Innerdialects

we do not have one good pic together: so I made one from decades ago, when.

(I’m the messy one, blue) she is gorgeous, supermom, angel all rolled in one – how on earth’d we ever call us Twins? The heart has ways of reaching in our spirits and making twin souls, esp in our minds where something more than DNA bridges humans, related or no.

Sandra is a qualified professional with Special Needs. Beyond the gentle veneer and soft smile, is a woman made of guts, grace & God’s glory.

We may have been early teens when we first met? She and siblings Cheryl, Anselm with Uncle Prabhakar & Aunt Bess lived in a first floor house, their balcony over looking a quieter section of Mumbai. Ans would on occasion sport a macho steel Kada-ethnic punjabi bangle that worried Uncle Prab a bit: the two of them in friendly banter, dark brows and similar tall, handsome and gentle steel inside, in Christ. We’d snug into their living room in family chat, music…. Cher ( another beauty!) still has amazing piano fingers for sure. When she and Sandy duetted, you knew these were music genies! I remember a cool shaded home, rich with laughter, talent and good looking people all of them. For the life of me I can’t remember what we talked into the night;

aunt Bess asked, “What do y’all talk talk so late?” Her eyes twinkled momma mirth. I’m reeling off verbal images of people so dear, though now, a few oceans away…

I promised San I’d Blog about her. “What can I say best, about you…?“

“.. our twinny twin days..and now sharing this Sisterhood/ Friendship..”She texted back.

Our twinny days:

I remember us in – sigh, suchhhh different clothes, little skirts, Enid Blyton, Nancy Drew. My Dad had a Posting in Gujarat, so we’d stop over at Uncle Prabhakar’s place to change trains at Mumbai. Then they shifted towards the Beach, Juhu. There IS a pic somewhere, all us cousins bunched in a pack. We were out-growing arms and legs, Sandra’s short hair grew out in long waves, mine were unruly ofcourse, to date.

Why is it hard to remember what we spoke, but easy to recall emotion? When we text, my mind goes back a bit, to when we were less self -conscious, a lot like our midnight chats back then, metro lights fleeting across our little faces, growing with each summer visit.

Uncle Prabhakar had much to tell about how he encountered Jesus. He wrote pamphlets on it, chatted in easy camaderie with strangers in footpaths and local train. ‘From bottle to Bible!’ He’d grin. On a quick trip to one of our Lighthouse Station Postings, Uncle visited with basket of biscuits, goodies… but what I never forget is him on the beach, telling fisherman and tourist about the Love of God for every man, woman and child.

Years later, after Sandra had moved to the Netherlands, Cher & Kev, Ans & Shalin to the States, Uncle and Aunt were still at their Juhu home. We had moved to Mumbai, getting our first baby (Vihan), Uncle and aunty invited us for a dinner to celebrate my seventh month of pregnancy. He said, “Pray, pray in His Presence little one...” Was he addressing my unborn child, or me? We both got it, I know. Aunty cooked the most savoury Biriyani, reminding us we were in a momentous time of life. Sandy would be getting her first baby too, soon:

Time shifted gears, we outgrew childhood with our own babies, or did we? Years later we met again when I was on Facebook. I had begun seriously painting, somehow painting, between three kids and a city shift. She had had her share of Change and wore it so well, with running shoes, and a quiet new friendship that made me miss her the more. But what can you say, – “Hi”?

Did that. It unlatched shares:

about our children, my third child and his challenges. Heartache isn’t easy to discuss. You want to speak from a scar not a wound. But there’s something about Twinning. You know when to say, ‘Hey girl,’… “Thinking of you..” “Thought to share…” , “Praying…” Yes. Praying in His Presence, like Uncle P. reminded.

The years have grown wings, they fly us as people groups and individuals, over terrain we may or may not recognize. It is still the same Earth, still what we all grew up with: the Tender loving kindness of God, the almost fresh air, the steadiness of Change & all of Eternity looking down on us as we go about our everyday rotation: axis, 23.5 ° ;

grateful for those of us who’ve traveled together this far, grown, outgrown what was, into what is-

wing & steel brace, hearth & praying in His Presence,

celebrating every new day, as a momentous beginning, all by itself. Thank you Aunty Bess, for yourself, for your loving wishes every morning even before we wake up here, in a different Time Zone, for your beautiful children, grandchildren…they all inherit your loveliness,

and my twinny Sandra, with all the busy ness of her own precious family,

knighting us with Twinship across Borders – visa- proof, changeless, by the Love of Christ Who reminds us to never forget to remember, our preciousness, in Him.

🍃