Amija Had Never Known True Peace
August 24, 2004
Amija wept. How miserable her life had become. She had never led a carefree life, never known true peace, but in the past few months her burdens had multiplied to the point that the Indian woman could no longer bear them alone.
God had given Amija eight children. What dreams she'd embraced for their future! Expectantly she had waited for their adulthood, longing for grandchildren. But her dreams had never become reality: None of her children were married. Her oldest was 32; chances were slim in their culture that this one would still marry. One son was an alcoholic and would be gone from home days at a time. Often he was found lying on a roadside, drunk. To make matters worse, her family was deep in debt. But things would only get worse.
Suddenly, Amija's husband was gone. With no warning-no time to say goodbye, no last hours on a sickbed-he was dead. His death left the distraught woman unprotected, unprovided for, alone. She felt doomed. Yet more struggles were to come.
One day her back began to throb with intense pain. The doctors said surgery was her only option. With her measly income, Amija knew there was no way she could afford surgery. So day by day she suffered the wrenching pain. Meanwhile the entire family felt a weight of hopelessness. Anxiety flooded the woman's thoughts: What can be done? Who can help me? And what will happen to me now?
Hearing Amija's desperate cries, God sent her a team of young women-GFA Bible college students in Tamil Nadu. Hearing the widow's woes, these girls had compassion on her. With one accord they lifted their voices to heaven, crying out on her behalf. The widow's heart was warmed when she felt the love of these sisters. A vein of hope pulsed through her heart. Two days later, her back began to heal. The woman knew it was neither a stroke of good fortune nor an act of her gods. She knew there was a power greater power-a loving Someone who sees the invisible.
After things had grown steadily worse for so long, Amija felt joy at this one improvement. But this was not all God had in mind for her family: He saw they were still hurting. Reaching down and delivering her son, our gracious God rescued him from the pit of alcoholism. Amija, her renewed son, and the rest of her family saw this as an act of God. Joyfully, each of them gave their hearts to Christ. The pain, the worry and the hopelessness were gone. In their place was the joy of being seen and loved by Him.
Location: Somewhere in India, India
Website: http://www.gfa.org
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