Let's work together to create a family newspaper
Around five o'clock in the morning, I woke up with a clear idea flashing into my mind. Why not start a family newsletter? In the form of a monthly or quarterly magazine, it expresses the recent major events, topics of concern, spiritual feelings, gratitude matters, and prayer matters of each family in various genres such as narratives, miscellaneous notes, essays, memoirs, recent photos, narratives, humor, etc. ? As I carefully explored this idea, I became more and more convinced that it would be a very meaningful thing.
Our family lives on opposite sides of the world. My parents live in Heilongjiang, the northernmost province in China. Xiaolan and Maoxin’s family of three live in Guangdong Province, the southernmost province of China. Kasumi and Motokai’s family of four live in California in the western United States, while our family of three lives in Virginia, the easternmost state of the United States. They are all very far apart from each other.
If you go to California to visit Kasumi and Honkai's family, you will have to spend at least a day on the plane. If you go to visit your parents in Heilongjiang, it will take you a week by plane and train. It is a rare opportunity to have an individual gathering with any of these families once a year. Think about it, how wonderful it would be if we, the three sisters, could reunite with our parents every year! Clearly, the ideal is far from reality.
Over the years, our families have not only had fewer opportunities to meet each other due to geographical isolation, but also have been busy with work and life, and have had less and less communication with each other. Although the relationship between the three of us sisters and our parents is strong, the relationship between the new generation Manman, Hanghang, Xiangning and Jiayi and the previous two generations, as well as the mutual affection between them and their contemporaries, is very weak. Just imagine, they don't have many opportunities to meet each other, and they don't know each other very well. When they grow up, will they still love each other like brothers and sisters? Will they become strangers?
Family ties by blood are gifts and blessings given to us by God. But it also requires us to spend time and energy to cultivate, especially when we are far apart from each other, the effort required will be even greater. I am very grateful to my parents for their hard work and training in cultivating the three of us sisters to love and care for each other. To this day, we still maintain a close relationship with each other, as if an invisible thread binds our hearts together. Isn’t this the credit of my parents? The three of us sisters should learn from our parents, inherit their virtues, and cultivate the next generation to love each other. We should have more opportunities to understand each other and have a deeper understanding of our predecessors. This must be the most meaningful thing that is in line with God’s will and can bless our children.
If we sisters can share this aspiration and maintain a close family relationship with our children, then starting a family newspaper is the most feasible way to achieve this goal. All three generations of our family can join in this work. I know that Hang Hang is a child with great writing talent. This family newspaper is not only a vast world for children to use their imagination and practice their writing skills, but also an excellent opportunity for parents to share their rich life experiences with us and the next generation.
When I read the autobiographies written by my parents to Manman, we shed sad tears together for their difficult years in the past. Their vivid accounts of the past take us to a time we can only imagine. In the past, Manman had no impression or affection for her grandma and grandpa. Since she listened to their autobiographies and gained a deeper understanding of them, she has become much closer to them. I believe that Lan and Maoxin, Xia and Benhai all have very rich life experiences and feelings that can inspire us and our next generation. Let’s work together as a family to create our family newspaper!
We can first publish it as a quarterly magazine, with each company taking turns editing one issue. My idea is just to inspire others. I believe that everyone’s collective efforts will definitely make this family newspaper idea more mature and feasible. Please send your ideas and suggestions to me by phone or e-mail. I will summarize everyone’s thoughts and opinions and inform you in time.
Please pray for this matter and ask for God’s will and guidance. May God’s abundant grace and peace be with you always!