LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL WITH CHRIST | KAIROS GLOBAL | JUNE 2018

Author: Anu Scento

Intro: Anu Scento recounts the tragic experiences in her life which became a turning point of her faith journey.

Growing up, I would always have a conversation with Jesus even though I didn’t know him much. I laughed with Him, fought with Him, and shared my heart with Him. Jesus knew me in and out but I didn’t know him much.

I was in fourth grade and I remember my dad falling unconscious. There were numerous check-ups and I was told that he was fine. He looked normal and healthy. However, the gravity of his illness was never discussed in front of me. Life went on, and we were in the new millennium. It was 2003. One day, when my dad said that he was travelling to Kerala, I asked him to bring back banana chips for me. A few days later I was informed that he was not feeling well and that we have to go to Kerala. When my mom and I reached Kerala, the sight of my dad’s dead body welcomed us. It was a shock! I couldn’t cry. Instead, my mind was racing and there were too

many questions for God. I told Jesus, ‘you raised Lazarus! Raise my dad too!’ The loss of my father was turning point in my life.

Meanwhile, my mother was undergoing some changes. She started hallucinating and became delusional. She would hear voices and started talking to these so-called voices she was hearing. In 2010, while attending a program, I told a nun about my mother’s condition and she explained this illness in detail. She said that some people under extreme mental stress lose control of their mind and it makes them hear voices. The voices could be anything and the person becomes violent if we don’t listen to them. Though my mother’s sickness made my life difficult, it was about the same time I experienced Christ’s love for me. When I lost my father, my mother lost her husband, her soulmate. As a child I was not able to understand her loss. Around the same time, my sister was getting ready for marriage and without a man by her side, all the

stress fell on my mom. She did not get any emotional support from anywhere and soon became ill.

I felt she was mad and I was kept a prisoner because of her. Based on the voices she heard, she kept accusing me of things I never did. She would get violent if I didn’t listen to her or if I went against her senseless decisions. She would tell me not to talk to people because she heard about them and saw me talking to them in her mind. But through it all my loving Abba father blessed me to understand her pain and taught me forgiveness daily. Taught me to love her back and empathise with her.

Through all those lonely years what kept me going was God’s unfailing love. He gave me His love and his peace and so I could smile with a peaceful heart. I realised I had Jesus whom I could call my own, who loved me very much and suffered and gave everything for me.

I started enjoying my life in midst of all pain. Whenever I thought about a future with a man, I felt nobody will marry me because I don’t have an earthly father and my mom was not stable. Nobody would want to take such huge responsibilities. But once again, God surprised me. My marriage was arranged and I got married to Scento Jose in November, 2014. He accepted me knowing about my mom and now, God blessed us with a son, Gabriel Joseph, who is two years old. Life is indeed beautiful after knowing my creator and it continue to amaze me how he loves me, who is not perfect.

Anu Scento is actively involved with the Jesus Youth family ministry and lives with her husband Scento and son Gabriel in Chennai, India.