When God Provides

When I was 9 years old, my parents thought it would be good for me to start piano lessons. We did not have a piano. Before they ventured to buy one, one of my father's patients (Dad was a GP) came over asking him for a favor. He said he and his family were moving overseas and he wanted a home for his piano. He would take it back when they returned. That started me on years of piano lessons, duets with my mother, and voice training lessons. When we had visitors, Appa (my father) would take out the hymn books and call out hymn numbers. As my nervous fingers played the music, our home filled with praise to God.

The year after I got married and moved away, the kind man who had loaned us the piano returned to India and the piano was given back to him. This story always causes me to pause and ponder at God's grace to our family.

“When I pray, coincidences happen,

and when I don’t, they don’t.”

-William Temple

My parents lived simple, generous, prayerful lives and I know for certain that the piano was an answer to prayer.

Fast forward 20 years when Ranjit, our sons, and I moved to Auckland, we lived in a small one bed unit. Each week, Michael and I would take a bus to church to practice the piano there. Buying a piano was not on our list of things to do at this stage. We were looking for a bigger home, the boys had started studies, and life went on. A lady I met at Bible study kindly called us over to her home for dinner. As we finished, she and her husband said that they felt we should have one of their 2 pianos. This left the 4 of us speechless. The following Saturday the Rawlings family moved their piano to our home where it stands to this day. 

There is a plaque in our home which reads:

“The secret to having it all is knowing you already do.”

When I could not work, God helped me take piano lessons from home. I have trained children to sing, we have had Tamil choir practices, and we have gathered as a family to sing. But most importantly, I sing hymns in the quiet of the day as my time of worship and praise. 

“Take time to be holy

Speak oft with the Lord

By looking to Jesus

Like him you will be

Thy friends in your conduct

His likeness will see.”

-William D. Longstaff

When we were expecting our second son Meshak, we were in India. I was worried as to who would stay with me in the hospital as in India only women can stay in the gynecology ward. My mother, who had stayed with me during my first delivery, had passed away and I felt that void a lot. My father kept assuring me that everything would be okay and we were almost at the due date. It was then that Jessy, a distant cousin of mine whom I had never met, wrote to my father asking for help explaining that her family was facing a financial crisis.

Appa told her to come over and that started a beautiful bond between Jessy and me. She had just finished her year 10 and had dropped out of school because of lack of funds. Jessy not only stayed with me in the hospital, but stayed with us for a year as part of our family. I enjoyed having a sister I never had before.  After a year, as a thank you for all her help, we enrolled her in a Nursery Teachers training institute in Madras. She passed the training and has since been working as a teacher and is now a happy wife and mother, as well.

‘The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want’ took on new meaning for me. I am amazed at the dots which the Lord connects just to provide for us. He loves us as if we were the only one on the planet!

Look back at your own life and make a list of all the Lord has provided for you.

Some of God's miracles are small, let us not forget them.

Jehovah Jireh - The Lord will provide.

“God is greater than our hearts, he knows everything.”

-1 John 3:20