Today we visited the Taj Mahal, to be honest I had never looked up the history before, but it actually is considered one of , ‘The seven wonders of the world’, I guess for the story but also the architecture, it took around 22 years to build, around 20,000 workers, and was built way back between 1631 to 1653, so when in India go see it right?
But seeing this monument is not what I will remember the most from today, it will be the encounter I had with a man who was trying to sell us a glittering globe of the Taj.
We were on our way out when a young man with twisted arms and legs came half running, half stumbling after us trying to get us to buy a globe. To be honest we had so many people swarming around us persistently trying to sell us some souvenir and I was like, “not another one” but when I saw how handicapped he was my heart went out to him. I reached for my wallet thinking I will just give him some money, because I really didn’t want a globe. I was reaching for the money but I kept walking and the man was beginning to get frantic when he suddenly tripped and stumbled to the ground. We help him up and our tour guide leads him away, I follow because I still want to give him the money, I come up to him to hand him a small bill, and he twists his body around to reach awkwardly into his bag and grabs a globe and thrusts it at me, I shake my head and say no, I just want to give you money, I don’t want anything. The tour guide tells me that he will not just take money he has to earn it.
So I take the gift, and my first thought was, ‘well I’ll just give this to some young child I see,’ when something in my heart shifted and a compassion that I can’t explain welled up inside me. Because of the shame honor culture he will not just receive a free gift. He has to earn it, even though he is crippled he is trying so hard to make money.
All of a sudden I knew I would be keeping this souvenir, not only to remember this specific incident and pray for him but it will remind me to pray for oher things as well because Jesus did something in my heart through that young man he stirred up a compassion for the broken and hurting in a new way. I will be putting this globe somewhere where I see it everyday as a reminder to pray.
Will you pray with me?
Pray for…
1. The weak and vulnerable in the world, that we would show them love,
2. That my heart would never grow cold to the hurting the broken, and wounded in body and spirit
3. For the Muslim Nation that they may know the truth of Jesus
Fact.
Only people of Islamic faith were allowed to build the Taj Mahal.
India has been such an experience, keep the prayers coming!!
Thank you Friends!!
