Dear Reader:

Yesterday I heard from Ambika Murthy ( now Dr. Ambika) and Christmas came early. I had been wondering what happened to Ambika because she came into my life so suddenly… and had she disappeared just as suddenly? I was concerned about her.

It had been almost a decade ago that I awoke one morning to a most touching cry for help and hope ( email to the Chapel of Hope WordPress home site) from a young girl named Ambika, who had left her home in Bangalore, India to study dentistry at the Krishna Devaraya College of Dental Science. The coursework was difficult and Ambika was stressed and worried about the final exams approaching.

She had literally sent out a plea for hope and of all the millions of sites she could have been sent to… ChapelofHopeStories.com popped up. She felt that this was where she could talk to someone about her anxiousness and loneliness.

I remember after she commented on one blog post … I inquired about her name and it’s origin. The English translation, she told me, in Hindu, meant ” mother and compassion” and ” moon goddess.” It must have been around 2013 or 2014 because the moon gate to my garden had just been put in and that connection surprised me.

Over the next few months Ambika shared with me her dream to find love, a caring husband, and have a family… it all soon came true!

We continued corresponding through the blog as Ambika returned home to India , began working, married and continued adding onto her family. She kept the readers abreast of the drought in India and other environmental issues plaguing her country.

Then a few months back…I realized one day I had not heard from Ambika and was concerned something might be wrong … I was right.

Two days ago Ambika reached out to me again…. she and her dad had just lost her mother , at 63, to a sudden heart attack that took her immediately. Neither were prepared to let her go so soon.

She wrote: ” My mom has not only been my closest friend, she was the main foundation of our family’s faith in Christ. We got that biggest strength from her.”

She ended with a heartfelt request: ” Becky, I just want all of you ( at Chapelofhopestories.com) to remember us in your prayers… please help my dad and I get over this huge loss.” Loads of love and prayers… Ambika ( ” Keep shining through your blogs”)

So until tomorrow… We all know how difficult that first Christmas is after losing a loved one. Some of you readers might be going through something similar this Christmas as well… so let’s take a moment to remember and pray for families going through difficult holidays and pray for God’s Christmas spirit to bring ” peace and calm” to those who mourn… to restore hope and faith.

Today is my favorite day -Winnie the Pooh

Just got home Sunday from keeping Eva Cate and Jake Saturday night… Eva Cate put a Christmas Lego North Pole set together in minutes… not hours… her brain is wired to Lego… she can put any and all together-a gift-Jake and I watched… clueless.

Even with two cold nights and a potential record-breaking cold Christmas this year… look at the flowers still abloom.