Daughter of a Heavenly Father (Hannah's Heartbeat Newsletter Article)
Sharma’s father would come home drunk and angry. Without reason, fights would break out between him and her mother. His treatment of Sharma and her siblings was no better. He was always sour and would provoke everyone to tears.
Sharma had been raised to worship and trust in idols to provide all she needed. Yet her Hindu family was always depressed. None of those idols helped free her from the pain that stemmed from her father’s behavior. As she grew up, hurt and pain filled her heart because of him. “All men are just like my father,” Sharma thought, and she decided to live a life alone.
At first, life unmarried and on her own was good. But as time passed, people started encouraging her to marry, and the inevitable thoughts of nobody loving or caring for her once she grew old crossed her mind. Soon, depression and poor health set in because of her worries.
In the midst of her pain, Sharma heard Nari Asha [the Nepali Women of Hope radio program]. She wrote, “The episode shared how birds do not sow, reap, or store but the Heavenly Father feeds them. It told how we are far more valuable than birds. God will care for our needs, too, so we need to trust in Him. I came to understand that God is perfect in all He does even when we cannot understand Him. That lesson touched my heart. I started to attend a nearby church, and my life changed.”
Today, Sharma is 38 years old and unmarried, but she is happy with her life. Many women around the world like Sharma have been through, or remain in, painful circumstances. But it is for women like this that Project Hannah created its Women of Hope program. And, through the more than 60 languages broadcast during the 15 years that Women of Hope has been on the air, many women are hearing of God’s redeeming love and placing their hope in Christ regardless of their circumstances.
Read more about Project Hannah in Nepal.
This is one of three articles written for Project Hannah's fall Hannah's Heartbeat newsletter by our summer intern, Melissa Norris. Learn more about (short- and long-term) opportunities for you or people you know to serve with TWR.