The importance of PRAYER

On a sultry august morning, Rani landed in Chennai to venture into her new job, the door of her dreams. Reluctantly she bid her family goodbye to step into the unknown. The start for a new life had not been that easy as anticipated.

Hailing from north, it was difficult to get used to rice, the main food course in south. Language also stood as a major obstacle in making friends.
The first two months posed to be a disaster in Rani’s life. She fell into depression as she did not have a single friend to share her feelings with. At work, people minded their own business and moved on to their ways. This left Rani wondering if she would ever get any solace in the new city.
At one point, she gave up finding new friends and so her routine included a very materialistic life style comprising of work and tasks to be done.

One evening as Rani retuned from work, she heard a commotion in the neighborhood. Peering outside the window, she noticed that a family was moving in with their luggage. Probably, new tenants, though Rani with a sigh. Closing the window, Rani went of to bed thinking what an awful life she was living without her family.

The next morning Rani noticed that a crippled boy of around eleven was sitting on the porch and praying. She recalled that the boy belonged to the new family and felt sorry for him. As she passed his house, they exchanged a warm smile. The day turned out to be bad at work. Rani’s boss had dumped a hell lot of workload on her which absorbed every ounce of her energy. Her instincts told her that the future was going to be hectic.

On reaching home, the weariness of the day took on her. She felt utterly alone and helpless. Sitting on the terrace, she cried her heart out. All the suppressed feelings over the past few months came tumbling over.

Suddenly, she felt a hand on her shoulder. It was the crippled boy. He looked at Rani with the most innocent expression on his face. Rani wiped her tears as he sat beside her.
“Daddy says if you pray all your problems will be solved,” spoke up the little boy.
“No, it doesn’t. God just gives more and more problems,’ snapped back Rani irritated by the God talk.

“Daddy also says that if God gives you problems he gives you the strength to bear them,’ said the little boy.

Rani blinked at his statement wondering if it could be true. She never really thought much about god.
That night as Rani sat in her bed, she prayed. She prayed to god to give her strength to solve her problems. Things started falling into place. Rani somehow felt good about the life she was living. She made few friends who were very thoughtful.
After about two months, Rani knocked on the neighbor’s door.

She looked around for the little boy until a lady with a wrinkled face emerged. Rani asked about the guy. In return the lady answered, ‘The little boy was suffering from cancer due to which he died two weeks earlier. The family has shifted back to their hometown’. Rani felt numb on hearing this.

Later that night, Rani felt thankful for having met that guy though it had been for a short while. He has taught her the importance of prayer which changed her life. She prayed for his soul to rest in peace.

“God always gives the strength to bear our troubles”