shall come to pass.

Friend, we can be following our own timing for things and can become very disappointed if what we hope for does not come to pass but when we wait on the Lord Jesus and His timing, even though currently the wait maybe painful and stressful, the awesome news is, we will be filled with joy later in God's timing when what we prayed for and hoped for comes to pass if that is the will of God. If it is not the will of God, then God will give us the strength to bear it and move on showing us another direction.

Speaking of timing and God's will, friend I want you to know that Jesus loves you so much that He went to the cross and died for your sin shedding His precious cleansing blood. He then came back to life on the third day to save all those that received His free gift of grace.

Our Lord desires that none should perish but all come to repentance and so waits for you with open arms to come to Him like the prodigal son who went away to do his own things and then returned to the father.

We all have been dead in our transgressions with no way out. No matter what we did on our own cannot give us access to Heaven because all our good works become filthy rags to the Lord without Christ's Hand upon them. So, no one can be really good without Christ in their lives. But with Christ, our lives can be transformed and changed by the power of the Holy Spirit. It is His grace imparted upon our lives in His timing that frees us.

Now is the time for your Salvation friend if you do not know Jesus Christ as your Lord and Personal Savior. You need not wait for a perfect time when the day is right, the month is right, etc to turn to Jesus but you can do it right now. Ask Jesus to come into your life and transform you. Spiritually, He will and give you a new beginning this fall of 2021.

May you rest in the Lord and find peace in Him knowing He loves you so much and cares for you.

“Timing Is Messiah’s Involvement Nurturing Graciously!” (T.I.M.I.N.G)/"Whose T.I.M.I.N.G are you waiting for in life?"