Society has become familiar with the “Post-90s” generation. I am one of them, born in a Christian family. My parents were already Christians when they were married, so they were able to bring me up in the Christian faith.
There are a lot of challenges for those who are born in a Christian family. Neighbors can have strange ideas about Christians, and companions can simply be uncomprehending. Someone gave me the nickname of "Xin Er’dai," which means “second-generation Christian.” To bear this nickname, I needed to shoulder the responsibility and commitment that came with it. My understanding of faith and spiritual maturity was not the same as that of my parents. Only by a continuous effort could I live up to my nickname.
Let me share my experience with God, some of these I heard from my parents. After I learned to walk, I ran and played in the yard at home. "Walking" was very new to me at that time, but I loved running everywhere.
Our family was very poor then since the economy was developing in the 1990s. To raise our family, my parents planted 0.3 to 0.5 acre of tobacco and sweet potatoes. We sold tobacco in the market, while sweet potatoes could be sold at special times in the winter. To keep sweet potatoes fresh in winter, my parents dug a lot of cellars about 2-3 meters deep in the yard and covered them with corn stalks. One time the cellar wasn't covered tightly somehow, and when I was running in the yard, I accidentally fell in the hole. My parents didn't know where I was at first. After hearing my cries, they were flustered and hurried to get me out of the cellar, and cleaned the dirt on my face. They depended firmly on God, so they immediately prayed for me and begged for His protection. In the end, I did not suffer any harm, and my parents were grateful for His mercy.
Now when my parents mention this, I feel touched, and even more grateful. I want to say to Him: You already knew me as a child and kept me safe. I should respond to you with thanksgiving, and share your grace with everyone.
Later, when I was in the first grade of junior high school in 2009, my academic performance was average. Families needed to pay for tuition, so my parents sent me to the county school. At that time I was very frugal because I knew that my mother served full-time at home and only my father worked outside. My family's finances were limited.
The school would hold a broadcast callisthenics competition in winter. According to the rules, the best class would reward with basketball and badminton, so that my classmates practiced hard.
That afternoon, after the joint performance, I had nothing to do. So I invited several classmates to play with horizontal bar and parallel bars. As the body shape was thinner at that time, we were barely able to hold up the horizontal bar, and a few classmates began to turn a somersault. But I was short and quite inexperienced with these exercises, so when it was my turn to turn a somersault, my arm fell off the bar. The bar was about 2 meters high. When I got up, my head was numb, and my right arm had severe pain.
The rest students reported the teacher for the first time sent me to the school medical office. Then the school doctor recommended me to take some examinations at the orthopedics department since the medical office did not have examination equipment. The head teacher immediately arranged two classmates to accompany me to the hospital and contact my mother. At that time, my mother was learning the waist drum for Christmas evangelism in the church. After receiving the news, she was very worried about me and prayed for me.
After inspection, the doctor said my right arm had a slight fracture and needed splint plaster treatment. My mother didn't blame me when she went to the hospital, nor complain about God, but took me home for recuperation.
In the end, after about a month of rest, my arm could move as before. At that time, the school paid the insurance premium for the students, so the medical expenses didn’t cost me too much and make trouble to family's economy.
Through this, my mother taught me not to complain about God in any circumstance, for He has protected us, and conducted miraculous healing. It was His grace that my arm recovered quickly.
To express God's work on me in one sentence, that is: You have searched me, Lord, and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways. Before a word is on my tongue, you, Lord, know it completely. You hem me in behind and before, and you lay your hand upon me. (Psalm 139:1-5)
- Translated by Elaina Wu
