Lens in the Light

From Darkness to Light

I was born and brought up in a village called Ayarkunnam in Kottayam, Kerala. Though I was a Hindu, my neighbors used to encourage me to visit their Catholic church during my childhood. Since I learned the stories of Jesus from my friends, I visited the church a few times to pray. Later, after finishing my B.A degree I got a job in the erstwhile P&T (Postal & Telegraph, Government of India), which is present-day BSNL, and went for training at Trichur. While staying there at a YWCA, I met a girl not wearing ornaments, and my colleagues told me that she is a “Pentecostal.” After training, I was posted at Kannur, and the Pentecostal girl named Achamma was also posted at the same place. For five years, we were roommates at a hostel run by Hindus.

 One day, Ciciliamma, who was one of the colleagues at work, gave a flyer for a Musical Evening, and she took permission from the hostel to take me to the three nights of meetings. Bro. Kunjumon Chacko gave the final message, and I was touched by the word “Jesus is the Light of the world.” When I returned to the hostel, I asked Achamma about it, and she shared the Gospel with me, and I decided to follow Jesus. My decision infuriated the hostel management, and they began to abuse me verbally. But Achamma and her family became my new family. During one of the vacations, I received water baptism, which created more troubles from my family, and some decided to search for a Hindu to marry me. But Achamma’s sister Leelamma and her husband A.C. Varghese found a young man from their church (IPC Tabernacle, Kottayam) working with India Every Home Crusade. Though my family strongly objected, the church Pastor, Achamma, and a few sisters, came for our wedding.

After my wedding, I got transferred to Kollam where we were associated with the nearby A.G church, and the members of the church became our brothers, sisters, and parents, which was a huge relief for us since I was pregnant with our firstborn, and we had no family in that place. After our two children’s birth, my husband Pushkaran was selected by SSC to Income Tax Department as a Gazetted Officer and was posted to Kolhapur, Maharashtra. During this time, his younger sister stayed with me, and she accepted Jesus. In the early eighties, we moved to Cochin and started Gospel work; we shared the good news of Jesus with Catholics and Hindus, leading many to Him. We were able to take care of some ostracized by their families due to their faith in Christ. We have been truly blessed to be a blessing to others! (Achamma and Leelamma have gone to be with the Lord.)

India

Ever ponder why typhoons and strong winds cause only a couple of trees to fall on the ground while others remain upright? The reason for a tree to bend during a breeze is because of its shallow roots in the soil and its past wounds. The tree that has not fallen in the wind shows its strength from the quality of the wood in the tree and how firmly it is rooted.

As His children, we need to confront many storms in our lives. When our life is typical, it’s simple for us to cling to God and stand firm in our faith. Yet would we stay the same when we face the storm? Our strength in the storm determines our spiritual life quality and that strength comes from the Lord. Our response to the storms of our lives shows us how deeply rooted we are in Christ and how strong our trust in Him is. Past wounds that weaken the trees and break down easily in the storm are due to natural enemies like the disease and insects that threaten it; a few plants are helpless to it, and few are safe from it. To adapt to the situation that affects it – be it diseases or insects, plants adapt the resistance known as ‘non-preference’ in which the plant has a shaggy substance or thistles that keeps the insects from destroying it.


In our Christian life, the devil, our adversary, uses different ways to assault us by his acts. Satan consistently tries to dismiss our faith in God with his plans, yet the Child of God with the armor of God and who stands by His Word won’t be affected by Satan’s plans. “Put on the full armor of God, that you can stand against the schemes of the devil” (Ephesians 6:11). With this adaptation, our quality is more grounded, and our roots in Christ are deeper, making us firm in the faith. Storms come our way to make us grounded in our faith if we are sticking to God’s truth.          

 SARASAMMA PUSHKARAN<br>Kochi, India

SARASAMMA PUSHKARAN
Kochi, India

Sarasamma is a retired BSNL Officer, serving the Lord along with her husband Pushkaran (Gazetted OfficerRetired from Income Tax Department). They live in Kochi, Kerala and travel to various places with the Gospel. They have two children, Ashish and Jyothis, who are married and settled in the USA. Ashish is leading a Mission Organization.

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Lens in the Light

From Darkness to Light

Spafford and Scriven knew that it was in these moments when they were being tried and tested, challenged and broken, devastated and defeated that God would see their true character and faithfulness to Him.

It takes my mind back to childhood memories; when I’ve always wondered why people used to cut parts of the plants they want to grow to make it look lost entirely. Little did I realize, after a few days, the plants grow more beautifully than before. This selective removal method of certain parts of the plant, such as branches, buds, or roots, is pruning, which enables a healthy growth of the plant.

A gardener foresees a healthy plant while pruning. Apostle John says in John 15: 2, “Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit, He prunes it so that it may bear more fruit.” Who likes to be trimmed and pruned? Yeah, it sounds painful, but the process that seems unbearable to us at the beginning, God expects us to bear more pleasant and qualitative fruits at the end.

Pruning eliminates dead parts, prevents growth in the wrong direction, and nutrients do not go to the parts that the gardener does not want to grow, thereby ensuring a good yield. Often some difficult challenges or trials comes our way to reveal our weaknesses to sanctify ourselves, not to lean on the things of this world, and God doesn’t want our vitality to be used in a field that inhibits our spiritual life, preparing us for a better individual that God wants us to be.

An eagle pushes the little one out of the nest, and it falls, indeed, to be destroyed. Not so, however! The eagle comes down in a flash, catches the little one on her back, and flies up, and does it again and again before the eaglet learns to fly. God does not leave you in the middle of paths, in the same way, He makes you more robust in the process. As the gardener gets the credibility of a healthy plant, and as the mother eagle gets the credibility of a flying eaglet, whenever a godly man relies on God through his trials, God gets all the glory.

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