“Lord, I thank you for loving an ‘idiot’ like me, who is being silly all the time!”
An 83-year-old female believer named Shi Xueyun said this with a hearty laugh. Her words perfectly summarized her faith journey in the past 30 years: accepting all circumstances without questioning, trusting the Lord completely, having no complaint even in times of trouble, and continuing to long for the kingdom of God.
Shi Xueyun shared the following testimony in Xi'an sometime after Easter this year.
Accept all circumstances without questioning
When Shi was 46 years old, her former neighbor shared the gospel with her. She made the decision to come to Christ in 1986 and was baptized in December of the same year. In 1992, her husband also accepted Jesus as his savior.
After becoming a Christian, she always tried to find opportunities to serve in the church. She and two other female church members once served as parking attendants on Sunday. They would guide the cars of believers to park near the church and keep an eye on cars during the Sunday service. Later on, she also sang in the church choir.
Trusting the Lord completely
Whenever she struggles in life, Shi always prays. Not only does she pray when she has problems herself, but she also trusts in God and prays for others who are in difficulties. Back then, a female Christian had suffered from insomnia for many years and might even sleepwalk during the night. So, Shi began to intercede for her; she would be so deep in her prayers that she would be weeping. Finally, after a period of earnest prayers by Shi, she was free of her trouble and could sleep soundly through the night.
Besides praying, Shi also gladly offers her help when others are in need. Once, a deacon of the church fell off a tree when harvesting his walnut trees without wearing a safety belt. As a result, he injured his head and needed to undergo several surgeries. Therefore, Shi offered the deacon a thousand yuan and prayed for him fervently. Upon her continued intercession, the deacon was eventually healed and returned to health once more.
No complaint in times of trouble
In 1993, Shi experienced the hardest blow on her faith journey when her beloved second son fell from a height while working at a construction site. As he hit a concrete pillar when he fell, he was unconscious and became vegetative. Due to the damage to his brainstem, Shi’s son would experience occasional convulsions; however, whenever that happened, Shi would pray earnestly for her son until he calmed down again. She recounts that during the seven years, she took care of her son after he went into a vegetative state. She never changed into her pajamas when going to bed, and her son never suffered from bed sores.
A couple of years after her second son passed away, the condition of Shi’s husband, who had been suffering from brain infarction, worsened; he became paralyzed and had to stay in bed. Therefore, for more than six years, she needed to take care of her husband.
Yet, in these 14 years, Shi has never uttered a word of complaint. “I don’t grumble, and I have no regrets or frustrations whatsoever. On the contrary, I am a really happy ‘idiot’; I always sing hymns to God while cleaning the house.” She shares the reason for not complaining. “That’s because I am afraid of God. I dare not complain because it is what God told us not to do, so I have never complained about anything. Again, I believe that everything happens by the grace of God.” As both unfortunate incidents occurred two years after Shi’s retirement, she firmly believed that it was God’s will for her to take care of her husband and son.
Although Shi chooses not to complain, she can still feel the pain. When a sore spot is touched, Shi cannot help but be in tears. “Dear Lord, I know you love me. I’m waiting for you to take me home. I want to be home! But, Lord, Your work for me is not yet finished. So, I will do whatever I can and work hard until your time comes.”
Shi always mentions that God has shown a special love for her. At first, she felt that she did not have the ability to cope with all this, but God thought well of her and led her through the process step by step. After going through these trials, Shi has also grown in her life.
Longing for the kingdom of God
At present, Shi cannot move around easily but only walks with small steps. Although she spends most of her time at home, that does not mean she is idle. She gets up at five o'clock every morning and starts interceding for many issues. She prays for the repentance and renewal of the life of people, the development of Chinese churches, believers who are experiencing hardships or have fallen ill, and the marital problems of the young generation.
When she learns that a male Christian, who is a taxi driver, is struggling financially, she adds the issue to her daily intercession. “Lord, I ask You to keep him safe as he drives every day. Please remind him to read your words at home and join the service on Sunday. When he is at work, I pray that You give him the heart to love others and to remain upright, so that he won't be greedy and ask people for extra money. He just needs to pick up a few more customers, then he will earn more, won’t he?”
Besides praying, Shi reads the Bible and books on spiritual help every day, taking time to recite the Bible.
“Lord, I- Your dear daughter- will come to you one day,” Shi is filled with joy and hope as she speaks of the kingdom of God. “I will be so excited to dance around and sing praises to You! Hopefully, you won’t mind me doing that!”
- Translated by Joyce Leung
“主啊，你爱我这个‘瓜子’，愚昧，又笨，哈哈哈——”
伴着爽朗的笑声，83岁的史雪云姊妹说出的这句话，可谓她30多年信仰道路的写照：单纯地接受、坚定地信靠、面对大患难时毫无怨言、且对天国充满了向往。
今年复活节过后，史雪云姊妹在西安分享了自己的见证。
单纯地接受
1986年，史姊妹决志信主，当年12月接受洗礼，那时她46岁，是曾经的邻居给她传的福音。1992年，丈夫也信了耶稣。
信耶稣后，史姊妹就在教会寻找侍奉的机会，她曾和两位姊妹一起负责给前来聚会的信徒们看车，并且把车聚拢到教会附近。此后，她还参与过诗班的服侍。
坚定地信靠
在生活中遇到各样的难心事时，史姊妹都会祷告。 除了为自己的难处向神祷告，当别人遇到问题时，同样对神有信心。教会中一位姐妹多年受失眠问题困扰，有时晚上还梦游。史姊妹拍恳切地为她流泪代祷，一段时间后，她睡觉很香。
不但为人代祷，当见到别人有实际的困难时，史姊妹也常常伸出援手。一位执事在打核桃时没系安全带，不慎坠落，摔到了脑袋，做了几次手术。史姊妹奉献了一千元，并且为他代祷，之后他就好了。
面对大患难时毫无怨言
对于史姊妹来说，在她信仰道路上，对她打击最大的事情是心爱的儿子因故成为了植物人。1993年，在一次施工过程中，史姊妹的二儿子从高空坠落，摔在了水泥柱子上，当时就不省人事。因为伤到了脑干，儿子不时会抽风，这时史姊妹就过来为儿子祷告，儿子就慢慢平复了。史姊妹说，照顾植物人儿子七年来，她睡觉从没脱过衣服，儿子也从未得过褥疮。
二儿子去世几年后，丈夫又脑梗加重，瘫痪在床。史姊妹又服侍了丈夫六年多。
这十四年，史姊妹从来没有埋怨过。“埋怨啊，后悔啊，丧气啊，我都没有；反而高兴得像个‘瓜子’一样，在屋里唱神的歌，也把屋子收拾干净。”谈及可以不埋怨的原因，史姊妹立即说道：“我害怕神么。神说了不要埋怨，我就不敢说，我没说过。啥事都不敢埋怨，啥事都有神的恩典。”史姊妹认为，照顾他们父子二人是神给她的工作，因为她当初刚退休了两年，就遇到了这些事。
虽说没有埋怨，但其中所经历的苦却是实实在在的。说到伤心处，史姊妹话语中带着哭腔：“神爱我。我等你接我回家，我想回家——神啊，你给我的工作我还没有做完，让我做到啥时候就啥时候，我只要能做就做，尽我的本分。”
她还在言谈之中还常常说神特别爱她。她认为，自己原本没能力承受这一切，是神看她经得起，并带领着她一步步地经过了；而且，经历过苦难的熬炼，她的生命得到了成长。
对天国充满了向往
目前，史姊妹行动不便，走路只能小步挪着，大多时间就待在家里。她一个人在家里也不闲着，每天早晨5点会为许多事项代祷：为了世界上的人能够悔改，生命得到造就；为了中国教会的发展；为了有疾病、患难的弟兄姐妹；为了年轻人的婚姻问题……
当她得知开出租车的一位弟兄近期经济紧张时，又把这个加入到她的每日代祷中：“主啊，你保守他出入平安。让他在家要读神的话，周日要来礼拜。开出租车的，你让他有爱，要心清，不要跟人多要钱，不要有贪心；多拉几个顾客不就好了吗？”
除了祷告，史姊妹每天还坚持读圣经、读属灵书籍、背诵圣经。
“主啊，你娃将来到你跟前去，”提到天国，史姊妹充满喜乐和盼望，“这要活蹦乱跳，唱呢，赞美你，哈哈哈……你娃够不够这资格啊——”
83岁史雪云姊妹的见证故事：神爱我这“瓜娃子”
“Lord, I thank you for loving an ‘idiot’ like me, who is being silly all the time!”
An 83-year-old female believer named Shi Xueyun said this with a hearty laugh. Her words perfectly summarized her faith journey in the past 30 years: accepting all circumstances without questioning, trusting the Lord completely, having no complaint even in times of trouble, and continuing to long for the kingdom of God.
Shi Xueyun shared the following testimony in Xi'an sometime after Easter this year.
Accept all circumstances without questioning
When Shi was 46 years old, her former neighbor shared the gospel with her. She made the decision to come to Christ in 1986 and was baptized in December of the same year. In 1992, her husband also accepted Jesus as his savior.
After becoming a Christian, she always tried to find opportunities to serve in the church. She and two other female church members once served as parking attendants on Sunday. They would guide the cars of believers to park near the church and keep an eye on cars during the Sunday service. Later on, she also sang in the church choir.
Trusting the Lord completely
Whenever she struggles in life, Shi always prays. Not only does she pray when she has problems herself, but she also trusts in God and prays for others who are in difficulties. Back then, a female Christian had suffered from insomnia for many years and might even sleepwalk during the night. So, Shi began to intercede for her; she would be so deep in her prayers that she would be weeping. Finally, after a period of earnest prayers by Shi, she was free of her trouble and could sleep soundly through the night.
Besides praying, Shi also gladly offers her help when others are in need. Once, a deacon of the church fell off a tree when harvesting his walnut trees without wearing a safety belt. As a result, he injured his head and needed to undergo several surgeries. Therefore, Shi offered the deacon a thousand yuan and prayed for him fervently. Upon her continued intercession, the deacon was eventually healed and returned to health once more.
No complaint in times of trouble
In 1993, Shi experienced the hardest blow on her faith journey when her beloved second son fell from a height while working at a construction site. As he hit a concrete pillar when he fell, he was unconscious and became vegetative. Due to the damage to his brainstem, Shi’s son would experience occasional convulsions; however, whenever that happened, Shi would pray earnestly for her son until he calmed down again. She recounts that during the seven years, she took care of her son after he went into a vegetative state. She never changed into her pajamas when going to bed, and her son never suffered from bed sores.
A couple of years after her second son passed away, the condition of Shi’s husband, who had been suffering from brain infarction, worsened; he became paralyzed and had to stay in bed. Therefore, for more than six years, she needed to take care of her husband.
Yet, in these 14 years, Shi has never uttered a word of complaint. “I don’t grumble, and I have no regrets or frustrations whatsoever. On the contrary, I am a really happy ‘idiot’; I always sing hymns to God while cleaning the house.” She shares the reason for not complaining. “That’s because I am afraid of God. I dare not complain because it is what God told us not to do, so I have never complained about anything. Again, I believe that everything happens by the grace of God.” As both unfortunate incidents occurred two years after Shi’s retirement, she firmly believed that it was God’s will for her to take care of her husband and son.
Although Shi chooses not to complain, she can still feel the pain. When a sore spot is touched, Shi cannot help but be in tears. “Dear Lord, I know you love me. I’m waiting for you to take me home. I want to be home! But, Lord, Your work for me is not yet finished. So, I will do whatever I can and work hard until your time comes.”
Shi always mentions that God has shown a special love for her. At first, she felt that she did not have the ability to cope with all this, but God thought well of her and led her through the process step by step. After going through these trials, Shi has also grown in her life.
Longing for the kingdom of God
At present, Shi cannot move around easily but only walks with small steps. Although she spends most of her time at home, that does not mean she is idle. She gets up at five o'clock every morning and starts interceding for many issues. She prays for the repentance and renewal of the life of people, the development of Chinese churches, believers who are experiencing hardships or have fallen ill, and the marital problems of the young generation.
When she learns that a male Christian, who is a taxi driver, is struggling financially, she adds the issue to her daily intercession. “Lord, I ask You to keep him safe as he drives every day. Please remind him to read your words at home and join the service on Sunday. When he is at work, I pray that You give him the heart to love others and to remain upright, so that he won't be greedy and ask people for extra money. He just needs to pick up a few more customers, then he will earn more, won’t he?”
Besides praying, Shi reads the Bible and books on spiritual help every day, taking time to recite the Bible.
“Lord, I- Your dear daughter- will come to you one day,” Shi is filled with joy and hope as she speaks of the kingdom of God. “I will be so excited to dance around and sing praises to You! Hopefully, you won’t mind me doing that!”
- Translated by Joyce Leung
God's Fondest 'Fool'
