By Grace and Miracles

I grew up in a Christian home in the city of Hyderabad in the southern part of India. My parents were part of the 7th Day Adventist church. We were super active in church activities like the choir. I studied in a 7th Day school where Bible was taught as part of the curriculum, and we memorized Bible verses. We had a lot of teaching about Jesus. We also listened to missionary stories about how God worked in people’s lives. From the time I was seven years old, I had a very deep relationship with Jesus, and a strong faith.

But I also had a sense that faith was impossible. Growing up in a 7th Day home, you're taught to follow the Law, the Old Testament Law.  There’s a lot of focus on that. When I was in 4th or 5th grade,  I told my mom, “I’ve tried my best to keep all the 10 commandments. I’m following the Sabbath rules, and all that.  But no matter how much I try, I feel like I'm not able to do it.”

Mom replied, “No, we are not saved by the law. We are saved by grace.”  At that point, I didn't really understand what she meant. But I remembered what she said.  It's by grace, not law-keeping.

I felt I had a lot of limitations as a child, but with God, I felt that I was able to do a lot more. I learned as a child that with God, you can do impossible things. That stuck with me because I always wanted to achieve.  My mom had high expectations and let me know where I fell down.  I wanted her approval, and felt I couldn’t manage, so I always depended on God since I was little.

I remember one specific example where God came through for me.  In high school, I had an important public biology exam, sort of like the SAT but subject-specific.  I was not really prepared. The amount of material I had to master was huge!  I had barely studied 25% of the material by the exam date.  I was afraid of failing.  I didn’t want to face it.  But my family was very supportive. My brother especially encouraged me.  And then, a miracle!  All the exam questions were taken from exactly what I had studied!  Afterwards, I could see that I had actually studied the more important things, that God’s hand was guiding me in everything, enabling me to achieve things I could never have done otherwise.  He was my stronghold when challenges came and I wanted to run away.

Yet, as I left my teen years behind, I began drifting away from the Lord.  When I started working in Pune as a software engineer, I lived and worked with people who did not believe in Jesus, and they didn’t support my faith.  My own thinking shifted and God went onto the back burner.

But God has His way of bringing His children back, doesn’t He?  Although I was like the prodigal son for some years, God forgave me and brought me back to Himself.  I prayed that God would fully restore me.  And God gave an amazing grace!  He brought my brother to work in the same company with me!  I consider it a miracle.  I had a discussion with one of my managers about my brother’s background.  The manager immediately asked me to forward my brother’s resume.  In a very short period of time, my brother was selected and joined the company.  With my brother nearby, I felt supported in my faith.  I began to trust and depend on God again.

There are more graces and more miracles to tell, but they’ll have to wait.  But now you know how God set me on the Christian path in childhood and faithfully guided me into adulthood.