The HOUSE: 8D
Money is not the criteria, we can live happily with or without money; whether you got a good job or no job is not the question. Money makes many things. It's a bad Master, but it's a good slave.
As long as we trust in the One, the Provider, Jehovah Jireha 'Life is beautiful' --
I tell you no one can have so much of joy , as I do have in my small home. Even the king in the palace cannot have, if he built it with his gold coins, and mastermind, and intelligence.
Remember what our Lord said, when He saw the little flowers in the grass? Even King Solomon cannot have this beauty in his palaces.
Matthew 6:28,29---"Observe the lilies of the field.... they do not toil nor do they spin; Yet I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these."
My small cozy little house of 50 years old is a mansion I am living for the past 20 years. My children and children visit this house , our sentiments our love our prayers stick to the walls of this house.
I had to give that Rs.30000/- back to my sister by the end of April month. We paid the interest on the loan we took on NSCs, on gold, on personal loan, and Cecilia FD, in the month of March, also in the month of April. We were having a tin shed in front of the house, and a tiles room as kitchen at the back of the house. one old bath room cum toilet outside.
But we have a little ground to till and toil to cultivate vegetables, My husband got golden fingers whatever he plant will yield bountifully. Whereas I do not have that technique or patience to till the ground and plant. He is an expert in it, like my dad and my daughter. but I used to bring different seeds and seedlings to plant.
So we grew all the vegetables in the little kitchen garden we have. All leafy vegetables, not leaving one variety, we had a small pendal with the bamboo shoots, we had all the creepers-veg, like snake gourd, beans, bitter gourd, and thumb gourd, and green gourd on that
So everyday I used to have a great fun, to go and search for the veg underneath the pendal just for that day curry. may be 1/4 kg veg.
We had all varieties of brinjal, and lady fingers, and tamotoe, green chillies, goa fruits, and even banana, , yes I have some of those photographs with me I have to post them one of these days.
Like that we lived on purely vegetables for one year. no mutton no chicken, to cut the expenses, we used to buy only dal, milk and oil, that year we got coarse rice from our village, from his parents the land my husband had.
I did not buy not even one saree, the clothes were limited, I had two white blouses which suit and match on any saree, there were days when I stitch my sarees and used. I had beautiful red glass bangles, and one roldgold chain.
I never regret for the way we lived, we had a purpose and we lived so.
So in the month of April first week I pulled out a certificate from my little suitcase where we put all documents. I found one , that is, UTI Mutual Fund, certificate. Its 7500/- face value.
We bought it because we were told by one of our college clerks who came and begged us to support her business as she was a agent of that agency. Not only that, we bought it because, we needed to pay the tax Rs. 7500/ that year.
Usually we do not go for risks or mutual funds, or stock market etc. But that year we bought it because we were told if we buy NSCs we had to buy 375000/- worth of those. But with these UTI mutual funds, if we buy only Rs.7500 , we can avoid the tax that we need to pay. It was permitted by the Government that year. we bought on 25-3-1992.
I got a funny idea , I wanted to take some loan on it to meet the expenses at home. I thought , even if I get , say, Rs.4000/ on it , it would be a great boon for us. so taking that certificate I went to the Bank of Baroda, which was in the same lane of our college during one of my leisure hours.
I showed it to the same kind gentleman clerk and asked him whether I would get any loan on it.
When I first entered into the Bank to ask for a loan in the month of February, my throat shaken, I could not speak audibly feeling a sort of fear, to ask loan, which I never did before. But after the purchase of the house, I got a little more courage to approach the Bank for further dealings.
I was arguing with my husband that all sorts of debts was a sin according to Deu 28, only the cursed will have to indulge in debts. But my husband was trying to teach me that 'loan' is different from 'debt'... but I did not heed him in those yesteryears. But as I told you I cannot say no' to his word, sulking in side I did not make much issue of that matter, in the past years.
But once I started to take 'loan' from the bank , I learned that debt is something we do without any basis , no security of our own, we go and beg people or private financiers to lend us money, and borrow money from others, pleading them.
Which is a cursed thing, which we do by trusting man to help us rather than our own resources or God.
Whereas Loan is something which the bank gives to us, seeing our salary amount, or the savings we have with Government , or capital property like houses or field or gold we have, they lend money to us basing on these property. In case we could not repay back or avoid paying back, the Bank or Government could take away the property we assured with them. On the other hand the gold or documents will be with them so we have to redeem them by paying the interest and the principle money.
This knowledge I got only after I started to take loan from the bank and post office.
So I think I became an expert now to approach the Bank to inquire about the UTI certificate, and became a little bold enough to ask them about a loan on it.
As usual the gentle clerk ushered me to
Asst. Manager who would enlighten me about the document I took with me.
That person told me, 'Mam, this is UTI bond, I see that you bought in the month of March 1991, now this is April of 1994, it means the Block Period is over on this , now you can Repurchase it. and you will get some money on it.'
I asked him, ' Sir, I do not know what is Block Period. what is it?'
" See you bought March 1991, now it is April 1994, so by last month three years were over after you purchased, this Bond, it means you can repurchase it'
"Sir, I donot know what you mean by repurchase. What I have to do?'
'Along with this Bond you were given some papers when you purchased this, you just sign on them and send them to the address given in those papers. That is all"
I thanked him and went out, wondering whether I had those papers he said about, at home in my little suitcase'
I told my husband what the Asst. Manager told me and we pulled out the papers from the suitcase.
We studied them, and we both worried a little bit, thinking, in case we sent this bond and the papers, and in case those papers were not return to us, and there wont be any response from the company, because it was in Madras,(Chennai) what would happen, we will loose even this 7500/-
That was the fear lurking in mind. My husband said,' Leela we are going to attend a wedding in LEF prayer center in Vijayawada, day after tomorrow, there was UTI office just near by the center, I saw it the other day, in Benz circle center, we will go and ask them also and take their opinion too.'
we went and we climbed many staircases and went into the UTI office and asked a clerk into the Bond with us, and he showed us where to sign and send those and helped us to fill up the form precisely.
Wondering we should not loose the document; to be on safe side, after we came home we sent the Bond and the papers in registered post after we got the true copy of those documents.
All this was happened in the second week of April.
I did not have a single idea how we were going to give the money back to my sister, neither we had any idea of these or other financial matters. but we were trusting in the Lord. Trusting means, just leaning upon His bosom and taking rest.
That was the last week of April, I had no invigilation that day, and he got week -end holiday, it was Saturday. He lied down on a small cot in the Tin shed, I sat on the door ground post and talking something which was not very important.
Then a postman came and told us,"On the name Mrs Leelavathi you have a Registered post"
I signed it and took the cover, it was from UTI office, I opened it, and I could not believe my own eyes.
What I spoke to my husband, how I thank God, for His mercies, could not have any language to explain.
Do you know how much was that Cheque?
Do you know how much my 7500 bond increased and sent to us?
We both could not believe our own eyes, it was for Rs. 27000/-
I exclaimed ," Emandi, Jesus did a miracle He increased, 5 loaves of bread, and 2 fish, "
I was grinning, and he was too. I told him, "I will go to Andhra Bank (which was near by in our neighborhood,) and give this cheque and come. I had my cheppals, (home wear shoes) and flew into the bank, because the bank will be closed by 12 am as it was only half day work for them on Saturday.
The clerk was kind enough to tell me that we could take the cash on Monday.
My joy knew no bounds, My Lord , My Father in Heaven Hallowed His name... He was my Redeemer, My Fortress, My Dad...to take care of me/us.
Life at every turn gives us tests and blanks. we need to face them and lean upon Him, He will never put us to shame.
We added remaining Rs.3000+ the meager interest we asked to pay from our salary and sent the money to my sister.
God would never abandon us. Believe it. you will see miracles in life. Faith is something with or without money. Faith is believing in Him. Faith is without our intelligence, our own schemes and plans.
In college every body got to know about this wonderful and bountiful yield of this UTI bond, because even the other Lecturer in commerce, Mrs. Uttama Durga got that yield as she went for repurchase after seeing me and she told every one. Therefore some other lecturers also bought some bonds that year, but they did not get the profit, on the other hand they had some loss, I was told by Mrs. Padma Botany lecturer years later.
So do not trust in the Mutual Fund Bonds, but in the Lord who loves us and takes care of us all the time.
For Chapter 8E CLICK HERE
