This is a short story that I had written. Hope it touches you. God Bless.
SUN RISE
‘I studied as hard as I if I still didn’t pass it just mean that I had a very bad luck’, I said with tears in my eyes.
‘Maybe you did not work hard enough’, said my Father looking dead serious.
‘Please leave him alone for some time, he is already feeling bad your only making things worse’, my Mother said coming from the kitchen and entering our conversation in the living room.
‘Would you please stop it, never had been able to perform well either in school or college. Now he is the only one in college with 10 arrears while all his classmates are graduating. You and I are one of the best Doctors in the country and his brother is a scientist, at times I feel if he really is our son’, my dad said this and left the house.
My Mother tried her best to console me but it didn’t work.
‘Maybe he is right I’m not your son’ saying this I called my friend and asked him to come to our usually hang out place and I left the house.
As I left my house little did I know that this day, one of the saddest and worst day of my life was going to be a turning point in my life.
I entered the coffee shop which was an outdoor coffee shop and sat down at my usually place and was waiting for my friend.
‘Hey John how did everything go at home’ asked Thomas as he sat down.
‘Very bad’, as I said the waiter came and we ordered two espresso.
‘What Happened?’
‘You know, the usually scolding but I felt very bad. I can’t take it anymore. Today he told me he didn’t think I was his son and all this because I didn’t perform well’
‘That’s bad man but cool down everything will be fine’
‘I don’t think so’
‘I really don’t know what to tell you to console you and I think there is no other solution than you clearing all your papers in the coming semester’
‘Yes and that’s the impossible part’
‘This is not the end of the world. Give it another try’. Just then the waiter came with our order. After finishing the coffee Thomas said that he had to leave and was on his way. I waited for five minutes and then took out a small tube shaped bottle in which I had cocaine. I made sure no one was watching and put some of the powder on my hand and I inhaled it through my nose. I wanted the pain to go away but it wasn’t, it was true, I had been a loser although my life. I had never been good in anything, had no talent, and failed in both 10th and 12th board exam, same thing in college too. Everyone is like “why can’t you be like your brother?” its not that I don’t want to be like him. I just can’t be like him. To top all of this I’m fat and ugly because of which I don’t have any friends. I was born a loser. I mean why am I even alive? What’s the purpose of my life? Who am I in this world? I left the coffee shop after paying, and then went to a super market to buy rat poison; obviously it was not for the rat but for me.
As I walked back home I was thinking as to which spot should I use to commit suicide, my bedroom or my bathroom? Well, anyway, it doesn’t matter. As I was walking back home I saw a missionary van stop by, the volunteers with their hope ministry t-shirts came down and started disturbing Bible for free to everyone they saw and to all the shop keepers. I didn’t want to go past them just when I was about to turn and leave a cheerful middle aged man approached me and offered me the Bible. I refused it with a funny face feeling a little embarrassed as I didn’t want to upset him also.
‘You don’t look every well, whatever it is, this Bible can save you’, he said still looking very confident and cheerful.
Under normal circumstances I would have just took the Bible just because he was compelling and would have thrown it somewhere later on but I didn’t know why at that time I spoke with him.
‘I don’t think so’, I said
‘Let me tell you something, we were not even supposed to come to this part of the city today but today when I was praying, God insisted that I come here because some one was in need of our help. So young man, me coming here and giving you this Bible is not a coincidence, this can be a turning point in your life.”
Just then I concluded that I got stuck with a total nut case.
‘You may not believe what I’m saying now but I request you to do nothing but read this Bible regularly everyday, I promise you that you’ll see life changing everyday. I think there nothing harmful in reading, moreover what have you got to lose, give it a try’
After saying this he took a small piece of paper from his wallet and he wrote his name and mobile number, gave it to me and asked for my name, he noted it down smiled and left. I reached home and went to my room and sat on my study table, I kept both the Bible and the Rat poison on the table. What the man had said kept repeating in my head and yes he was right, what have I got to lose, I was planning to die so I every well might try reading the Bible, my mom was anyway nagging me for years to read it and pray. Again this is was a startling decision that I made in my life, because I don’t recall ever obeying to anyone but I listened to this man who I met for the first time. I took the rat poison and kept it in the cup board and I started reading the New Testament. After 15 minutes, the door bell rang and I went down stairs to get it. After answering the door I realized something, I had read the Bible for just 15 minutes but that itself made me feel very good. My mind was relaxed and I felt peaceful. This was fantastic; the man who gave the Bible had a point. I continued reading the Bible from then on. My out look in life started changing, my interaction with my parents and brother improved. Two weeks later I took the rat poison from my cup board and I threw it away. As days went by my faith increased and my life is becoming better, my parents were surprised on seeing the changes in me. I threw away all the cocaine and porn magazines I had and totally stopped it. Just when everything was going well, on a Sunday midnight my phone starts ringing, I answered it
‘Hello john, its Thomas’s father calling, can you please come to your father’s hospital’, Thomas’s dad voice was very shaky and mild.
‘Uncle, what happened?’
‘Thomas had a bike accident a few hours ago, please…’, he wouldn’t speak after that.
‘Don’t worry uncle I’ll be there right away’, I said and I dropped the phone, my hands were weak and my heart felt very heavy. I couldn’t believe it. It was hard for me to accept the fact. I prayed very hard, composed myself and left for the hospital. I saw my dad and Thomas’s father talking and I went up to them. Dad said that Thomas was in a coma and the chances of him surviving was very less as they had bought him in a very long time after the accident and he had lost lots of blood and fractured his skull. Just when I was feeling completely hopeless some of the Bible verses that I had read came to my mind.
“Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.” – Mark 11:24
“The centurion replied, “Lord, I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. But just say the word and my servant shall be healed……..Then Jesus said to the centurion “Go! It will be done just as you believed it would.” And his servant was healed at that very hour” – Matthew 8: 8-13.
I realized that it was faith that healed the centurion’s servant and also it was because people believed that they would be healed by Jesus that they were saved. I knew that I need to have faith and believe in Jesus. From that time onwards, I stopped worry about Thomas, because I knew that God will heal him. I prayed and thanked Jesus continuously. And as I knew, Thomas came out of his coma in two days and recovered very fast. I became a very humble person from that day onwards. Everything in me changed. My mom asked me one day, ‘how come you changed so much?’
‘Jesus changed me’, I said and smiled. I would see that this made both my mother and father very happy.
My dad came to me and said, ‘please forgive me for the way how I spoke with you’
‘No dad, forgive me for being careless through out my life and thank you for giving me everything.’ Both of them were in tears and they hugged me. I came across another verse which changed me,
“So do not worry, saying, ‘what shall we eat’ or ‘what shall we drink’ or ‘what shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well” – Matthew 6:31-33
For a long time I had been thinking that I’m good for nothing, have no talent, have ten arrears in my b.com, I wondered how I’m ever going to survive in life if I have nothing. But then I realized that I need not worry about any of these, if I go to God then the rest will come to me automatically, this gave me confidence. I started studying for my arrear exams and side by side I also got a job in as an accountant in a bookstore near my house, I thanked the owner for giving me a chance. I worked very hard and seriously. My mother insisted that I stay at home as it was not necessary for me to work but I felt working in the bookstore was the right thing to do. I thought about how my life changed and I remembered about hope ministries and the middle aged man who gave me the Bible. He was right; the Bible did save my life. I felt that there were lots of people out there who were suffering like how I used to so I thought I might reach out to them through Hope ministries and joined it as a volunteer. I wanted to see the man who gave me the Bible for the very first time but I was not able to see him and I also forgot his name and misplaced his number that he gave.
As months went by, my exams were coming near and I was studying hard and at the same time was working with Hope ministries and at the bookstore. Thanks to God, I cleared all my papers and got my degree. My parents were proud of me. The bookstore owner, Mr. James promoted me to manager of the bookstore. For me everything was going fantastic through God’s grace.
One day when I was cleaning my shelf, one of my old books fell on the floor and a piece of paper flew off it. I took it and saw; it had the name Michael Leonardo and a number on it. Then I recalled that this is the person who gave me the Bible. I quickly took the phone and dialed the number. After a few rings some one picked up the phone.
‘Hello, may I speak to Michael Leonardo, my name is John Anthony’
‘Hello my boy, how are you? It’s me’
‘ I’m excellent sir through God’s grace and thanking for giving me the Bible like you said it changed my life’
‘I’m very happy for you john’
‘Sir, I would really like to meet you’
Then he gave me his address and I dressed up immediately and was on my way. What I didn’t understand was why he asked me to come to the office building of oxygen pharmaceuticals. As I approached the building, I went to the receptionist and told her that I wanted to see Mr. Michael Leonardo; she smiled and said that he was expecting me and asked me to wait. Few minutes later another lady came and said that she will escort me. We were going on the elevator to the top floor. Finally she led me to a room and I was totally shocked at seeing the name board on the door, it read MICHAEL LEONARDO, CEO. I was totally speechless as I entered the office and there he was, as cheerful as ever.
‘Welcome john, it’s so nice to see you’
‘You are the CEO of Oxygen Pharmaceuticals?’ I asked barely able to speak.
‘Yes’, he said and gave a radiant smile.
‘But you were a volunteer in Hope ministries, weren’t you’
‘I started Hope ministries 10 years back. I suffered a lot in my life, I was born in a poor family and my parents passed away when I was very young, I was begging in the streets for my survival. I was then taken into an orphanage where I grew up. I thought about how my life was going and thought that I was a useless weed in this world that was accidentally born on this earth, but then one day I was given a Bible by ministry that came to the orphanage. From that time onwards everything changed for me, everyday was a like a gift to me. I kept on developing in my spiritual life and also my personal life. And that’s how I started my own company which is Oxygen Pharmaceuticals. After that I wanted to reach out to people and preach the Gospel and that’s when I started Hope ministries. I’ve been reaching out to many people and saving them and that’s gives me more happiness than anything. This is my the purpose of my life and this is who I am John’
‘Sir, you just made me realize who I am’
