roses and sunflowers
【Essay selection】Article 2
God is light, and wherever He shines, He melts like the spring sun and melts the winter snow.
"Wow", "Ah", "Yeah", as the camera flashed dazzlingly, we cheered. The supporting actors in the photo - the brothers and sisters in the fellowship made all kinds of funny moves; the protagonists in the photo - two pictures framed in dark maroon The cross-stitch work on the wooden frame reflects our smiling faces on the wall.
One is a rose in full bloom. The crimson petals are embroidered realistically and beautifully, and the leaves are embroidered with green threads of different shades, as if they had just been picked in the early morning. The other picture is of a sunflower. The large flower plate and golden petals are outlined with different stitches, and then stitched all over. What a sun-chasing flower that yearns for the warm sunshine!
Biblical verses framed against roses"I am the rose of Sharon" (Song of Songs 2:1); Echoing the sunflower is:“But for you who fear my name, the sun of righteousness will arise, with healing power in its rays.” (Malachi 4:2)Our cheers come from our gratitude to God, because these two cross-stitched flowers were created by two paralyzed little sisters to convey the love and blessings of God and brothers and sisters to a preacher couple who are about to get married.
It used to be dark and gloomy and never saw the light of day
The two little sisters who embroider roses and sunflowers, Qian and Xue, live in a small "village" hidden in a busy street in the capital. In an alley a hundred steps away from the main street, if you push open two dark red rusty iron doors, you can see rows of low and dilapidated bungalows. The passage is so narrow that only one person can walk.
Qian and Xue's home is in the innermost row. It is a rectangular room with simple partitions. There is a dining table and an uncooled refrigerator outside. There is a large bed placed horizontally under the window of the inner room, and a small bed is placed vertically next to the big bed. There is a double bed, and there are at most a few small benches at the entrance between the inside and outside. There is no kitchen or bathroom. This is where Qian, Xue, their parents, and their sister live.
Outside the window is the fence of the yard. The house is gray and does not see sunlight all day long, and the lights must be turned on even during the day. There is a very old-fashioned TV set at home, which is the medium through which the sisters learn about the outside world. The vertical double bed is the only living space for them 365 days a year.
Qian is thirteen years old this year. Paralysis caused by a genetic disease has severely deformed her body. Her spine is scoliosis, her legs are curled and turned out, and she can hardly sit without leaning on something. When they discovered that Qian was disabled, the couple had high hopes for a second child. However, the second child, who was born in winter, had the same disability as the eldest child. Her parents named her Xue, who is eleven years old this year.
A family with two paralyzed children to take care of is such a heavy burden for a family that relies on working to make a living. Their father, a Sichuan man, was heartbroken and helpless. Their mother had to stay at home to take care of her three daughters, and all the burden of life fell on her father. Unexpectedly, in the winter of 2007, my father had an accident. One of his legs was broken and he was bedridden. My mother suffered from cerebral hemorrhage and was admitted to the hospital. In the severe cold winter, the whole family collapsed.
See love and light now
The end of man is the beginning of God.
A sister from the church saw the family's plight in the media and came to help. During that time, the church paid for the family's living expenses and medical expenses, and prayed for help for the family. With help from all sides, the family got over the most difficult time. After experiencing God's great love, Qian and Xue believed in the Lord, and the light of the gospel illuminated their hearts.
Now, apart from being unable to walk, Qian and Xue are as smart and cute as other children of the same age. The sisters in the church and I go to Qian and Xue’s homeschool Sunday school every two weeks, reading Bible stories with them, singing hymns, and praying together. Every time I clap my hands and sing with Qian and Xue:"It is absolutely true that Jesus loves me, because the holy book tells me that the Lord Jesus loves me, the Lord Jesus loves me."The sweet childish voice is tender and crisp, and I feel really grateful when I hear it.
Xue loves to eat meat, has a chubby face, and is nicknamed Fatty. She is the entertainment committee member among the three sisters. Qian is extremely smart, has a photographic memory of books, and has deep thoughts on the truth. Her questions often make me think about them before I can answer them. The cross-stitch they made is so neat and beautiful. Unless you see it with your own eyes, who would have believed that the blooming roses and chasing sunflowers were made by two pairs of soft and slender little hands!
God is light, and wherever He shines, He melts like the spring sun and melts the winter snow. After Qian and Xue believed in the Lord, their mother also believed in the Lord, and the family changed. There was laughter in the place of weeping, and there was hope for the poor and disabled family. God has used love and mercy to support this once hopeless family, just as He allowed His only begotten Son to die for us and bear our sins so that we can have eternal life.
Award speech
I was both happy and terrified when I learned the news that I came in second place in the prose group. I am just a new recruit in the army of God’s pen soldiers. It is His grace and mercy that my works can be used by God. I am filled with joy and gratitude. But what I am afraid of is that God’s great salvation and long, wide, deep love cannot be expressed by my own stupidity and inadequacy. I can only work harder to write in the future and ask God to give me more grace and ability so that I can use words. and life to serve and glorify Him.
About the Author
An Ran, whose real name is Ma Zhihua, graduated from the Department of Trade Economics of Beijing Institute of Economics. He has been living in Romania since 1996 and has served as the editor-in-chief of two local Chinese newspapers. Now he has settled in Beijing and specializes in literary ministry. The novel "Meet Again" won the Outstanding Work Award in the 2007 Chinese Christian Literature Short Story Essay Competition of "Overseas Campus" magazine.