By Shini Yesudian Abraham
“What we once enjoyed and deeply loved we can never lose,
For all that we love deeply becomes a part of us.” – Helen Keller
THE world knew Prakash Yesudian as an evangelist, preacher, teacher, song-writer, author and leadership-developer or as their personal mentor, discipler, or counselor. While he had a transforming effect on the lives of countless people, I want to focus here on who he was to us as family. My brother Billy and I have had the unique honor of knowing him as Dad. While we deeply grieve his loss, we also celebrate a life well-lived and rejoice in the hope we have in the Christ he loved, served and made the foundation of our home and lives.
As a 19 year-old, studying in The American College, Madurai, Dad was challenged to examine the claims of Jesus which resulted in the start of his journey through life as a firm believer in Christ. This encounter with Jesus changed everything for him. In his own words: “Will you also go away, God asked me on the 15th of May 1964. I decided not to go away from God and committed my life to Him. The same year, in a small prayer meeting, He challenged me to serve Him through the song, ‘Yen Meetpar Sendra Paathyil.’ In my heart I said, ‘yes!’ to God.”
From early on, we saw Dad’s love for God and his heart to serve Him wholeheartedly. It was an uncompromising commitment, fueled by a passion to tell everyone he encountered about Jesus. As his family we were very much a part of his ministry – Mom led us in praying every night for Dad as he traveled and ministered in various places.
In a culture where caste and creed rear their ugly prejudicial heads (even in devout Christian circles) Dad raised us to be completely free from the bondage these systems impose on lives. We, thus, grew up seeing everybody as equals, all made in God’s image, deserving of a relationship with Him, worthy of dignity, respect and love from Him and, therefore, from each other.
His respect for people showed in the way he asked thought-provoking questions, giving them a chance to think through their own challenges and come up with solutions, treating them as intelligent beings. As a teenager when I tried to argue with him, he always countered me with smart questions that exposed fallacies in my thinking and led me to then take responsibility for my own thoughts, decisions and actions.
We enjoyed a lot of laughter in our home, often seeing the fun behind mundane, everyday situations! His sense of humor and laughter helped make even difficult conversations palatable. His sheer joy in telling simple stories to illustrate deep truth helped us learn valuable life lessons.
Dad challenged many other cultural ‘norms’ that are really ungodly systems – the dowry system, the way women are valued less than men, the Indian cultural pre-occupation with gold and accumulating wealth. “The gold many accumulate and fight over on this earth will be dust under our feet, that we walk on, in heaven,” he would say. “Real treasure is the fruit that comes naturally out of living a life of love for God.”
I was married in 1992. Billy got married in 1999. True to the way we were brought up, there was no question whatsoever of a dowry or stock-piling jewelry, and all wedding expenses were split equally by our families.
Because he held on lightly to material things and had an eternal perspective on things, we saw Dad and Mom give generously to help redeem homes that family and friends would have otherwise lost, send less fortunate family and friends on to higher studies, support many in their studies at Bible College and seminary and help couples get married.
We grew up seeing God as our sole provider and often experienced miracles of God’s full provision just when we needed it the most, regularly gathering to pray together to thank the Lord for His faithful provision. When I married Rob Abraham, we stepped out into a life of service. That step of faith into a life-journey of faith was a natural consequence of deeply believing in God as our provider. “If the call of God is on your lives, you need to step out in obedience trusting Him to provide for you,” was Dad’s advice to us.
He was a man of integrity. I saw him keep meticulous accounts and settle accounts as quickly as possible. He stressed the importance of being faithful in the smallest things – down to every paisa. “What begins as just 25 paise will end up as lakhs of rupees,” he would say.
He was quick to say sorry when he was wrong. I remember the times when he stuck his head into my room to ask if we could talk because he wanted to apologize for something he had said that was wrong.
He taught us to appreciate every blessing – even the seemingly small ones – and never to take anything for granted. Once I brought home the results of a spelling test where I had obviously failed to do my best. His response was a story from his school days. “I once spelled the word ‘feather’ wrong and when I realized that it was because of laziness on my part. I was deeply ashamed and decided to do my best in every opportunity I was given, because every opportunity is a gift from God,” he said.
He taught us to depend wholly on God, for everything, never to please man or depend on man. “Man looks at the outside, but God looks at the heart – live a life that is wholly pleasing to the Lord.”
The verse that stands out the most to me as I think of Dad, specially of his last few years on the earth, is from Jeremiah 17:7, 8.
“Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD,
whose trust is the LORD.
He is like a tree planted by the water,
that sends out its roots by the stream,
and does not fear when heat comes,
for its leaves remain green,
and is not anxious in the year of drought,
for it does not cease to bear fruit.”
It is said that the true heart of man is exposed when he is at his weakest. Even as his health failed and his body got weaker, he continued to stand steadfast in his faith, seizing every opportunity to witness, share the transforming love of God, to pray for others and to give generously.
A word here about our incredible Mom who served alongside Dad for over 45 years – married in 1969, theirs was a unique and spirit-led partnership throughout. Mom has reached out to countless people in her own quiet way and has discipled many. The way she cared for Dad through his illness is a testament of her deep love for God and for Dad as well as a shining example to us all. She has set the bar high for us.
He crossed the threshold on Tuesday the 22nd of July at 3:25 am, surrounded by us, his family, at home. His humility was reflected in the quiet, quick burial he wanted where the focus would not be on him but on the God he has loved and served. “Don’t stand around the body,” he once said. “Instead, sit and talk among the living about how to live lives honoring to the Lord.”
Dad leaves behind a rich legacy in the thousands of lives he has impacted. We are grateful to God we got to live, laugh and love together with our Dad.
So we mourn a loss that cannot be quantified, treasure a family-bond and love that is incomparable, aching deeply because we return to a home without Dad’s physical presence in it… and yet, we celebrate a life well lived, a heritage that is rich and complex, as well as the impact Dad had on all, most of all on us his family.
With the apostle Paul, Dad can truly say, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” We put so much effort into starting well. May we run the race, keeping our eyes focused on Jesus, and stay focused on finishing well, as well!
Related reading: My brother, Prakash Yesudian
