But God had other plans for me. And began to suffer from an excruciating pain in my spine, which slowly increased and progressed down to my legs. Foolishly, I believed I was quite religious then and knew enough about Jesus. Meanwhile, the pain I was experiencing increased. I was forced to return to India. One day, I visited a friend of mine and asked him to pray for me. He placed his hand over my back and we prayed together. That was when God showed me that he was there for me and healed me.

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Unfortunately, my struggle had not come to an end. I had not yet accepted God’s will completely. This led me to a series of unfortunate events in my life. I failed to achieve anything of great significance - I lost my job, my friends and it came to a point when I did not even have enough money left to fend for myself. This led me to think of myself as a failure and I began to question the reason for my very existence. I had convinced myself that suicide would be far more beneficial than living through the rut I was in. What I didn’t realize was that; even though, I had failed to accept God in my life, he had still not left my side.

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I met God for the second time through a man of god. I was sitting at Bandra station; completely dejected with my failures, when a man of god sat by me. He spoke to me of many things. He offered words of wisdom and encouragement. But throughout that conversation, one statement touched my heart the most. He said “Tommy live and see what God will do through your life”. That statement seemed to break through all my inhibitions. I broke down in deep sobs at the station. The man of god gave me a hug and Rs.50 and left. That day and that man’s words are what have kept me going each day as I continue till today journeying through life. From that day on, I committed my life to the Lord Jesus Christ. Today, I’m pastoring a church in Mumbai, conducting workshops and seminars on relationships and giving spiritual direction.

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RELATIONSHIPS - I believe relationships in the world are built according to four basic criteria: “Physical appearance, Social status, Intellectual ability & financial means”. The most important criteria of all, the “Spiritual Dimension” is usually ignored, at least until problems crop up in a relationship. By the time the couples begin paying attention to the spiritual aspects of their relationship it is often too late. To the youth, I would now like to end with few words of encouragement. Youth comes only once, and it can never be relived. I, too, have wasted precious years of my young life. And even though, I long to undo the damage that I have done in my past. I CANNOT!!! But I have now built a relationship with the one who saved me from all the pain and suffering, I once had. I am now free, because of my relationship with Him. His name is JESUS.

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In His Vineyard,
Rev. Pastor Thomas Lopes.