Breathing Easy

To Sabbath School teachers: This story is for Sabbath, October 3.

By Andrew McChesney, Adventist Mission

Fourteen-year-old Aradhana noticed that one of her eighth-grade roommates in the girls’ dormitory had trouble breathing when fall turned to winter and the weather became cold.

Her roommate, Jyotsana, also had trouble breathing when winter gave way to spring and the flowers started blooming.

Jyotsana had asthma.

Even though Jyotsana used asthma spray and took pills every day, she still struggled to breathe when the weather changed. Aradhana felt sad because she and Jyotsana were friends. Aradhana came from an Adventist home, while Jyotsana’s family belonged to a world religion that does not worship God.

One night when Jyotsana was taking her medicine, Aradhana decided to talk to her about God. She sat beside Jyotsana on the bed.

“You should pray, and you should read the Bible,” she said.

Jyotsana thought for a moment.

“OK, I’ll try,” she said.

Both girls went to bed.

The next night, Aradhana saw Jyotsana sitting on her bed and reading from an open Bible in her hands. Aradhana felt happy to see her friend reading the Bible. She decided it would be a good time to have her own evening worship, so she went to her own bed and read a chapter from the Bible. Then she went to sleep.

After that, Aradhana saw Jyotsana reading the Bible every night. She also saw her praying every night, either sitting on her bed or kneeling beside the bed. One night, Aradhana suggested that the two girls pray together. They knelt, and Jyotsana prayed first. “Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for this day. Thank you for protecting us from harm and danger. Be with our parents who are far away from us. Be with us. Help us study well in class. Be with our deans and teachers. Be with me also. Give me strength to read the Bible and help to recover from my breathing sickness. Be with us as we sleep. In Jesus’ name, Amen.”

Then Aradhana prayed. “Dear Heavenly Father, be with Jyotsana. Help her to follow Your path and be with her family and my family.”

After a while, Aradhana noticed that Jyotsana was making God a major part of her life. She prayed at meals and before doing her homework and taking exams.

Her health also improved. Her asthma didn’t bother her so much, and the physician said she could take less medicine. Jyotsana excitedly told Aradhana the good news.

“I’m so happy that the doctor decreased my medicine,” she said. “I am getting tired of taking so much medicine.”

“God helped you to decrease your medicine,” Aradhana said.

Aradhana had been praying for her friend every night, and she thanked God for hearing her prayers.

Jyotsana no longer goes to Aradhana’s school, but Aradhana hasn’t forgotten her. She prays every night that her good friend will give her heart to Jesus.

“God help her to recover fully from her breathing sickness wherever she is studying,” she prays. “Help her to go on Your path so that she may meet You in heaven.”

Part of this quarter’s Thirteenth Sabbath Offering will help construct a new church in Amritsar to replace an old, overcrowded church building. This is the church where Aradhana worships on Sabbaths when she is not studying at Seventh-day Adventist Inter College in Roorkee, a town located about 15 miles (25 kilometers) from Amritsar in northwestern India. Thank you for planning a generous offering so Aradhana can worship in a nice, new church.