From Burma with God!
All of us have had a close miss with death and we know for
sure that an invisible hand protected us. How many of us know the invisible
hands that protected the lives that brought us into this world? I wouldn’t have
been existent if not for that incident which took place many years before I was
born.Some small acts of kindness, some miracles incognito has
shaped each of our lives and I’m blessed to know one of mine. Generations must
remember the goodness shewn on their ancestors to remind each other about the God
they serve and his goodness to the work of His hands.
Let me get to the story.
During the times of the Second World War, in the year 1942, people
who lived in certain countries not their own, were asked to return to their
native places and move to safer refuges. The reason was the bombings that took
place all around the world and particularly in some countries. One such place
was the country of Burma, a neighbor of India. A lot of Indian families had
then been living in Burma as fathers found work there. One such family of 7: a
father, mother and five children started their journey from Burma only after
the bombings started there. The trail was slow and dangerous as they had not
taken a flight or a train through which the Burmese government had earlier transported
many to India. On missing the government provided transportation, this
particular family had to take the entire journey on foot. Sources say that they
travelled for nearly a month to reach Indian soil. The journey was not easy as
any is not meant to be; they had to cross hills, valleys, rivers, forests etc.
In the middle of the journey, the family had to cross a
river and the marshes around it. The leader, the dad was quite a guide and was
able to bring all of them safe up to this place. He supposedly had a gun which
prevented any unnecessary attack. As the family finally moved slowly on to the
marshes surrounding the river, all of them got caught in a quicksand. In a
totally helpless state all 7 of them stood there wondering what to do. With
every minute they stood there doing nothing, they were sinking deeper.
The eldest of the kids, a well grown woman then just exclaimed with anger and exasperation, “Does our God live only in a church, does he not come here and all?”
Only a few moments passed, they were still going deeper when
they saw a man. Yes, right in the middle of the marshes surrounding the river
in the mountainous terrain. This man held each of the 7 by his hand and pulled
them out. Yes, out of the quicksand. You read it all right and it’s absolutely
true. Furthermore the man guided their way by telling them to go on in a
particular direction wherein he said they would find a military camp which
would provide for them. The family took time to shove off the mud from their
clothes after which they looked up to thank the man. Guess what? He was nowhere
to be found! The family realized God’s goodness and discussed amongst themselves
about how the man wore a white dress and no mud dared to stick on it! With renewed
faith and glee filled hearts they all walked in the direction they were told
to. And without guessing, the man was right about the military camp and about
guiding them to the right place.
The family continued their journey and safely reached
Kolkata (Calcutta), in the Indian soil. They soon took a train to Madras
(Chennai) and then moved to Madurai. The youngest of the 7 came down to Chennai
and had two sons. The eldest son had one daughter and that’s the one writing
the blog! (do read it again if you didn’t get, sorry for the interruption if
you had got it)
The youngest picked up that day was 8 years old then, and 85
years old now. Even today he(my grandpa) talks about that day as the day God
saved him and his family from the hands of death. He is the only one alive to
tell the story.
I thought it important to let others know of miracles that
God has done, in ways we don’t expect him to. So unless God had saved my
grandpa that day, maybe, well maybe I would’ve been non-existent! Just like if
Ruth hadn’t come out of Moab, David the king maybe, well maybe could’ve been
non-existent. If you ever doubt, there exists a God, then at least this is
a standing argument, because there is no rational explanation for a man in
white to be loitering in the mountains where marshes are harmful and the war is
in the air. And if you doubt the credibility of my writing you could check with
my grandpa, he lives in Chennai.
The same God, who appeared to Abraham, was and is with my
grandpa and the same God is also with me. He is the same one who sees, protects
and leads. His faithfulness goes on to a thousand generations of those who love
him. May God’s name be praised!For it is one thing to believe in God, and another thing to know Who you believe! I know who I believe, do you?
because I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him until that day. 2 Timothy 1:12b
