Pooja grew up in a Hindu family and her family desperately wanted a boy. She experienced much rejection from her parents as she grew up. Pooja is so thankful that through Christ, forgiveness was available …
My name is Pooja. I come from a strict Hindu family. I am 23 years old and currently studying Human Services and Business Management.
Growing up in an Indian family
Indian families always put a lot of emphasis on the importance of having a son. My parents were very happy with their first child (my older sister). They both wanted to have a son as their second child, because they had already decided they weren't going to have more than two kids. Well, they were expecting a boy … but instead I popped out!
Disappointed that I was a girl
My mother literally cried when I was born because she was so disappointed about having a girl. I was two months old when my parents decided to leave me with my grandparents in India. They said they couldn't 'handle' another child, which made no sense, because it was a planned pregnancy. They left me there for two years. When they finally decided to bring me back, I didn't know they were my parents so I would always cry for my grandmother.
The bitter taste of rejection
My parents always favored my sister. My skin was tan whereas my sister was light skinned. This didn't help because Indians think light skin is beautiful and dark skin is ugly. So I grew up hearing that I was "`ugly and that no one would ever want to marry me." I wasn't as good at school as my sister so I also grew up hearing that I was "dumb and good for nothing." I grew up experiencing much rejection from both my parents. I would often get punished for crying by getting yelled at or being 'left out' of family activities.
More rejection as a teenager
When I was a teenager, I caught my father cheating on my mom. She was heart broken but decided to stay with him because of the Indian culture, which forbids divorce. Because of this I was accused of 'spying on him', which definitely was not the case. My father told me that I was a mistake, and that he never loved me as a child. He sat there and cursed at me and told me that my sister was his favorite.
At this point I hated both my mother and my father and resented them. I looked for male attention in all of the wrong places. I started dating a lot and had no respect for men. When I was 19 years old I ended up breaking someone's heart. When I broke his heart, something inside of me broke. I ended up crying out to 'god', which was a Hindu idol. I didn't feel better. I had done some terrible things, and the way I looked at it, I needed to be forgiven or I needed to die.
Be able to forgive my parents
My best friend's mom asked me to come to church with their family. I did. The first time I walked in, I felt something I had never felt before … conviction about the things I had done wrong. I wanted to change. I wanted to give up the partying lifestyle … the guys. I immediately accepted Christ into my heart. Shortly after accepting Christ, my life came together. I stopped drinking, partying and dating many guys. Through Christ I was able to forgive my parents.
Thanking God for all He has done
God has done a great work in me and He continues to do so. He has also worked within my family. He has drastically changed my mother and father and yes, continues to do so even now. God has been so very good to me. When my family first found out that I had converted to Christianity, they rejected me even more than they had in the past. My parents finally accepted the fact that devoting my life to Christ was a good thing when everyone started noticing the positive changes in me. After years of tough trials and tribulations, God brought forth a break through in my family. Now they are the very ones who ask me to pray for them when they are in need. I know that I am the only Christian in my family right now, but I am believing in God to save my whole family one day. I praise God for not only what I know He has done for me but also for those things that He did that I am still unaware of!
