As I look back, I am grateful to the Lord for giving me God-fearing parents who brought me up in godly discipline. My father is a Hindu convert and remains very strong in his faith on Jesus Christ. My mother who is a housewife had all along been a great support to my father. She set an example to us by her patience, gentleness and carried out all her household chores without grumbling.
Reminiscing back, I find that my parents provided me the best foundation they could. I am the last of the six children. While I have no doubt that my relationships are special as the last child, my parents are never tired of reminding all of us that we are of equal value in their sight. The one important thing my parents did was to start training us in matters they considered important when we were quite young. My parents didn’t wait to start reading the Bible to us until we were old enough to understand everything. We had family prayers once in the morning and once in the evening. I cannot honestly say we always enjoyed this routine. I vividly remember the times when my father would to call me to join the family Bible study and during those times I used to rebel within (Oh no, l can’t play for another half an hour or so). But l slowly came to realise its importance.
Even though I could not understand many of the verses then, I found that so many Bible verses which I heard in my childhood days remained in me and helped me later in my life.
From our childhood, we were trained to read the Bible and they taught us to communicate with God as we would communicate with our own father. l appreciate my parents for being so particular regarding prayer life which now I realise is the basic requirement of a Christian life. Thro’ family prayer I could learn to pray not only for myself but for others also.
Church attendance was simply a fact of life for us. My parents were very regular and punctual in attending the Sunday Services, thus enforcing the fact that Sunday is a day supposed to be set apart for God. They encouraged us, children, to attend Sunday school, Bible classes in church and later on in the activities of the Evangelical organisation. They even encouraged us in participating in Bible quiz and competitions and helped us in preparing for them. These competitions were not only enjoyable but also very helpful to me in learning more about God’s word thus enabling me to reinforce what my parents had started within me.
With regard to money, in my childhood, I have never heard finance being discussed. But I remember them setting apart God’s share (tithe) no mater what the situation was. They were generous in giving things to beggars and underprivileged. Whenever my father gave money or clothes to the poor, he also told them about God’s love.
My father is a man of strong principles, ideals demonstrating simple hard working life style. I remember him setting apart time for us even after returning from a busy day. He used to sit with us and play some indoor games; we all had fun together. He also spent time helping us a bit with our academic work.
Some bounds were well defined for us; they considered watching movies as a waste of time and never took us out for movies, Even at home T.V. movies are banned. They discouraged us from wasting our time on unwanted pleasures. They taught me to discipline my time- my study time, play time, quiet time in the morning, family prayer time etc. Firm disciple was always exerted on us.
My parents encouraged us and helped us to make decisions on our own about our higher studies, choosing our job, spending our pocket money etc. They never forced us to do what they wanted us to do. They respected our individual decision – making process and would do all they could to help us on a course that we had decided upon. In every decision small or big, they prayed for us, prayed with us and taught us to wait upon the Lord to know His will and do accordingly.
In every family crisis, I remember them waiting on the Lord. Later they encouraged us to follow the same principle in our personal decisions.
As I reorganise my thoughts about my family and Christian upbringing it is clearer than ever that the personal character of my parents was the prevalent influence on my life. I can confidently say that what I am today is just because of their prayer and their faithfulness. And I believe that the Lord who began a good work in me is able to complete the work in me.
-Rubesh Kumar
