Grace is so beautiful remembering family reunion trip
▲The author (third from right) and his family, young and old, weave emotional memories while traveling and experience the family love given by God.
Gather together in the Lord’s temple this day to count the grace of our Lord;
He gave his life to make me perfect,
Come and let my eyes see light again...
The first time I heard the Cantonese poem "Grace is So Beautiful" I was deeply moved. The lyrics immediately came into my mind. Over the years, I cried every time I sang it.
It has been more than thirty years since I left my home in Hong Kong at the age of 18, went to Taiwan to study and work, and then flew to the UK with my husband to study and settle down. Since returning to Hong Kong to visit relatives seven years ago, unrest has swept through my hometown. In the summer of 2019, the "anti-extradition protests" that were raging were shocking. I was eager to go back to my hometown to spend time with my family in the turbulent situation. I had already bought a flight ticket, but unexpectedly, the COVID-19 epidemic hit and the flight was cancelled. After my sister's family immigrated to the United States in the autumn of 2021, only her mother, younger brother, and sister-in-law remained in Hong Kong. It is the fate of many Hong Kong people to have close-knit family members scattered far and wide.
Use prayer to plan the happy reunion in advance
Separation highlighted the value of family ties, and the whole family decided to overcome all difficulties and use the UK, where I live, as a base to realize the dream of reunion. It was a rare reunion, so I did my best to be a host, planning all the itineraries, booking restaurants, accommodation, and travel tickets and tickets. The Queen passed away at the time, and it was also a troubled time for the people. Regime changes, railway strikes, soaring prices, and the pound plummeted... Britain was in a period of depression and public dissatisfaction boiled, fearing that it would ignite social chaos. I prayed every morning and planned this family reunion trip in advance on my knees.
The family reunion was coming soon. I was excited and nervous, and I was deeply afraid of unnecessary conflicts and regrets, so I sent out prayer messages widely. The brothers and sisters understood my feelings and truly watched and interceded. On a sunny day in early October, my sister and her 78-year-old mother arrived first, but there was no luggage. This is a common phenomenon at British airports. There was a suitcase that took a week around the world to fly back. Tracking the baggage room, I am asking my friends to pray for this. The luggage arrived the next day, thank you!
After an absence of more than seven years, the mother and daughter had dinner together again at their home in Northern England, and their hearts were filled with indescribable joy. The husband and his second son had a great time chatting with them. Cantonese, English, fluent and moderate Chinese merged into a beautiful symphony, which was a rare joyful ode to the life of travelers living in a foreign land. My mother talks about the grace of Jesus, and my sister talks all over the world. Over the next few days, the kitchen was buzzing with excitement, laughter and laughter accompanies the cooking and frying, and the whole house was filled with aroma and festive joy.
A big family that believes in Jesus
The day after the British Railways strike, my mother, my sister, my two sons and I took the train south to Oxford. The daughter, who lives in Oxford, went to London Airport to take her newly arrived brother and his wife to the church's host family. During the maintenance work on the northern railway track, the announcement came out that the train would start one hour later. Just as I was worried about the transfer, the train suddenly rumbled forward, a miracle!
After traveling through thousands of rivers and mountains, all the family members from different parts of the world gathered together, and ushered in the moment when dreams came true on the quaint campus. Joy is not enough to describe the excitement in my heart! I am the first Christian in my family. After my sister and brother believed in Jesus, my mother gave up worshiping ancestors and believed in the same God as her children. My sister married into a large Christian family and has a devout mother-in-law who loves the Lord. Her husband’s 11 brothers and sisters are scattered all over the world and still take care of each other. My sister-in-law is also from a Christian family and is leading many relatives to believe in Jesus. The Hong Kong church’s evangelical strategy of attacking members’ families is now seeing rich fruits! For more than a hundred years, Hong Kong's leaders have changed again and again, and their policies have changed again and again. However, the power of the gospel remains unchanged, the plan of redemption is still in progress, and God is in control!
The whole family walked through the streets of Oxford, and my sister-in-law, who loves photography, excitedly took precious family photos to record this primitive and pure joy. A pair of sons and daughters studying at Oxford University became guides, taking everyone around Worcester and Magdalene College to appreciate the architecture and gardens. Under the clear blue sky, we strolled and chatted in the deer park and by the Chenghu Lake; the towering trees, exotic plants and flowers in the college complemented each other beautifully. Deep in my soul I can’t help but sound:
Grace is so beautiful that nothing can replace it.
Just give your heart to the Lord to show how precious the Lord’s love is;
Love God all your life, love others with all your heart,
Only then did I realize that life was not in vain!
▲ After more than seven years of absence, the author (left) reunited with his mother and sister, praising the beauty of God’s grace.
Baptized in Heavenly Father’s love
My brother and I were born in October. Our family set up a table with Indian dishes in Oxford to celebrate our birthdays, and invited our host family, Eddie and Sue, to join us in the fun. It happened that the next day was Eddie's birthday, and the three birthday boys shared everyone's blessings. Eddie, who is two years older than me and has lost the ability to speak due to a stroke, is smiling and appears contented. Sue is my daughter's ministry partner in the church. She has a son who works in Hong Kong. He is particularly affectionate towards Hong Kong and is willing to entertain my family. Before the meal, we gathered around the table, held hands and thanked each other for the meal, praying, and were warmly embraced by Heavenly Father’s love.
Leave Oxford and head to bustling London for a tour of the capital. I have lived in a quiet village in Northern England for many years, and I couldn't adapt to the crowds and hustle and bustle of the city. My sister, who has lived in the city for a long time, asked me to lead the way to relieve my nervousness. The group of people stayed together in the bustling urban area, got into the subway, and boarded the bus. The whole journey was smooth and safe.
What concerned me the most during the journey was my elderly mother and my eldest son, who has developmental delays and suffers from cerebral epilepsy. Unexpectedly, my mother had surprisingly good energy. She walked around many scenic spots and chatted non-stop when she returned to the hotel. My sister laughed and said, "Mom does this all the time, so don't worry about it." My mother mentioned that she didn't know how to pray. I suggested that as long as she shut up her nagging mouth and opened her mouth to talk to Jesus, that would be prayer! The whole family laughed instantly. Gazing at my mother's happy face, I am grateful that she is not afraid of the lingering aftermath of the COVID-19, and comes to visit her even if she has to return to Hong Kong for quarantine. The depth of maternal love is unspoken.
After a son and a daughter left home to go to college, the eldest son spent all his time online learning to design video games by himself. He only went to a coffee shop for an internship once a week, leading to a closed and lonely life. During this trip, the whole family took great care of him. He was immersed in family affection and experienced unconditional love and acceptance. He was so happy that he kept talking and posting pictures in the family group. It was the sweetest time in his life to receive a warm reply from his family: We all love you. Due to his physical disability, it is difficult for his son to build long-term friendships with his peers. Now his grandmother, aunts, uncles and aunts have become best friends and can talk about anything. When he sends childish and cute messages, everyone expresses appreciation. Respond with eyes and words, seeing him as a unique gift from God.
The joy of Christ has no end
The well-known American pastor Rick Warren believes that fun is an essential element of good family relationships. Unfortunately, the changes in Hong Kong in recent years have deeply affected the hearts of my family. The trauma is still there, and there should be no "fun" at all. Bonhoeffer, the German Lutheran theologian, was arrested for anti-Nazis. While in prison, he realized that "the joy of Christ" becomes firm and lasting through poverty, betrayal, death and resurrection, revealing that true joy must endure suffering before it can grow strong and strong. , and even last forever.
During this trip, the whole family worked hard to create fun, weave emotional memories, and work together to sweep away sadness with the joy of Christ. I will never forget that under the clear blue sky, a family of all ages played by the lake at Kensington Palace, luring the geese with biscuits for a group photo. The white swans competed for food, which was not elegant at all. The younger brother deliberately threw the cake to the weak swans to teach them the way of "Kong Rong gives up the pears". The gray-coated teal does not leave the "goose" behind and follows it ashore to beg for food. After we divided the cake and then the potato chips, the ducks were noisy and jostled, leaving their usual leisure at the bottom of the lake. The mother threatened: "Feed well and roast them tonight." They didn't want to be roast ducks, so they walked away angrily one by one.
With limited travel expenses to face the soaring prices, God helped me find cheap and good restaurants in advance. Every time you have a meal, you happily share the food on the plate with your family members and eat happily and warmly. The lively and exotic market is a family favorite. In Oxford's open-air dining hall, delicacies and delicacies stand side by side, including Thai, Indian, Korean, Middle Eastern and South American specialties. The smell of hometown hit my nostrils, and I discovered that it was a Hong Kong-style restaurant. The owner skillfully turned the spoon, and a plate of dry-fried beef river was served under the blazing fire. The whole family was salivating. While chatting with him, I learned that this Hong Kong compatriot who had recently immigrated to the UK was originally a computer engineer and had no experience in cooking with a wok. He only honed his cooking skills a year before leaving Hong Kong and decided to make a living selling Cantonese catering after settling in a foreign country. Fully demonstrate the indomitable Lion Rock spirit.
Looking forward to being reunited in a more beautiful heaven
A joyful outlook on life is a choice; people cannot change the environment in which they live, but they can change their attitude towards life and positively influence the people around them with joy. When our families get together, we cherish the present moment, avoid negative topics, work hard to pile up light and humorous stories, and hope for each other to "forget what is behind, work hard on what is ahead, and run towards the goal." Family love is so real, but the competition for fame and fortune in this world becomes increasingly frivolous. God established the institution of marriage and family so that people can experience sincere family love without pretense. Back then, I traveled far away from home to pursue my dream. Even after circling more than half of the world, I still regard my home in Hong Kong as a haven for physical and mental rest. Family is a beautiful grace given by Heavenly Father. Loving and cherishing family relationships can lead us back to stability.
At the end of the journey, everyone returned to their respective posts and residences, facing challenges with a positive attitude and looking forward to future reunions. In this era of diaspora, God has implanted the value of family ethics into the hearts of countless believers in Hong Kong, like a tough straw rope that tightly binds family members scattered across the country and firmly binds them to the love of Christ. . What can separate us from the love of Christ? Could it be unrest or an epidemic? Is it the climate crisis, the financial crisis? … No matter what the circumstances, no man of God can be separated from His love!
Life is a journey; the traveler who believes in Jesus misses his hometown in heaven the most. Since our close relatives have been saved by grace, they are one family on earth, and even more so in heaven. When everyone completes their own life journey and returns to heaven to be with Jesus, the whole family will never be separated.
Such grace is so beautiful!
Yin Liqun, was born in Hong Kong, has a master's degree in preaching from the seminary, and has been engaged in literary work in evangelical organizations and Christian newspapers. After getting married, she went to England to study with her husband. Since then, she has been taking care of the family full-time, occasionally working as a part-time dance teacher. She has been living in Northern England and has three children. I have been writing for 20 years, and now that I am middle-aged, I am starting to write again for God. I wish I could write for Him for the rest of my life. He has won several essay writing awards, and his articles have been published in Cosmic Light Magazine, Christian Tribune, Feiyang Magazine, Kingdom Revival Newspaper, Hong Kong Christian Weekly, etc.