Xiaoqing grew up in a small, fourth-tier city. Ever since she was young, she never liked studying, and just wanted to have fun. After entering middle school, as she was an adolescent and became rebellious, and as she was affected by the negative trend, she got close with the gangster girls in school.
Along with these girls, Xiaoqing often skipped classes, got into fights, and even extorted her classmates to pay for protection. She picked up many bad habits as well. At the age of 15, she had already learned to smoke and drink, and she even started visiting the red-light district. Moreover, being young and yearning for love, Xiaoqing started dating a gangster.
Xiaoqing's parents were enraged by her improper behaviors. After quarreling with her father once again, Xiaoqing actually left home and went to live in a big city nearby. But since she was still young, life was difficult for her; she was often bullied by local gangsters, leaving her in great distress.
One day, Xiaoqing met her childhood neighbor in the big city. Seeing Xiaoqing was all on her own, the lady felt sorry for her, so she took her back to her home. Xiaoqing, who was away from home, finally had a taste of home. As this lady is a Christian, she took Xiaoqing to church on Sundays, and the friendliness of the brothers and sisters in church warmed her heart.
A few months later, Xiaoqing was crying her heart out one day, and after that, she began to see the price she had paid for being outrageous when she was younger; she deeply regretted the mistakes she had made in the past few years. Consequently, Xiaoqing became a Christian and began serving in the church.
The first thing Xiaoqing did after coming to faith was to immediately get back in touch with her parents. When she saw that all of her mother’s hair had already turned gray, she couldn't help but cry. In front of her parents, she admitted to her foolishness and improper actions over the past few years; after sincerely apologizing, her parents forgave her, and the family, which was once broken, is now whole.
Xiaoqing dropped out of school because she fell down the wrong path. With the help of fellow believers, she entered a vocational school to learn some skills. After becoming a Christian, she studied hard and graduated with excellent results. Then, she found a job, although it was only of mediocre quality, that was enough to support her family.
Xiaoqing is now the mother of two lovely babies. On many occasions, she shares her testimony with other people and always reminds them not to go astray, lest they do something they will regret for the rest of their lives and break the hearts of their families.
(This article is by a freelance writer, a Christian from Xiamen.)
- Translated by Joyce Leung
