Hello everyone, just asking for prayers for my mom. She has a biopsy procedure tomorrow for concerns for lymphoma. I’ve been crying so hard as I am attending school far from home, unable to be by her side.
My mind keeps on spiraling. She’s so young and I never imagined this. I want her to see me graduate, get married and have her first grandchild. She’s so frightened and I’m at a loss for what to do.
My friend Joseph from India has been living in the USA for a while. I’ve known him for 8 years, and we met when he moved to my neighborhood.
He’s Indian, and his parents are very conservative. Many Indian Christians see holiness not as a thing you have but as a thing you show that you have at all times. Have a tattoo? That’s heretical! You gotta dress modestly (coverage only, forget the heart posture). Marry only an Indian woman who must be submissive and obedient. Arranged marriage, dating is a sin! And most of all, not becoming western (America is seen as Satan’s backyard). I met his parents last year and I was flabbergasted. They didn’t like me because I had a Budweiser tee.
Joseph has become more American. He and I go to an Orthodox Church. He has tattoos now. His accent has changed. He doesn’t like Indian food as much as Mexican. His girlfriend, a relatively new Christian, is from Spain. She loves to dress up, go to the gym, sunbathe, and likes to look good. They love each other and are seeking God.
He has introduced her to his parents. And they hate what he has become, and hate the woman he’s dating. They don’t sin together, but to his Indian parents she is first of all not Indian, they see them fornicating because they kiss and hold hands, and they think she’s similar to a prostitute because she wore a bikini or a dress with a low cut. I know them both and both are striving to be good Christians like me and anyone else. She’s a wonderful person too, a year into the faith, and growing every day.
But because of his parents, he is flipping out slowly. His parents are coming here to visit. They are so close minded and find him and his girlfriend to be vulgar due to how western they are, even if they are decent believers like most of us.
As Christians, how can I help him? He’s like a brother to me, and it hurts to see him like this. I’d appreciate advice. I am at a loss at how to help him as this is relatively new grounds for me.