One day in June 2022, a female believer named Liu Min (pseudonym) in the bathroom fetched half a small water basin to do her laundry. As she was about to stand up, she felt a slight thud at the base of her spine and the half basin of water in her hand fell to the ground. Instantly, she sat on the ground, crying in pain, "Lord, save me."
She was taken to the hospital where she was diagnosed with a T12 vertebral fracture. The doctor gave two treatment options, but she chose to recuperate at home and returned home with the medicine prescribed by the doctor.
Liu had been chosen by the Lord 30 years ago, and in 1993, the state-owned enterprise she worked for was faced with the option of restructuring or bankruptcy, and the area where her family lived was being renovated for squatter settlements. The three members of the family were left with no fixed place to live. After a few days, she received a message from her second aunt asking her to come and live with her temporarily. Her Aunt wanted to build a new house in the courtyard for her family.
Because Liu's husband worked in a grain store, he was rarely at home, and her second aunt's husband helped with tasks such as fetching water, chopping firewood, buying coal, and making coal briquettes. As time went by, she learnt that her second aunt was a Christian and became one under her influence.
After the fall, Liu began to pray to God from the first day of her convalescence at home, asking for a quick recovery. But the severe pain continued, she could not do anything while lying in bed, and needed her husband to feed her and take care of her. She stopped praying, praising and reading the Bible in the midst of her suffering.
At this time when the pandemic was spreading, church members came to visit at the risk of being infected. As she gazed at the fruits and vegetables brought by them, tears welled up in her eyes uncontrollably.
From the next day onwards, Liu resumed her Bible reading and prayer and repented for being away from the Lord. Less than a month later, at the recommendation of her sister, she went to the Second Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital in Liaoning Province for inpatient treatment. After the doctor's examination, it was found that her bone density was below the normal minimum value.
The medications used in the hospital were for the cure of osteoporosis, but it was found that they caused strong stomach irritation and had side effects, which immediately triggered Liu's stomach problems. Due to the pandemic, she was not admitted again to the Gastric and Gastrointestinal Unit of a hospital in Liaoning until after 20 days.
During this time, she basically gave up Bible reading, prayer, and alienated herself from the Lord again.
One day after she returned home, her husband brought in two girls. They were her husband's staff workers and were both serving the Lord. They had come from Shanghai for a visit home during the holidays.
One girl surnamed Li prayed for her while gently rubbing her hand on the sore part of her stomach. The other one surnamed Zhou also massaged her lower limbs. Her face turned from yellow to red, from a painful melancholy to sunny happiness. After praying, they helped her download some faith-related materials. When she thought of the two young sisters visiting from thousands of miles away, her heart was filled with guilt toward the Lord.
Liu had lost faith in the Lord as she had repeatedly weakened and fallen during the torture and suffering of her illness. But the Lord's love presented itself through the visits of His members, so her faith was built up again.
- Translated by Nonye Nancy
