Sadness and frustration hung over the family like a dark cloud. Dadgar, father to Ravalnath and father-in-law to Ratubai, lay in bed, cancer ravaging his body. Doctors had given up on the aged widower, but his family had not. They had taken Dadgar to various temples, offering alms and sacrifices for supernatural healing, but none came.
Battle Against Cancer
Amongst the rolling hills and sweeping fields of the tea estates, Gospel for Asia (GFA) pastor Kraanti ministered to the tea garden workers. During one of Pastor Kraanti’s ministry outings, he met Ravalnath and Ratubai and learned of their troubles.
The past months had taken a heavy toll on Ravalnath and Ratubai as they sought healing for their ailing father. Lines of worry and sadness creased their faces as they shared their woes. Pastor Kraanti knew the family desperately needed encouragement, so he pulled out a New Testament and asked if the family had ever heard of Jesus.
As Ravalnath and Ratubai listened to the pastor, a feeling that had evaded them for some time inched its way into their hearts: peace.
The Peace That Surpasses Understanding
Pastor Kraanti continued his visits, each time offering encouraging words and fervent prayers for the entire family. After one such visit, the pastor offered to leave a New Testament so they could read more about Jesus.
Ravalnath and Ratubai’s neighbors, opposing Christianity, pressured the family to refuse the pastor, to drive him away. Ravalnath almost gave in, but Dadgar stopped him. The pain lessened whenever Pastor Kraanti prayed, the aged man explained, and sleep came much easier when Ratubai read him the New Testament.
One day, Dadgar asked Ravalnath and Ratubai to call Pastor Kraanti. When the pastor arrived, the old man declared he believed in Jesus with his whole heart. That evening, as Ratubai continued her nightly ritual of reading the New Testament aloud, Dadgar interrupted her to tell her how he believed in Jesus as his Lord and Savior and wished for her and Ravalnath to embrace His love as well—even if their relatives and neighbors opposed them.
Minutes later, Dadgar passed away.
Dwelling in the Lord’s Embrace
As mourning settled over the household, Dadgar’s last words echoed in Ratubai’s ears. The New Testament Pastor Kraanti gave them sat by the bedside, waiting to be opened. Ratubai picked it up and began reading. The peace she first felt those many months ago returned stronger than ever; hope burst aflame in her heat. Whenever she read God’s Word, all her worries seemed to melt away, and it gave her the strength she needed to face each day.
A desire to embrace the love her father-in-law had found settled in Ratubai’s heart, but she knew people would mock her and perhaps even treat her with hostility. Her husband was not willing to take the journey his father had taken, so Ratubai knew she’d have to go alone.
A few months after Dadgar’s passing, Ratubai visited Pastor Kraanti’s church, and following in her father-in-law’s footsteps, she made the decision to worship Christ alone for the rest of her life.
God’s Word can bring light to even the darkest situation. Click here to read how a New Testament helped restore a woman’s self-worth.
