Climb high and look far

In the summer of 2000, my husband and I went to the Grand Canyon. I was amazed by the magnificent mountains along the way. When we reached the observation deck, we were immediately shocked by the vast view. God created the mountains with just one word, but He paid no attention to the details: the creeks at the valley bottom were winding, the birds were soaring in the mountains, the mountain walls were steep, and the rocks were rugged. At a glance, it is exactly what the poet Du Fu described: "There are layers of clouds in the chest, and birds returning home from the canthus. When you reach the top, you can see all the small mountains." Layers upon layers of red cliffs, from deep to shallow, lining up the The baby blue sky, the idle pure white clouds, this beautiful tapestry has been deeply imprinted in the memory bank.

▲Minwen received the hard-earned certificate.

longing for distant views

I have lived in South Florida for twelve years. The terrain here is flat, and the only place I can see in the distance is my second-floor window. But what can be seen? It's just green grass all year round, herons occasionally flying over, palm trees in groups, and a small artificial lake. This kind of scenery remains unchanged in all seasons thanks to the diligent maintenance of workers. I have been looking at this unchanged scenery for twelve years. The desire to climb high and see far away has always been in my heart.

The same goes for my ministry.

In recent years, because of my children, I have not been able to serve in many areas. Play the piano once a month and lead songs in worship once a quarter. Is this all I can do for God? I really wanted to make a breakthrough, but as a stay-at-home mother, taking care of my children occupied most of my time and energy, until that Sunday in February 2005...

After Sunday school ended that morning, Brother Yang handed me a big yellow envelope. He said, "Take it back and look at it, pray and see."

At night, when the child fell asleep and took out the Bible from the bag, he was surprised to see the envelope with his name written on it. He pulled out the document inside and saw the words "2005 Literary Camp".

Looking through it carefully, I found out that it was the registration form and course introduction for this year’s Literary Camp, as well as an article on “Interviews with Spouses of Literary Writers.” As I read, these pieces of paper seemed to turn into a hoe, tapping my dry heart.

▲My baby daughter is Minwen’s source of inspiration.

Serve God with words? I never thought about being a word preacher! "A leap between heart and pen"? To me, this concept is like that dreamy feather coat stored at the bottom of a drawer. yes! A long, long time ago, I wrote some Bible reading reflections and life testimony articles. For a long, long time, I just helped the church write invitation cards for evangelistic meetings and Christmas parties.

That long-long desire to climb high, that long-long dream of serving God, is like a diamond that was originally buried in an unchanging life. Today, a ray of light was reflected from a small section.

A special issue, a key

But that light was very weak, and was immediately obscured by many practical considerations. When I met Brother Yang again, I sincerely declined him. But he said to continue praying, and not long after that, he gave me a special issue of the Chinese Literature Camp. I never imagined that this special issue would become a key that would open another door for me to serve.

After that, use the child's nap time every day to eat lunch and read the special issue. Page after page, article by article, through the records of the seniors in the writing camp, I saw a new heaven and a new earth, as if I had returned to the Grand Canyon National Park, attracted by the mountain scenery along the road. These brothers and sisters wrote down what they gained from the literature camp, sharing how the literature camp inspired changes in their personal spiritual lives and how it broadened their realm of service.

I yearn for it so much. But in comparison, my writing is much worse. When I read Teacher Su Wen'an's famous saying: "Workers come before work, authors are more important than works, sincerity is better than everything else", I searched my heart to see if it was sincere. I also read about the "Qi every exercise" that writers should exercise. I doubted whether my muscles and bones could withstand such stretching.

However, even amid all the doubts, the desire to climb higher and the dream of serving God were ready to come out. Not only did I enjoy the beauty of word service, I also felt the power of word service. At this time, it is no longer possible for me to close the door.

leap

Later, I learned that Teacher Gao Lili was about to come to the church to serve as a spiritual speaker. I was so happy that I even postponed my planned trip to Taiwan in order to hear the message in person from this man of letters whom I had admired for a long time. During the three days and four sessions, Teacher Li Li talked about how much blessing her great-grandfather, Gao Chang, brought to his entire family and the land where he settled because he responded to God’s call. Teacher Li Li also used the "parable of the talents" spoken by Jesus to illustrate the management of resources in the Kingdom of God.

I couldn’t help but ask myself: God gave me a heart to love words, should I bury it underground? Many people have praised my writing skills. Is this a talent given to me by God? Maybe I have never written any decent articles seriously, but if I am willing to be used by God, can’t He use these five loaves and two fish to feed five thousand people?

In this way, God’s hand led me step by step, gave me vision, gave me courage, and gave me my heart. I seemed to be standing in front of the observatory again, looking at the panoramic view of the Grand Canyon. The view was so broad. At that time, I made a wish to God in my heart, that I would participate in the literature camp, and asked God to take care of what I had and accept what I was willing to do.

During Sunday morning worship, Teacher Li used the film "Chariots of Fire" to inspire the entire congregation. In the film, the protagonist Eric Liddle spent a lot of time and energy training to run in order to participate in the Olympics. Even his fiancée who went to China as a missionary with him accused him of neglecting the ministry of God. But his answer was, "When I ran, I felt the joy of God." My spirit was so shaken.

▲"Li Daier" biography, Tianen Publishing.

Yes, Lord, I also want to say: "When I write, I feel God's joy." That day I filled out the registration form for the literature camp, affixed the stamp, and sent it off. When the envelope disappeared into the mailbox, I felt like I had jumped from the edge of the Grand Canyon. Maybe I can spread my wings and fly, maybe I will be shattered into pieces, but I just don’t want to stay at the bottom of the valley all my life.

Holding the ticket and dragging the luggage, I passed the airport security check and looked back at the husband and child who were still waving. Going to the Literary Camp this time was very much like the unknown soldier in a martial arts novel who goes up to the mountain to become a disciple. He leaves his family behind with an uneasy heart in order to learn martial arts, not to dominate the martial arts world, but to be a good steward of the talents given by God.

I'm flying!

On the first night, I got to know each other with my teachers and classmates. I was surprised by the uniqueness of each person. Among the fourteen classmates, some had fought while traveling in Italy; some had run marathons; and some had lived in four countries. Among them are pastors, middle school teachers, and people who work exclusively for God. Although everyone is so different, they all come to the writing camp.

As Teacher Li Li said, it is no accident that I can participate in the writing camp. We are like going on a date, a date with God, the teacher, and the classmates. More importantly, it’s a date with yourself. I am a servant of God. I have received talents from God, so I should be a competent steward. Even if you can't make double the money back, at least you have to let the bank collect interest. I can no longer dig in the ground and bury money in it.

I originally thought that writing camp was about gaining knowledge, training, and information. Unexpectedly, from the interaction between teachers and classmates, I saw sincere care, testimony of life, and the beauty of unique personality.

▲The author (first from the right) and his classmates eat and drink happily.

From this “bird’s eye view of literature ministry,” I see that there is still a large untapped territory in this field. How many people can I meet in this life, how many words can I speak to them, how many testimonies can I bear? I cannot estimate it, but it is limited by time and space, but if I can record these words and testimonies in words, I can influence many people in different places.

Although I am still a little timid and have some reservations, I really want to write. From the students, I can see their passion for writing and their willingness to write. Their example makes me eager to give it a try.

During these days of devotional time, Teacher Li Li quoted the first chapter of Joshua to encourage us: "Be strong and courageous; do not be afraid or be dismayed. For the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go. You are with me.” Actually, isn’t this also a promise given to me by God? I need to put aside my fear and panic, look intently at the Lord my God, and trust in His promises to take me where He wants me to go.

So I spread my wings and rode the rising air current, soaring among the mountains. I'm flying!