She saw God in all her perils
Many people pass us by in life but only certain individuals leave a lasting and vivid impression in our minds. Those who impress us during our childhood seem to leave a permanent imprint in our memory. Sometimes these memories are pleasant but at times they can be bitter and disturbing and haunts us for the rest of our lives.
As the years pass and as we grow up we may encounter many obstacles in our struggles to seek success and happiness in our lives. Many of us become very successful but the memories of these individuals who had impressed us during our childhood remain vivid in our minds.
One such person to me is Mdm.Nayagam, a grand old lady whom I admired since I was a boy. Her docemented age is 90years but according to her children she may be a century. In fact just recently they celebrated her 100th.birthday with close friends and relatives.
It is very impressive that even at such an advanced age Mdm.Nayagam is physically fit and healthy. She is free from all the ailments, like diabetes, high blood pressure and heart disease that are so common these days, even among the young.
At a time when women rarely go to work but stay at home to take care of the family and children, she was forced to work as a hospital attendant at the age of 30,which she did till her retirement at the age of 55 in 1973. She was widowed at the age of 53 but as her husband was sickly and of little help in supporting the family, she single-handedly struggled to bring up her 9 children, one of them mentally and physically retarded from birth due to Down’s syndrome.
I used to know Mdm.Nayagam from my childhood days as her sons were my schoolmates and we studied and played together in the neighborhood. Even at that age I was impressed with two main characteristics that she possessed – her profound faith in God and her unselfish love for her handicapped son.
Her very strong faith in God was a pillar of strength and source of inspiration in her struggles to bring up her 9 her children, including the handicapped child fondly called Benny. It was this unshakable faith in God that provided her solace in her times of peril and solitude. She used to walk 3- 4 miles to her church before six every morning without fail.
Sickness and rain did not stop her fulfilling her religious duties. Her commitment to God was so deep that such a disciplined practice never diminished with time until her legs started to fail her in her eighties. Today she may be physically frail but still spiritually as strong as ever.
The second characteristic of her that impressed me was her unselfish love for her handicapped son. Despite all her troubles she never neglected this unfortunate son. In fact she paid special attention to him. Bathing, dressing, feeding and washing up a normal child is already a big task as all of will agree. You can imagine doing these for a handicapped child continuously for fifty over years day in and day out. It was a tormenting task but Mdm.Nayagam accomplished all that unselfishly for the love she had for him.
She did not see the chores in those daily routines as a burden nor did she curse God for giving her a handicapped son but she saw God in him, which took away any pain and agony of that arduous task.
It is a known fact that children with Down’s syndrome rarely survive into late adulthood. It is notable that her handicapped son, now aged 57, is still very fit and lives with her. His well being speaks volumes for the love and quality of care she had given him all these years.
A lady of steel, who used to be once so active and the driving force of her family, today sits on a wheelchair, depending on the very children whom she toiled to bring up, to move her around and take care of her basic needs. Fortunately her children are still there by her side in this time of need, a scenario that is increasingly becoming rare these days.
She may be senile and her memory may have failed her but you can see the calm, serenity and satisfaction in her face. She conveys a look of contentment for having lived a life of dedication to God for almost a century.
At this advanced age and in a highly materialistic world, Mdm.Nayagam may be of no use to anyone, but she remains a shining example of what a human being in general and a mother in particular should be – humble and ever willing to accept the challenges in life with full trust in the Almighty.
Dr.Chris Anthony
