The revival at Chroma Church is full of individual stories. Here’s one of them:
‘Lakhwinder,
you have a choice. If you live here, you live as a Hindu. If you want to be a
Christian, don’t come home tonight!’
It had been
brewing for a while, but my dad’s ultimatum still took me by surprise.
We were a
Hindu family, proud of our culture and religion. My family and I would go to
India at least once a year, travelling into the mountains to visit Hindu
mandirs. But I found that there was something missing. There was a falseness to
the gods and an emptiness to the rituals that left me feeling there must be
more.
I found
that there was more when I went to university in
Leicester. A friend took me to church. I very quickly realised that there was a
God, that Jesus Christ was real, and that’s when my life changed. Back home
from university with the news, it’s fair to say that it wasn’t taken very well.
So that’s
why I found myself travelling back to Leicester after my father’s outburst,
walking the streets, owning the clothes I was wearing, but nothing more.
Friends
from church rescued me.
Life was
good – until it wasn’t. I got myself into a relationship I had to leave and
into a financial debt I couldn’t pay.
The debt
was over £20,000 and with that hanging over me, I couldn’t possibly buy a house
– could I? With prayer and help, the debt began to go down. I unexpectedly
began to receive money into my bank account – several times! Some payments were
refunds connected to debts being settled, and in another instance, my workplace
had been deducting payments for a student loan that never existed, resulting in
a refund of around £700. Overall, I received a significant amount of money that
year and was able to pay off a lot of my debt.
It didn’t
end there. My mortgage broker called me to say that my purchase budget had
increased because some lenders were now willing to offer more.
I found a
three-bed semi-detached house in an area I loved, and it was in very good
condition. When speaking to the sellers, I learned that they were keen to sell
because they had already been let down twice. While searching for a house, I
had asked God to provide me with a home, not just a house. One of the first
things I noticed was that this house number was number 29. That number
held a deep significance for me, because I had lived at number 29 for over eighteen
years growing up. The same home my dad had
told me to leave.
The number
29 felt like a promise from God after everything that had happened. And there’s
even a ‘29’ promise in the Bible. It’s one of my favourite passages – Jeremiah
chapter 29 says this:
“For I know the plans I have for you,”
declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you
hope and a future.”
During
the sale process, God continued to show me a hope and a future, to show
faithfulness through both small and big moments. There was a very specific
cutlery set I had been searching for. Although I could have easily bought it
online, I felt led to wait on God. As small as it seemed, it felt like a
personal promise when not only did I eventually find one set, but I found two.
The exact cutlery I was looking for was on sale in a shop I visited weekly —
and it was only there during the period of the house purchase.
The sellers accepted my offer
even though it was well below the asking price. I was originally meant to
complete on the 28th, but the movers had to cancel because
their truck broke down, and there was also a delay with the seller’s documents.
Instead, completion happened the next day. That was the 29th. Of
course it was. Another reminder of God’s promise and gentle guidance.
The first people that came over when I got the keys to the house
were the same family that took me in when my dad told me to leave. Their
kids were able to help pray and anoint my home too, which again, felt like
God's hand over me. I found out that despite thinking to the contrary, the
house had brand-new water pipes, new insulation, and a new water tank. The
money I thought I would need for this could be used elsewhere.
During my wait to buy, my fellow lodger gave their life to
Christ. And my Dad apologised too, for his attitude. Listening to God and
obeying His guidance not only exceeds our own expectations but also impacts the
lives of people around us. This entire journey has made me fall more deeply in
love with God.
