梅
感激 感謝 感恩！
Life Became Unstable. Faith is Taking the First Step
My life became unstable but was moving to a possible direction. My son and I moved to a college town in the US. Traveling overseas, my life was always going to have challenges. When I made through one, another one was going to come along. From 2003 to 2005, it was a fluctuating period in my life. My son and I lived in Canada, and my husband was in the US. Then, we moved to the US, and my husband stuck in Canada due to the visa problem. We tried our best to get together. Unfortunately, We dramatically shifted place. This separation lasted years.
Life became more difficult for me living in the US than in Canada. Except for keeping an eye on my work and another one on taking care of my son, I had to do hard work for shopping. The shopping was a major task because There was no public transportation and even no taxi. I felt along not because I didn’t have people around me but because I could not rely on them. I felt a heavy burden lying on my shoulder and realized: “Sometimes we need someone to simply be there. Not to fix anything or to do anything in particular, but just let us feel that we are cared for and supported. (www.stevemaraboli.com).”
The culture of the USA was completely different from the one where I grew up. That difference made me feel the life became tougher. I talked to my professor about my feelings. He and his wife invited us to attend their church for Sunday worship. That was the first time I participated in a church for worship rather than learning English. I was not a Christian and didn’t know about the background of religion. Sitting in the hall and listening to a pastor’s sermon, my mind was random. I could not understand the paster’s speech. Every weekend, I visited that church, I felt nervous, upset, and anxious. That might be a big culture shock attacking to me.
I remembered that he and his wife brought a Bible and came to my apartment. For comforting me, they shared a scripture about Joseph’s experience. Joseph had been sold to Egypt as a slave for fourteen years. In Egypt, Joseph became a house servant to a rich, high-ranking Egyptian. Once upon a time, he was framed by a lady and put in jail. During his stay in Egypt, there were to be seven years of plenty, followed by seven years of famine. Joseph had advised the Pharaoh on how to prepare for the famine and, as a result gained the favor of the Pharaoh who promoted him to Prime Minister.
My professor used Joseph’s story to indicate that God was powerful. God brought me to the USA, and he would bring my husband there soon. The couple prayed for my family reunion with all their hearts. Their prayer indeed was a sweet consoler. However, I was still confused. At that time, it was hard for me to understand God, Joseph, and prayer. I thought those just a tale. Until one day, my husband came to town and my family reunited. My professor said, “God answered the prayer. God brought your family together.” For me, this experience seemed to be the first step toward trusting God, even though I didn’t see the whole journey.
