Issue 6

The biggest thing is love

From that day on, Barbie became my best friend in the company. As I said in the birthday card: "Happy birthday to you, Barbie! As a 'new kid on the block', you have given me the greatest help..."

Barbie and Rodi were together, whispering to some other girls. When I walked towards the coffee machine and got closer to them, everyone suddenly stopped talking and looked at me sideways in an unnatural manner. I took a cup of coffee and nodded awkwardly, running away like a child who had done something wrong.


I almost ran away from the company dining room in a hurry.


This has been the case for quite some time. I am a new employee of the company and the first Asian female engineer. Most of the female colleagues in the company are engaged in secretarial or customer service jobs. Rodi was my secretary, and Barbie was another manager's secretary. Barbie and Rodi shared an office.


Recently, the situation has worsened. On several occasions, I even received meeting notices in the middle of important meetings, or received notes from my boss one day before the deadline for handing in reports. Even the memorandum I asked Routi to send was delayed until it was delivered to the person I wanted to send it to.


It was obvious that Barbie and Zodiac disliked me. Why? I have no idea. I sincerely tried to talk to Barbie and Rodi individually, but they just talked superficially and didn't want to talk to me in depth.


Barbie seems to be the leader of the secretaries, and everyone looks to her as the leader. Several times, I happened to overhear snippets of conversations: "Who does she think she is? She's so amazing!" "Why are Asians taking American job opportunities?" Who else does this mean?


I wanted to report to the boss and replace the secretary. The problem is, all the secretaries listen to Barbie, so what’s the point of changing the secretary? Besides, if I can’t even handle being a secretary, how can my boss doubt my ability?


One day, just as I was walking out of the company after get off work, they gathered together again, chatting and laughing. I forced out an unnatural smile, but unexpectedly, Barbie actually swore insults at me. I ran to the parking lot in embarrassment and shame, crying the whole way home.


I met my husband and told him everything. My husband angrily suggested to me: "Go to the human resources department tomorrow and report this to them. Tell them that you want to publicly expose this racial discrimination incident. They will be frightened and deal with the person involved immediately."


"Okay! Now that things have come to this, it's not that I'm unkind, but you are really unjust. You pushed me too hard, so don't blame me for being ruthless." I made up my mind to deal with these people and vent my resentment. However, after making the decision, I felt uneasy all night.


"If I report to the HR department and make the decision public, can I still stay in this company? What will other colleagues think of me? Will they be willing to work with me? In fact, my boss treats me badly, and the company is far away from home. It's close, and the treatment isn't bad."


"But if we don't deal with this matter decisively, how will we live our lives?" I kept thinking over and over in my heart, and it was really embarrassing.


I prayed all night: "Lord, I am really in a dilemma with no way out. Please help me." That night, I couldn't sleep, so I got up, opened the Bible, and read: "Love Your enemies, pray for those who persecute you, so that you may become sons of your Father in heaven...”


The next day, the situation was still the same, but I didn't go to the HR department. I just prayed in my heart: "Lord, please give me a heart to love my enemies and give me wisdom."


Unexpectedly, I heard Barbie's story: her ex-husband abused her and beat her, and after the divorce, he did not provide for her and her two little boys' needs. She supported herself and her two children alone with the meager salary of a secretary. It turns out that she is a sad, resentful but great mother. I came to understand her and sympathize with what she was going through.


Soon, I heard from the sidelines that her birthday was coming soon. I thought, this might be an opportunity. But what to do? There was a vague voice in my heart saying: "Give her a birthday gift." But what should I give her? When I arrived at the shopping mall, I prayed again: "Lord, I don't know what gift to give. Please give me the wisdom to choose a gift that Barbie will like."


On her birthday, I placed the gifts on her desk before Barbie arrived and went back to my office.


At a quarter past eight, there was a knock on my office door, and Barbie came in with an expression on her face that I had never seen before. With tears in her eyes, she rushed to me, gave me a hug and said, "Thank you."


From that day on, Barbie became my best friend in the company. As I said in my birthday card: "Happy birthday to you, Barbie! Thank you for being my friend and helping me out the best you can. As a 'new kid on the block', you give me My greatest help... May Heavenly Father bless you with happiness every moment in the new year."


Fifteen years have passed and I have long since left that company. However, every time I think of Barbie and Rodi, I am filled with gratitude because they gave me the greatest help and the most sincere friendship during those years. What the Bible says is true: “The greatest of all is love.”

*Good words and beautiful articles are selected from the first cup of life's supplement "life's supplement"