One difference between a Christian and a non-Christian is that whilst in a predicament the former asks for help from God and gets through the hardship with a blessing from him. An example of this is the story told by Sister Meimei: "During the isolation and after I was infected, besides taking medicine, one daily practice of mine was to pray, praise and ask for energy from the embrace and assistance of God's Holy Spirt. Only with the power of God falling upon me, could I have the strength to conquer the illness."
Human beings, who have invented spaceships, rockets and explored the universe, can indeed be great. They can also be so insignificant that they are helpless before a sudden natural disaster, as if they were fleeting waves in the vast sea.
A member of the post-90s generation, Sister Meimei is a Wuhan citizen, who, from "sick" to "suspected", relied on the power and peace brought by her faith while actively taking medicine during her one month of isolation and observation. And in the end, we finally got good news from her!
Sister Meimei shared her personal story as follows:
I can clearly remember that, on 31th Dec., 2019, I overheard someone saying that some SARS coronavirus was out there spreading, but the specifics remained uncertain. Although not sure whether the hearsay was true or not, I asked my mother-in-law to buy a bag of Banlangen Granules and two packs of masks, to be prepared just in case.
Soon after, when official news reports denied the comeback of the SARS coronavirus, I felt relieved and put my attention aside, spending no more time and energy dwelling on the matter.
In January, news pertaining to the new coronavirus began to appear intermittently. Although I had heard some of it, I didn't take it seriously until----
Half a month later, on 19th Jan., two days after I sent my kid to my hometown, I went to the shopping mall to make New Year purchases and started to feel unwell after I came home at night. I felt chilly, as if I was in an ice cellar in winter, and I lost my appetite for dinner. After a quick wash, I went to bed, turned the heat up and wrapped myself up in a thick winter quilt, but I was still shivering. . Then I took my temperature, and finding it was 38.9 degrees centigrade, I was all at a loss and a bad feeling appeared in my heart.
At this time, the coronavirus had already attracted public attention, and I started to worry that I had contracted the disease. After taking my relative's advice and taking some antipyretic, my temperature decreased and my appetite was back. After eating some congee, I felt that things had settled down a little bit.
It didn't last long, however. The next day, my body temperature once again increased, this time to 37.6 degrees centigrade. Now, all self-comfort was in vain and I went to the respiratory department of the hospital. The hospital was crowded with patients, most of whom were wearing masks. Upon seeing this, my vigilance against the disease was all of a sudden greatly enhanced. The doctor asked me to take a blood test and the result proved to be negative. After checking the result, the doctor told me that there were many "suspected" patients and then prescribed some medicine for me to take at home.
To be honest, it felt scary the moment I knew I was a "suspected" patient. But I kept praying in my heart, as I couldn't handle the disease on my own. I wasn't even brave enough to not fear, and thus I could only ask for peace and strength from God.
After returning home, I took medicine according to the doctor's prescription and drank a lot of water, hoping that through this way I could detoxify my body. For the rest of my spare time, I prayed ceaselessly.
After taking medicine for a couple of days, not sure whether I had taken the wrong medicine or that the virus spread too fast in my body, I felt a lack of strength and frequently vomited and had diarrhea.
The situation went on till 26th Jan, and the left side of my face and eyes became visibly swollen.
Once again I went to the hospital and found that the respiratory department on the ground floor had been turned into a fever clinic. The thirty or forty patients I saw last time had become more than one hundred this time. When it was my turn at last after a long wait, I saw the doctor wearing a protective suit and mask and seeing patients from a distance.
This time I went to the ophthalmology department. Upon observation, the doctor told me that he was not sure why my eyes had gotten swollen, as it could have been triggered by multiple factors. Then he prescribed some anti-inflammation and anti-swelling medicine and asked me to have a CT scan.
I was surprised by the scene when I arrived at the floor of the CT scan room, which was crowded with patients waiting for the scan or the result. As my body was in poor condition and it would take another four hours for me to wait for the result, I had to go back home directly after the examination.
After going back home, I continued to take the medicine prescribed by the doctor. Two or three days later, pus drained from my eyes, but my left face remained swollen. Feeling helpless, I had no other choice but to take medicine and pray to God.
A childhood friend of mine from Xuzhou, who is also a Christian, was worried about me upon knowing my illness, and told my situation to her/his church and asked the clergy and believers to pray for me.
Then, all the medicine of the pharmacies in my neighborhood was snapped up by people, and anything commonly used was sold out. So my husband had to buy some medicine from another district, but as it is too far away, the pharmacy could not do the delivery by itself. Knowing this, a minister who lived close to the pharmacy helped me to buy the medicine and sent it to me himself. It is said that during the outbreak, he insisted on helping believers and non-Christians who were in need. Once I got the medicine, I took some according to the instructions, but my low back pain remained unrelieved.
I stayed at home for another three days. On 29th Jan, a minister from a church in Xuzhou contacted me, telling me that a Christian doctor was willing to provide free medical consultation. After checking photos I sent through the Internet, he suggested that I buy some Chinese medicine and I took his advice.
On 8th Feb., I got my CT scan report from the hospital and showed it to another doctor friend. Upon checking the film, he told me that my condition was not that bad, with only the right lung slightly infected, and that I could take treatment while staying at home and continue to take a Chinese herbal medicine according to his prescription. In fact, he didn't know that no medicine could be purchased from any nearby pharmacies. Nevertheless, thanks be to God, who sent angels to assist me in my illness.
Currently, I am at home, taking medicine following my doctor friend's advice, praying and praising frequently. My health has gradually recovered and I feel calm and safe.
In this outburst of disease, a mass of people were infected. When meeting people from all walks of life in the hospital, I found all kinds of emotions and feelings in their eyes. I don't have a clue how panicked I would be if there was no help from those angels and no power sent by God for me.
God, however, who is real and alive, stays with us. During this period, it's God who always has given me strength, peace, courage, and a sense of security. There were angels sent by him as well. As I was isolated at home, workers of our church sent me food and prayed for me. When I needed a purple pottery pot to prepare my medicine, a church member who found one in the supermarket bought and brought one for me, even with some food.
I can never say that people will never get sick after becoming a Christian, but one thing that made me feel different was that I felt secure after I fell ill. With this experience, I have become ever more believing in, seeking for and relying on God. Also, I hope that my husband and others, who are not yet believers in God, will come to follow him. People undoubtedly can pursue things of this earthly world, but if those things are their only pursuits and there is not God's company and grace, it will be pathetic and horrible.
We have access to everything that we are capable of when we are healthy and safe. It's not until misfortune befalls that we can finally realize how vulnerable and incompetent we are. I sincerely hope that all this hardship will be over soon and everyone will be safe and healthy, with their hearts filled with strength and joy from up above.
- Translated by Li Runping
