Fly with words
[2007 Literary Ministry Spiritual Training and Creation In-depth Camp] Works Published 3
When I was a child, my mother sent me to my teacher’s house to “make up” my essays. Go to the teacher's house to take classes. First, learn how to make sentences, sentence by sentence. It's a boring lesson. The teacher said that words are interesting, can express feelings, and even change people's hearts. I wrote in my hand and thought to myself, words are boring. But the teacher was very patient with me. He looked at the sentences I made carefully and corrected them little by little, hoping that one day I would be able to realize the power of words.
The first time I realized the power of words was when I read an extracurricular book - Qiong Yao's love novels. She writes about the love between men and women in a thrilling and touching way, which makes me yearn for it. I wish I was that cloud, flying to the deep courtyard where the moon is hazy and the birds are hazy, to meet Prince Charming.
Jin Yong's martial arts novels have the same effect. I wish I could become a heroine with strong martial arts skills, ride a divine horse and lead the disciples of the Beggar Gang to follow the flying eagle to the desert to seek justice. The more extracurricular books I read, the more I am led into various fantasy lands by the words, and my mind flies with the plot in the book. But there is one book that I have read and memorized since I was a child, but I cannot enter the realm of the book, and that is the "Bible".
Growing up in a Christian family, the Bible has been a book I have been familiar with since I was a child. I can recite it, sing it, and have acted in it. It is considered theological knowledge in my life. Because it is a "holy" book, I did not dare to offend it. I only picked it up after washing my hands. I placed it high and regarded it as a "leftover" book and never read it properly.
But I know and believe that God is real and living, His words are powerful, and our lives must be powered by God. I also understand that we must preach the word of God to the whole world. This is what He wants us to do. This idea is a bit abstract, as if I want to tell my friends how delicious a new food is, how delicate the texture is, and how good it is for the body.
Although I regarded His words as "leftover" Scripture, God did not give up on me and slowly "showed" His power to me when I left home. A new school, new classmates, a new language, a brand new cultural shock, everything around you in life has changed. The only thing that doesn’t change is God, and only His words are familiar. I began to know Him from the "heart", and then I truly understood that God is my most intimate friend and my refuge, and will never leave Him anywhere in the world. In this way, I had my first taste of the Lord’s grace.
One day, on a whim, I recorded my mood, His words, and my wild imagination in words. Sometimes it's like a diary, sometimes it's a report, sometimes it's an interview, it's also been compiled into poems or lyrics, and it's even been an "imperial edict". These are all secret love words in my heart, and God is my only reader.
God uses His unchanging love to tolerate my "changes" and teaches and guides me in a way that I can understand. He has walked with me through laughter, tears, setbacks, failures, and growth. He brought me to the still waters where King David went, and the valley of the shadow of death was with me.
Playing word games unintentionally, but like a willow tree, it bears witness to the Lord’s love. It may seem like a random learning path, but it is actually the systematic cultivation and teaching of Heavenly Father. A "whim" is the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, and you can understand all the big and small things in life. I finally understood that God, the Father in heaven, is the originator of “teaching without distinction” and “teaching students in accordance with their aptitude.” For a “freak” like me, He allows me to fly with God’s words along with my unreasonable thoughts. The teaching experience of Confucius, the most sage teacher, turned out to be that the Lord of Creation gave him the teaching talent, so it was Confucius' turn to write "Lun Yu". (Wisdom of imagination!!)
When I left home when I was young, I experienced many joys and sorrows, and my personality and thoughts tended to be pessimistic. When reading the Bible, I only want to understand verses such as "vindicate me," "pull me out of the mud," and "punish the wicked." Most of what I write are sad and lonely words. As I get older, God uses the people and things around me to change me, uses "marriage science" to "edify" me, bring out my potential, and uses the lessons of "raising children" to hone me, making my vision even brighter. broad. Yes, we will encounter troubles in this world, like sparks flying up (see Job 5:7). We must rely on God and trust Him with everything. But God is also the God of joy. He is actually a very humorous God!
I loved watching God speak to Job in the whirlwind, because He is so humorous. God created all things in the universe, including all kinds of birds, animals, and water creatures, each with its own characteristics. He particularly loves the personality of ostriches, and spreads his wings happily like feathers showing love, but it seems that he does not like his own child, because God has given him zero EQ and IQ. Instead, he spreads his wings and laughs at horses and knights. I can fully understand the self-righteousness of the ostrich, because I often act in the spirit of the ostrich and am just as stupid as it.
I also like the many proverbs in the Bible that “show rather than tell.” Those verses made me immediately appreciate God’s directness and humor.“It is better to live in the corner of the house than in a spacious house with a quarrelsome woman.” (Proverbs 21:9) “Better to live in a wilderness than with a quarrelsome and angry woman.” (Proverbs 21) :19)This "to the point" description makes people understand my husband's silent protest. I have to listen quickly and speak slowly, lest the words become abominable, like thorns exploding in a pot, and even force my husband to live in the wilderness.
Knowing God “from the heart” has helped me understand that His joy is my strength. Everything has its side of gratitude and joy. I learn to face the surroundings with a sense of humor. Chinese people are burdened with many hardships. Phrases such as "You have to endure hardships to become a master", "You have to endure hardships", "If you don't succeed, you become a good person", etc., have made the life pressure index steadily rising. But we have God, and a joyful heart is good medicine.
God is truly a real and living God. Pursuing His way cannot just be "strict reading" (serious study) of His words, but we must also experience His words in our lives, because we are not ascetics or loners. I hope with all my strength that I can write about the joy and strength given by God, and use words to take readers to fly together in God’s majestic and wonderful kingdom of grace.
▲The author Shin Hye testifies to the Lord’s love with her pen.