amazing Grace
【Parents】
Photo courtesy/Liu Yiwei
▲Liu Yiwei, his husband, his youngest son Yan Fang, who has led them to believe in the Lord with perseverance, and his grandson Marco, whom he has raised since childhood, took a group photo by the pond in the community.
A word from my son
At the end of November 2006, when our grandson Marco turned three years and three months old, my wife and I fulfilled our promise and sent him back to his parents (my youngest son and daughter-in-law) in Cleveland, USA. By the beginning of March 2007, the old couple returned to China. In just over three months, it was the first Spring Festival reunion for our family in nine years. Even in a foreign country, in addition to the strong family ties, I also feel the incomparable relief and joy of having my dream come true.
Immersed in such an atmosphere, I was chatting with my son one day. He said to me: "Mom, the biggest gain for me coming to the United States is not getting a foreign doctorate as you expected, finding a stable job, or getting a green card. "My biggest gain is believing in the Lord Jesus Christ, who has completely changed my world view, outlook on life, and values!" His words shocked and stunned me! He almost blurted out: "Son, are you possessed?"
To be honest, apart from being shouted out as slogans in various political movements before the Cultural Revolution, the so-called "world view, outlook on life, and values" have almost never seriously thought about the connotation of faith, and it is even more far away from me now. Although I could not say that I objected to his belief at that time, I still felt it was a bit unreasonable and even worried that he would be tempted into a political trap or trap (because domestic news media had already reported endless similar information). At the same time, I also fell into deep contemplation, recalling the scene in June 2003 when I came to the United States to attend my son’s doctoral graduation ceremony: when he received the glittering doctoral diploma, not only was he not as excited and optimistic about his future as I expected. The beautiful vision, on the contrary, there is a kind of worry and loss of not being able to find the next step in life, and even saying such pessimistic and world-weary words as "If it weren't for my son, I don't want to live in the world"! I was dumbfounded but had no choice but to take my grandson Xiaoma Ke, who was just three months old, back to China to be raised by myself.
Now we meet again after three years, but I find that his mentality has changed a lot: his mood is calmer and calmer than before; there is no longer a resentful look between his eyebrows; he competes with my daughter-in-law and me to do housework; he who rarely sang in the past, after dinner He often practices singing hymns alone (he told me that he participated in the church choir service); the words he often talks about are "blessed are the humble", "I have peace and joy in my heart", etc.
All of this brought me a surprise: my son has really changed! It seems that the changes he mentioned are well-founded. It is his faith that truly guides the direction of his life! Why should I doubt and worry about him? I finally felt relieved and returned home in China with the feeling that "we cannot ignore the issue of life goals."
▲On February 24, 2013, Liu Yiwei (second from left) was baptized into the Lord at the Cleveland Chinese Church and became the precious daughter of “Abba Heavenly Father”.
Who has the final say?
My wife and I are college classmates, graduating from the Class of 1966. We are a typical generation of intellectuals who were "born in the old society and grew up under the red flag." "Atheistic materialism and communism" are the only ideological (belief) education that our generation must receive. However, although they have been strengthened by countless political movements, they have not become a philosophy of life that truly guides us. We basically don’t think about the issue of “belief”. Only “working diligently and being an honest person” is our life creed.
At the end of 2008, something happened at home that reversed the trajectory of my life. The thing is like this: After more than half a year of deliberation, our family: my husband, I, my eldest son and his wife, and my younger son and his wife jointly invested in the registration and establishment of a company to implement product market expansion for an innovative technology patent project in our hands. . Because we believe that we have many qualifications: our old couple and our youngest son can provide strong technical support, our eldest son has an MBA and has basic qualities in business management, our youngest daughter-in-law studies finance, and our eldest daughter-in-law is a lawyer, a key talent for a company. We have all the resources. Isn’t it much better than those farmers running enterprises who “wash their feet and go to the fields”? We are all confident!
But I never expected that the family would never have peace from now on! Before setting up the company, we were a family relationship of husband and wife, father and son, mother and son, brothers, mother-in-law and daughter-in-law. Family ties were the bond between us, and I was the "head of the family" who ran the family. For the past forty years, I have not only had the final say in all affairs of the family, but I have also personally managed them. This is how we have built this harmonious and beautiful home today.
After the company was established, although we were still the same people, our respective roles were different: we became colleagues, partners, and investors, and our mutual relationship completely changed. Under this situation, facing various problems that constantly arise in the company's operations, although everyone has been mentally prepared before, they still feel at a loss, especially "who has the final say?" has become the biggest problem of all!
▲The author traveled to the Great Smoky Mountains of the United States in 2015 and had a great time with his daughter-in-law and grandson. His wife, Mr. Yan Jiayi (first from left), was also baptized into the Lord at the Mercy Church in Cincinnati on Easter that year.
Faced with a lot of problems to deal with, it was difficult for us to find a consensus, let alone make a decision. I was anxious but unable to do anything. After more than half a year of hard work, the company's operations showed no improvement. Not only did we lose some hard-earned opportunities, but what was even worse was that we started complaining and blaming each other, quarrels became commonplace, and the company was completely in trouble.
I really can’t figure it out! In the past, I was always the one who always kept my word at home. Why did my words no longer work? Where is the Hemei family (and team) that I worked so hard to run? Why did my beautiful wish to leave a family fortune for my children and grandchildren become a "donkey liver and lung"?
During the international long-distance call, I complained to my youngest son, saying that I really didn’t want to live anymore. But he told me calmly: "Mom, I can completely understand how you are feeling at this moment. But I can't save you, only God can save you!" When I heard this, I was extremely sad and resentful, and I burst into flames: " Where is God? How does he know my pain? How can he save me?” He answered me: “I must take you to church!”
Sure enough, not long after that, he asked an old Christian couple who had returned from the United States for missionary work to come to my house and invite us to church, but we declined politely. By Christmas 2009, my younger son took the opportunity to celebrate his wife’s 70th birthday and returned to China in person to bring us to a house church in Chengdu. This time we could no longer refuse, because he stayed with us for a whole month, and before returning to the United States, he repeatedly told us to insist on going to church.
Can God save me?
Although I was a little reluctant to go to the church for the first time and I didn't understand anything, I thought that my son had traveled thousands of miles to come back and this move must be for our own good, so I persevered. After listening to sermons more often, I gradually gained some insights. I think the reason why there are conflicts among people is because everyone has different standards for judging things. If everyone followed God’s standards, there would be no disputes. . From then on, I turned from negative to positive. I insisted on going to church to worship and listen to sermons every Sunday, and read the Bible at home every day, because I wanted to understand God’s standards as quickly as possible so that I could abide by them.
As I accepted the truth of the biblical gospel and gave up on the concept of atheism, I began to think about some basic questions in life: "Where do people come from? Where do they go?" "What is the purpose of God creating man?" "Jesus Christ" Why should he suffer death for the sins of the world because of his sinlessness?" etc. I ask myself, having lived for more than sixty years and calling myself an intellectual, why have I never thought about these fundamental questions in the past? It seems that I have lived in such ignorance and chaos all my life, so what qualifications do I have to talk about "life goals"? ! I really regret that I came to church too late.
I can’t remember which Sunday service I was singing a hymn, but the song “Jesus Praying Alone” made me burst into tears. The scene of the Lord Jesus praying sadly in the Garden of Gethsemane appeared before my eyes. I called my son in the United States to tell him, and he said, "Yes, this is the Holy Spirit's inspiration to you."
▲In October 2015, Liu Yiwei (fourth from left) participated in a literature camp organized by the Genesis Literature Training Bookstore in Chengdu, Sichuan. As an after-school assignment, he wrote this gripping testimony of conversion to the Lord, wholeheartedly glorifying God who has given so much grace.
After carefully experiencing it, I was very happy. I really felt like my heart was opened and my eyes were brightened. From then on, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, I slowly began to pray to God. Another time when I was fellowshipping with everyone after listening to a sermon on Sunday, I talked about the situation of "a man cast out one, but seven unclean spirits came back" (see Matthew 12:43-45), and I thought to myself, what if I was that person? What should a person who is haunted by seven unclean spirits do? Suddenly my heart was filled with confusion and fear. I thought my outcome would be unimaginable, so I silently cried out loudly in my heart: "Lord, save me!"
After returning home, I calmly thought about it. My life was in a desperate situation before, all because of my sins of arrogance, stubbornness and rebellion. Now I am an old man in his seventies. If I don’t come before God quickly, sincerely confess my sins and repent, and accept the Lord Jesus Christ as my Savior, I won’t have much chance of salvation. I felt a strong sense of urgency, which not only prompted me to work harder on reading the Bible and listening to sermons, but also ardently longed to be baptized into the Lord as soon as possible and become a reborn and saved Christian.
At the end of 2012, when my wife and I went to the United States to visit relatives again, we immediately made the decision and participated in the baptism training class for my younger son at their Cleveland Chinese church. February 24, 2013, is a day I will never forget. It was the spiritual birthday of my rebirth and salvation. On that day, I was baptized into the Lord and became the daughter of “Abba, Heavenly Father”. I burst into tears again, and these tears were filled with immense gratitude to God. On Easter 2015, also under the leadership of my youngest son, my husband was baptized into the Lord at Mercy Church in Cincinnati, USA.
I can’t help but reveal a little bit here. Although our “family business” still has many difficulties, it has improved thanks to God’s guidance and blessing. Loving Heavenly Father, I was a rebellious and unworthy sinner who should have perished, but you did not abandon me. You chose me before the foundation of the world and saved me with the life of your only begotten Son, our Lord Jesus, as a ransom. Oh God! What you have prepared for me is amazing grace that no eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no human heart has imagined. I want to thank you and praise you forever! Hallelujah! Amen!
Author profile Liu Yiwei lives in Chengdu, Sichuan. Before retirement, he was a senior engineer in a third-tier enterprise, engaged in energy and power equipment design and technology work. In October 2015, I participated in the "Family Story Writing Camp" organized by the Genesis Lettering Training Academy for the first time, and studied seriously to witness the glory of God with pen and heart.