There is a gargantuan ant doing the backstroke in my coke...
Why am I writing in here when I need to be studying??? Studying to be done...that is precisely why. A verse from this morning just popped into my head...it says "For we hear that some among you are leading an undisciplined life, doing no work at all, but acting as busybodies" 2 Thes 3:11...hmmm. This morning I was praying for more discipline in my life...I also remember asking people to pray for me to be more disciplined at the beginning of my journey...Don't get me wrong...I have moments of good discipline...this is just clearly not one of them...studying language on a Friday night! Pish!
Do you ever have one of those times when you are about to encounter something of great magnitude yet you have no excitement concerning the endeavor? Maybe it was because I had seen SO many pictures and heard so much about it; that the Taj Mahal, one of the most famous pieces of architecture in the entire world, brought no elevation of my desire.

I found myself on a trip, which began at 5 AM, in the back of a Tata, a sports utility type vehicle, bouncing along India’s roads, headed to becoming, one of the many in this world to take in the sight of the Taj Mahal.

After arriving at 8:30 AM we found out old President Bill Clinton was there, (what are the odds of that??) meaning the Taj would be closed until 2 PM! So, what does a group of young Americans do to pass the time? We did what a group of 20 somethings in India would do, had coffee, explored a fort, some rode camels while the rest of us told stories and entertained some of the oh so consistent street vendors with our miniscule Hindi vocabulary, until it was time to head into what my Indian friends here call the "jaundiced" Taj Mahal.

Here is the story:

In 1612, Arjumand Banu Begam, better known by her other name , Mumtaz Mahal was married to Shah Jehan (then Prince Khurram), the fifth mughal emperor. This marriage, although the emperor's second, was a real love-match, and Mumtaz was her husband's inseparable companion on all his journeys and military expeditions. She was his comrade, his counselor, and inspired him to acts of charity and benevolence towards the weak and the needy. She bore him 14 children, and died in childbed in 1630. Overpowered by grief, Shah Jehan was determined to perpetuate her memory for immortality and decided to build his beloved wife the finest sepulcher ever - a monument of eternal love. It was Shah Jehan's everlasting love for Mumtaz that led to the genesis of the Taj Mahal.  After twenty-two laborious years, and the combined effort of over twenty thousand workmen and master craftsmen, the complex was finally completed in 1648 on the banks on the river Yamuna in Agra.
So finally, after many hours of fun to distract ourselves from the waiting, we were able to gain entrance to the Taj Mahal. It was magnificent! It was exciting to walk through this BIG stone gate and to see the Taj Mahal through a darkened arch in front of me. This pic is from that moment...

I can not put into words how it struck me, but I did come to a realization while spending time at the Taj that I thought I would share. As I stood and looked up at this magnificent piece of architecture it amazed me to hear our tour guide speak of the love which motivated this man to build such a structure. The intricacy of the building is astounding. It’s sheer size over whelming. If you look closely you can see the humans at the base of the Taj...to give perspective.

It has now become a symbol of God’s love to me. If someone could build something so amazing, motivated by human love alone, how much more amazing is God’s love for me? This structure pales in comparison to how much He loves me. A friend who was walking beside me said “kinda makes me think of how in the Word it says how Jesus has gone to prepare a place for me”. So true! Seeing such amazing work of human hands makes me long to see The works of the Father. It gives me something to look forward to as well as reminds me that His love for me is amazing...  

And one day, God will bring me my husband, who will love me with a love greater than the love that built the Taj Mahal. Awesome!