JEMIMAH RODRIGUES

 

It was euphoric.

Times of India of 31stOctober2025 flashed the heady news on the front page with a picture of Jemimah Rodrigues holding her hands stretched skywards  and her eyes overflowing with tears of joy.

GEM-IMAH TAKES INDIA TO WC FINAL

"I want to thank Jesus...my mom, dad and coach and every single person who believed in me....I have almost cried every day through this tour. Not doing well mentally, going through anxiety. Towards the end, I was just quoting from the Bible - to just stand still and that God will fight for me."

The report went on:

Jemimah Rodrigues hit an unforgettable, unbeaten 127 as India (341/5) pulled off a world record chase against Australia (338) to hand the defending champs their first defeat in an ODI World Cup match since 2017 and knock them out of the tournament. The women in Blue will now take on South Africa in the final on Sunday, 2ndNovember2025

JEMIMAH RODRIGUES  THE MATCH WINNER

In the 33rd over of the chase, Jemimah had run out of gas. Batting on 83, having been on the field for 50 overs before that, Jemimah  slog swept Alana King – a shot born of weary limbs, a mind under pressure, emotions pressure-cooked – straight up in the air. Alyssa Healy ran across and failed to hold on.

Jemimah took a moment, and scripture came to her: Stand still and God will fight for me. This was not a desperate cry for help although that would have been perfectly justified in a moment when body, mind and soul have been stretched to the limit. It was Jemimah recognizing a moment, placing herself in the larger scheme of things and becoming the vehicle that would deliver.

Jemimah stood tall, for three hours and thirteen minutes, facing 134 balls for her unbeaten 127 in a World Cup semi final against the best team of all time. She celebrated neither her 50 nor her 100, because Jemimah was in the zone. This was no longer about her. It was about doing what was needed for the team and the country.

Her single minded focus was on hunting down the target.  When Deepti Sharma and Richa Ghosh played precisely the knocks the team needed in the moment with their blinders, it unlocked a second wind in Jemimah that allowed her to tap into reserves she may not have known that existed in her till then.

Jemimah’s presence at the crease – busy, purposeful, defiant, dogged, calm and charged up – more than sealed one end up. She was successfully turning the tables on India’s perennial weakness – the lack of mental toughness to win key moments – that opened up with the fall of Harmanpreet Kaur.

Jemimah willed herself to go on with the mental toughness that puts mind over matter. It was not overcoming the challenge through sheer will alone. It was self empowerment through surrender to the strength of Jesus, her savior. Jemimah was her 100% self who connected with the God of her choosing, of her imagination and not an ephemeral power.

She channeled her fight into an innings for history books. She endured and .reached a place from which she could thank her parents in front of the entire world in the greatest moment of her life. The tears of relief streaming down did not blind her to the struggles she had faced.  She thanked her teammates for checking on her, for standing silently at her net sessions, for believing in her when she couldn’t.

In the post match conference she said, “I have cried almost every day through this tour. I was not doing well mentally. I’ll be very vulnerable here. Someone who is watching this might be going through the same thing. Nobody likes to talk about their weaknesses. I used to call my mum and cry, letting it all out. When you are going through anxiety, you feel numb. You don’t know what to do. You are trying to be yourself.”

“I am so blessed to have friends, I can call family. I didn’t have to go through it alone. And it’s okay to ask for help. My family went through a lot. But my mum and dad supported me, stood by me and believed in me when I couldn’t. Sometimes all you need to do is to hang in there and things fall into place. I am very grateful to those who believed in me and understood me. I know I couldn’t have done it alone.”

During her century in the semifinal, Jemimah was often seen dropping to her knees.  She revealed these were moments of silent prayers, smiling through tears. “I was praying. I was talking to God. I did it because I feel I have a personal relationship with Him.  When I can’t carry myself, He always carries me.  I was talking to myself because I had lost a lot of energy. I was feeling very tired. It was a tricky phase. I was wondering whether I should hit out. The learning was to stay there. I played to make sure India won. That was my sole motivation. My thought process was simple. I just had to be there till the end. When you play for the team, not yourself, God favors you.”’

No male cricketer has displayed this level of strength through vulnerability in the public glare and Jemimah has set down the marker. On the field and off it, she lifted everyone around her with her fierce strength and gentle wisdom.  Jemimah touched the world and changed the universe, all by her tiny self. She is just too humble to realize it now.

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Based on the report by Gaurav Gupta and the article in the editorial folio, ‘Jem of a Player & Person’ by Anand Vasu, sports commentator, in the Times of India of 1^st November2025.

 

INCARNATION

 Dr. Susan Thomas on 

RevDrKCAbraham

On one Christmas occasion 

Achen explained incarnation from his life's experience.

He said Divine becoming human is a very difficult and painful process.

For me to play with Lizza is the most challenging and painful act. 

I can preach and teach an intellectual group without much effort. 

But to be with Lizza and to be on her level, I need to give up and be like her in thought and action.

It is the most profound way of explaining Theology.

Lizza was his daughter. 

She was a normal child till meningitis disabled her.

WE NEVER ARE THE WINNERS OR THE LOSERS

 Quoting from a novel in Malayalam

It's a civil suit listed for trial.

The complainant says she is afraid and that she shivers when she thinks of the court.

Her aunt soothes her. She tells her there's no need to be afraid. Nobody is going to hang her. She has to treat it as a different experience. She must  understand that life itself is a school.

The complainant asks again why should she proceed with a case where she's going to be the loser.

The aunt reveals her view of life.

"We are never going to be the winners or the losers. It is the contentions that are the winners or the losers. We will cross that whenever it occurs and we will go ahead unmindful of the outcome."

SCRAP SHEET ON EVANA'S TABLE ON THE MORNING 25TH OCTOBER 2025

 

LIZA'S HOME

 In Bangalore there is a LIZA'S HOME.

Liza was a healthy child. Meningitis disabled her.

Her mother is a doctor. Father was the late Rev.Dr. KCAbraham.

I have a copy of a book, Snehathinte Bhasha,  by her mother Dr Molly Abraham.

Posting:

1. Something I found there

2. Front and back cover pages.

The Pastor had been well known globally. Their son Ajith is in the USA.

Think, if googled more data would be there on LIZA'S HOME. 

Dr Molly Abraham

Snehathinte Bhasha

Excerpts 

"This reinforces the whole process where we do our part, and God will open the ways as He sees fit, through people we cannot imagine nor plan for."

"While it would have looked an obvious choice that we stayed back in the US, which would have worked well for Liza, Achen and I recognized that our calling was to come back to India, and not just be limited to taking care of Liza but to open up a new world for all girls and women like Liza, young and old."

"Stories are plenty of God's faithfulness, and our answered prayers. Whenever there is a need, a cry would go up to God, and God will answer the cry. We saw God and God saw us."

It feels more than appropriate to say, "I see the One who sees me.'"

                                              

      

   

                                    

                                            

                                              

SPARTAN MENTALITY// LEADERS// LEADERSHIP

 

A 'Spartan Mentality' refers to intense self discipline,  simplicity, austerity and resilience on the face of adversity. It mirrors the ancient Greek City State of Sparta's highly militarized and self denying life style. The mindset emphasizes avoiding luxury, enduring hardship, focussing on  duty and collective success and maintaining a resolute, uncompromising approach to achieving goals.

The true leader succeeds when he brings the spartan mentallity to his team.  It leaves no room for failure or mediocrity in the bid to accomplish the task on hand. There is no option to lose out either. The leader assigns varying roles to the members of the team. He ensures each one fulfils the roles assigned. You just have to give off your best and everything in the struggle to attain the goal.

When the leader exhibis tremendous faith in the members of the team, they respond.

The resultant resurgence is unsurpassable . 

James Augustus Hickey, Publisher and Chief Editor, The Bengal Gazette

 "Shall I gamely submit to the yoke of slavery and wanton aggression?"

James Augustus Hickey, Publisher and Chief Editor, The Bengal Gazette,

 loudly asked this question and proclaimed 

he'd stand for truth, self respect and independence.

Of course, the british dealt with him harshly