Thanksgiving Service for the life of Mrs. N. D. Daniel
103 Years
Called Home: 25-11-2005
Born: 11-6-1903
Laymen’s Evangelical
Fellowship Int’l
9-B,
My
mother Deevena Daniel – as is well known – is a
mother of mothers who is more than the mother of just four children of whom
three have survived her. Deevena, meaning blessing,
was born into a family of 11 children. She was raised by a very principled Dad,
who served as a pastor in several areas. Many years after his retirement, my
mother led her Dad to real repentance. He lived to be 96 years old.
Deevana
as a young woman was considered to be exceedingly beautiful. But the amazing
thing was that it was not just external beauty only, as we unfortunately see to
be the case in many. After she married this very peculiar person, by the name
of Daniel, who was in fact really wedded to the Lord, she was lifted into a new
realm of spiritual desire and walk. Her conversion was so deep that she was
delivered at the same time from worldliness and all personal vanity. From that
point what a mother she became! She filled the home with prayer, making it a
practice of giving 1/10th of her time to the Lord, despite being a teacher of
future teachers. Her prayer life was reflected in many wonderful ways in all
her dealings and activities. Prayer was translated in fact into concrete
action. Now we growing children knew both the gentleness and discerning
spirit
of a mother who was prophetic. We soon saw that sin could not be hidden in our
home.
Although
she disciplined us pretty firmly, with a small appropriate cane, teaching us
that carelessness even in little things was never going to serve us well in our
future lives. But at the same time she was ever so gentle and loving.
When
three of the older children of the family were converted, our dad was away at
revival meetings, where in fact revival had broken out which later spread to
numerous places. I was the last of the three to be converted. But Mother stayed
with me in prayer till 2 in the morning. It was a dour struggle when an
intensely selfish teenager was struggling to yield his will totally to Jesus.
It was only in the next night around midnight that I found the joy and
forgiveness of the Lord, breaking through my gloom and darkness. Mother was
still kneeling with me in prayer and greatly rejoiced to see me converted.
In
her partnership with my dad it was not a rosy path. After they were both called
of God, many a time they passed through very hard times but never did they feel forsaken nor were they cast down. Though she gave
all her jewels and ornaments to the Lord, she never spoke of them.
In
her role as one who assisted my dad in the intense work required of them both,
she never lagged behind. In all the trials of faith which they encountered,
none ever heard a grumble or gloomy talk from her.
In
her larger role, as a prayer-support and prayer-warrior, she mothered and
sustained many. Those who went to her for prayer always left uplifted. One of
her oft repeated reflections was “Who are we!,”
meaning we are but nobodies. “From whence has God chosen and lifted us?” This
humble frame of mind kept her in the constant enjoyment of the presence of God.
These
42 years since the death of our dad, she saw her role to be one of praying much
and supporting me and the growing work with persevering prayer. Oh how I will
miss her prayer! There are many who will echo the feeling of the same kind of
loss.
Now
in her absence, how many girls, young women, and mothers will rise to fill the
great vacuum created by her Home-going, remains to be
seen. We need to take this as a great challenge. What a role a woman is given
to play scripturally as she adorns the gospel with a “meek and quiet spirit” as
my mother did!
In
a very real sense therefore at this critical time in mankind’s history, we
stand or fall by the quality of purity, love and faith of motherhood today. Oh
may we be found faithful in producing holy families bent on “seeking first the
– Joshua Daniel