Quiet day at work

It is the day before Thanksgiving, no classes today, therefore, no students and no professors around, even staff are gone early, driving or flying somewhere to join their families for Thanksgiving. This morning when I came in, just Dr. Swanstrom was there, and then it is me, each of us in our own little office doing our stuff. My boss is nowhere to be seen, maybe he decides to take today off but has no idea what my phone number is, yes, that's him.
It snows today, it is beautiful, new snow is beautiful, that is if you don't have to walk on it and get all wet and slushy.

2005 Thanksgiving

I have so much to be thankful for this year. First of all, I am thankful to be alive. No, I am not being morbid. I just don't want to take being alive for granted. Not only that, I am healthy and able. Many people on earth do not get to live to be 42 and healthy, but I do. And of course, God has given me people in my life whom love me and I love, this is such a great manifestation of what God's love is about. No, it is not quite like God's love for me, but as least all the relationships show some aspects of what God's love is like.
I am thankful that Dan is at the last stage of writing his ThM thesis, hopefully, he'll be done by Christmas, at least the majority of it.
I am thankful that Kioni is growing at she should, meeting all the milestone of a 22 month old and sometimes exceeding them.
I am thankful that God has provided a job for me at Trinity that I could serve Him in a certain capacity and at the same time, provide for Dan and Kioni while Dan is pursuing his dream.
I am thankful that He has guided us for making the decision to go to the Philippines as missionary professors for two years. I anticipate these two years will open up our hearts and minds towards many things, world missions in particular.
I am thankful that even there are many deaths that happened towards the last half of the year, one of them is Dan's father, we do celebrate several births, one of those babies is Dan's brother's Chris and his wife's Cheryl's baby boy, whom was born yesterday (November 21, it was Dan's birthday) at 7:30 pm, his name has yet to be announced.
I am thankful for the health of my parents, whom I desparately want to see them come to know the grace and salvation of Christ.
God, thank you. I know even with all my might, it is impossible to live a life that is pleasing to you. I ask that you would guide me and help me every day to be more like you, and glorify you in everything I do and say.

Please give feedback

The best time to attack

The best time for our Enemy to attack is when we are making a spiritual difference. I cannot tell you how many times since we have accepted the teaching positions in the Philippines that I have voices in my head saying, "What do you think you are? You are not good enough to teach God's word!" or "Why go to the Philippines, life is good in America, it is comfortable, stable, safe. Kioni needs stabilities in her life. How dare the two of you dragging her all the way across the world and throw her in a developing country just because you think you are following God's call!" Many times, I knew our Enemy is giving me all these thoughts, especially during difficult times, to throw us off the course. Sometimes it is quite tempting to listen to these "logical" arguments and agree to them. But in the end, the Holy Spirit won my mind and heart over and helped me realize those were just big fat lies from our Enemy, whom doesn't want us to make any differences in anybody's life, it just wants us to live quietly, don't make a splash, don't stir up anything, just live a comfortable suburban Christian life. Go to church, lead a bible study, have some Christian friends over for dinner once in a while, that's good enough. Well, God has directed us otherwise.

Right at the time when we were deciding if we should go to the Philippines, two churches called Dan up and wanted to interview him for pastor's positions. Both churches are in the Washington D.C. area, which we both love to go back to. We know the city, we even know which neighbourhood to live in if we were to move back there. The thought of the possibilities of being able to have a stable income, to live in a nice D.C. neighbourhood and to minister there was very tempting. However, we both strongly felt that this is not what God is directing us in the next couple of years. So we turned them down.

It doesn't mean we will never live that way, but it is not the time now.

Chapter 2

Dan finished chapter two of his thesis last night, it is a good half inch thick, quite an accomplishment! Well, at least to me it is. The price for chapter one and chapter two are Dan being in the library for two months plus from 6:00pm to midnight, and then work some more after coming home from the library, and that is after a full day with Kioni and doing support-team building at the same time. I salute him for being this dedicated.
It sure has put some distance in our relationship, as one can imagine, the hand-the-baby-off time everyday is about 15-20 minutes after I arrive home, there is not much time to catch up with anything.
I'll be glad when this phase of our life is over, there will be new challenges along the way, I am sure, but I will be glad that this is over.

I asked God

I asked God for a flower, he gave me a bouquet

I asked God for a minute, he gave me a day
I asked God for true love, he gave me that too
I asked for an angel, he gave me you.

- John Raine -

Life and purpose

A friend's husband died last week of a head-on car collison. I was shocked, we just don't expect a young person to die that soon, but in fact, when you think about it, it could happen to any of us. We just don't know how long we are going to live, and in what manner we are going to die. Death without God is particularly hard to deal with, because it is so final. I am not saying that if Dan dies tomorrow, it will not be hard, but at least, I know he is with the Lord who loves him and he will not encounter any suffering of this world anymore. The best part is we will see each other again in full glory.

When we see an unexpected death, we think of our own mortality, and it is a good thing, because that puts our view of life and death into the right perspective, helps us to put things in the right priorities, do the important things in ife, but not things that everybody said is important. Life on earth is a journey, God places us here to fulfill his purposes and to glorify him, this is not our home.

No one, on their death bed, would wish that they would have spend more time in the office, wish that they have finish more projects for the company, rather, they regret that they didn't spend enough time with their wives, husbands, children and do things that they find meaningful and have an eternal impact.

For me, I think the most important thing in life right now is to fulfill my responsibilities as a wife, a mother and an evangelist. That's why I truly awaits the day when my working days are over and can stay home. It will not happen until we can raise full support to go to the Philippines.

God of the universe

Photo from NASA. All rights reserved.

Dan has been working very hard on support-team building. We prayed again and again for God to send us the partners that he has prepared for us. We are asking that God we will be 40% funded by Thanksgiving. In the midst of all the photo-copying, phone calls, scheduling and meetings, it is easy to lose sight of the fact that the God of the universe is the one who is sending us to his mission and we are just obeying what he has asked us to do. Look at the universe and ponder. Our God who is sending us to go to the Philippines, created all these, stars and galaxies that we will NEVER reach in our lifetime, space that we cannot fathom, activities that we cannot see. Look at the wonders he has displayed in front of our eyes. Why would we think that he cannot send us to the Philippines with full funding if he wants us to go?
God of the universe, you are amazingly grand and yet, you are so tender and caring, what an existence!

The search has ended

I have been searching for a good hair stylist since I came here nine years ago, don't have much success. Since I left Hong Kong, left my most trust-worthy hairstylist, Sam, I have lost the fun of going to have a haircut. I didn't need to tell Sam what to do, I sat down, he started to cut. He always gave me the best haircut that fit my personality and the time period that I am living in, not something from 109 years ago. We became friends, in fact, I shared the gospel with him, but he insisted that he is not ready for receive such 'good things' yet.

I pretty much have given up hope for having a good head of hair, until I saw a co-worker, Hae-Won's hair style. She is Korean, her hair stylist is Korea, and he doesn't speak much English. I went anyway, Hae-Won made the appointment for me. Eddy is young, doesn't speak much English, but he is good at what he does. The bonus is the haircut is only $20.00!!! The cheapest I have had so far was $35.00, which was just a trim. Ha! Finally, I found a place where I would want to go back to for my haircut, this place won't cost me an arm and a leg either.

Today is a happy day.

To those I love

If I should ever leave you whom I love
To go along the Silent Way,
grieve not,
Nor speak of me with tears,
but laugh and talk
of me as if I were beside you there.



(I'd come-I'd come, could I but find a way!
But would not tears and grief be barriers?)

And when you hear a song or
see a bird I loved,
please do not let the thought of me be sad...
For I am loving you just as I always have...

You were so good to me!
There are so many things I wanted still



want to do—
so many things to say to you...
Remember that I did not fear—
It was just leaving you that was so hard to face...



We cannot see Beyond...
But this I know:
I loved you so—
'twas heaven here with you!

by Isla Paschal Richardson. Read by Gregory Peck at Frank Sinatra's funeral, 1998.

15 years of furry contacts

Meme was 15 years and 11 days old. That means only 27 years of my life that I have lived without Meme. She used to sleep in my bed with me, she tried to kick me off the bed because I was taking up too much of her space. We used to share food together, whatever I ate, she ate. So much for the dog-food-for-dog-only theory, she was a pure bred Basset, she lived for 15 years, who said human food is not good for dogs. The only food that she came to not liking in her old age were cucumber and squash, other than that, she ate anything, raw or cooked, including vegetables. She caught lots of cockroaches, but only caught a baby bunny once when we lived in Scott Air Force Base in Southern Illinois (Bassets hunts rabbits). She would not let go of it, our body-building neighbour forced her mouth open to get the bunny out, quite gross. Our first apartment was next to a cemetery, she used to run and run and run in the cemetery chasing squirrels. She once ripped a toe-nail out from running in the cemetery, it grew back, and that didn't stop her from running more. She would chase the squirrels up the trees, then she put her front paws up the trees and barked at them.

She unzipped my luggage and stole dried shitake mushroom, ate US$80 worth of the delicacy, I just brought those back from Hong Kong, I just got off the plane, left the luggage in the house to go and get some dinner. She stole shrimp cavier noodles, ate about two dozens, the last couple of dried noodle cakes she couldn't finish, she was too full. She dragged a whole pound of frozen raw ground beef off the counter-top, even she only stood about 15 inches tall, half hour later when we returned home, what's left was the plastic wrap and the styrofoam plate, not one bit of meat was in sight, she still beg for dinner that night, she didn't get any. She opened a tupperware box and enjoyed two dozens of freshly baked chocolate chip cookies. She must be happy to see Dan left an opened two-pound bag of M & M's on the coffee table, only a few was eaten by Dan before we went out for dinner that night, she ate half a bag of the M & M's, that was a nice dessert for her. I guess she didn't finish all of it because it made her feel sick. She had chocolate looking poop for a day.
Several vets told us she wouldn't live another 6 months when she was about 10 and 12 years old, but somehow she outlived all the prophecies. She had ultrasound on her tummy, on her heart and her lungs. She was fine.
She like to take looooonnnnnnngggg walks, 2 hours was preferred, 1 hour is OK, not quite enough. She was a sloppy drinker, got to have a towel ready if you didn't want her to wet you all over your lap.
She was such a fun dog, I miss her very much.

First day without Meme

Meme is gone. Yesterday, when I cleaned her wound, I found maggots in her wound, I killed some, but three went back inside. She was trying to scratch afterwards, obviously, she was quite uncomfortable. I knew it was time. We could take her to the vet and make her go through pain and have it cleaned out, but then the wound will even be larger and I don't think it will heal, and it is more prone to infection. I don't think want her to go through all that pain.
She hadn't been walking well in the past two weeks, she was slow before, but in the past two weeks, she was having difficulty standing up, and she couldn't walk across the room without laying down several times. She lost interests to go outside, she would go do her business and came right back home. She wouldn't even walk far enough to the grass, just stayed close to the patio. She was gradually losing control of her bladder. When she walked up to the patio door, she was anticipating the peeing motion, and she would pee inside the house, didn't make it outside.
We were to put her down Monday when the vet's office is opened, but I couldn't stand having to antipicate her death, it was too hard. I would much rather grieve the lost then to grieve the anticipation of her death. So Dan and I took her to an emergency vet clinic. Mrs. Iris Feinberg came over to stay in the house just in case Kioni woke up.
It was the most difficult thing to do. Meme was gone in seconds after the injection. The vet said her brain stopped functioning before her heart stopped, she didn't even realize she was dying.
This morning was very hard. I kept telling myself I didn't have to get up to let her out, I didn't have to feed her. When I came down with Kioni, the usual spot where her food and water bowl were was empty. The usual spots where she laid was empty, there were still fingernail marks that she made on the carpet from the night before, the indent of the pillow that she slept on was still there, but there was no Meme.
I saw her every week until she was one, I have had her since she was one year old. She was 15 years and 11 days old. She was born in Australia, moved to Hong Kong, lived there until 6, then move to the U.S., lived 9 more years, died in Illionis.
Undoubtly, she lived an enjoyable good life, the vet said he has never seen a Basset Hound this old.
She brought a lot of joy to my life, she made me laugh, she took long walks with me. She was my faithful companion when I first moved here, she was the only thing that reminded me of Hong Kong, she was my baby before Kioni was born. I love her.
Goodbye Meme. It is very hard to let you go. I know it is for your good, you are not suffering anymore, the tumors are not boring you anymore, your legs are not hurting anymore, your blindness is not affecting you anymore, and surely not the maggots.
You were a good dog, thank you for being with me through lots of ups and downs. It is hard to say goodbye, but there is always an end to life.

Ready to say goodbye?

Meme started to have serious difficulty walking two days ago (Monday). I was at home because Dan went to Minneapolis for Missions Orientation. I realize that Meme was not able to get up most of the time, and even when she could, she would walk for a couple of steps and then would fall down. She would bark because she wanted to get to the water or wanted to go out, but physically, she was unable to.
She is still eating well, last night she barked at 3:00am, I went downstairs and found her on the floor in the hallway, she was in the area where the runner ends, she couldn't get up because the floor is too slippery. I let her out, well, more like pick her up so that she could go. She then walked back into the house, couldn't walk a step further, just plop herself down right in front of the sliding door. She stayed there for a long while, slept some more, then she woke up licking her lips. I realized that she wanted water. I brought the water to her, she drank half a bottle!!! Then she slept some more. After some time, she wanted to get up again, but after taking one step, she fell down and stayed there for some more time until Kioni woke up at 6:40am.

It is so hard to watch my dog of 15 years struggle like this. I have, in my mind, thought about putting her down over and over in the past two days. I think I am finally a bit more ready than a month ago. However, I still don't know if she is ready. I don't think she wants to live like this, though. I just don't want to be sorry or wish I have done it two months later.

七月一日

二零零六年七月一日是我們結婚十年零一個月的日子，也十分可能是我終結在三一神學院事奉的日子。老板說要有個新舊人交替的日子，他強烈建議那日子是七月一日。雖然我一天不交說要離開，我老板也沒有我辦法，但是他一再強調要有個交替的日子，我也不好和他強辯。
我 聽見之後心中沉了一下，在過去四年來，全靠我在三一的工作，我和DAN才能夠交學費、吃飯、供樓、交水電費和醫療保險。在祺祺出生之後，我的工作就會變 得不大一樣了。老實說，我寧可在家作全職媽媽。但是現實不容許我作這個選擇，在過去的二十個月來我唯有乖乖的去上班。我不是我不喜歡我的工作，相反地，這 份工作十分有意思，也有永恆的價值。但是與作全職媽媽比較起來，就有天淵之別了。
想到明年七月一日我就不用再上班，心中有點高興，終於可以作全職媽媽了。但是生活費、供樓錢和醫療保險又從何而來呢？到時候我們籌款到菲律賓籌得怎樣呢？足夠我們生活嗎？樓賣得出去嗎？要把MEME人道毀滅嗎？
要到各州的教會去籌款聽起來就夠累了，更不用說要帶著才兩歲大的祺祺坐長途車到處去。這一切想起來就頭痛，唯有把一切交給神。
神既然把到菲律賓的意念放在我們心?，我們就看看祂怎樣為我們成就這一切細節。

Crazy

Things have been going pretty crazy these days. A typical day is for me to get up in the morning, feed Kioni breakfast, get myself ready then rush off to work. Somedays when Kioni didn't get up until later in the morning, I can't give her breakfast, Dan will have to do it. Dan cares for Kioni during the day. After work I rush home and take over, so that Dan can work in the library on his thesis from 5:30pm untill mid-night, he then comes home and work some more. So in the morning, it is hard for him to get up to take care of Kioni with just a few hours of sleep. He cannot work on his thesis during the day, toddlers just need so much attention all the time. Dan also has to work on support team building. Hopefully, all these craziness will end when we head off to the Philippines, because I won't be working full-time, Kioni really prefers to have me around in addition to daddy. She cries every morning when I leave for work.

My boss is discussing with me the possibility of handing over my position to a new person we interviewed last week. He wants this to happen on July 1, 2006, that is good and bad. Good because I can stay home and take care of all the details for the big move to the Philippines. Bad is that we will not have insurance nor income, but we won't know if we can head to the Philippines yet since we won't know how support-team building will go by then.

Lots of things we have to lift up to the Lord, and depend totally on His grace.

Meme's birthday

Today is Meme's 15th birthday. Our vet said he has never seen a bassett hound that lives this long. Though she has been blind for 4 years and has tumors all over her. She still have a great sniffer though, she still loves to eat so much that she would wake up from a deep sleep whenever that is a trace of food smell around the house.

When I get off work today, I will make a pot of rice and chicken for Meme. She loves rice and chicken, and food is the only thing she enjoys now. She doesn't go for walks anymore, her joints hurt, and it is not fun when you cannot see what's going on around you.

We know her time with us is not going to be long, she sometimes has difficulty standing up, or maintaining her balance if she walks too fast. I have been praying that God will let her die of old age, like in her sleep, rather than to have me make the decision and make that phone call to make an appointment with the vet to put her down. It is hard to have to part with a friend who has been with you for this long.

I know God has not created spirits in animals, I do believe that God will have animals in heaven. Why won't it be? God thought that they are nice addition to the earth when he created it, why not in heaven? I don't think I will see Meme there, but I will have other animals to enjoy.

My co-worker Barbara put her 19 year old cat, Jamie, to sleep yesterday. It was quite an emotional day for her. She then buried him in her backyard underneath the lilac bushes where Jamie always loved to lay under. The whole family participated the 'ceremony', but that was not easy. She was still teary eyed this morning when we talked about it. Some people don't understand why we animal lovers cry this long and hard when we lose a pet. Well, the truth is, they are not just pets, they are part of the family for a very long time. In fact, I know Meme longer than I know Dan.

Even though I am well prepared for the day when Meme will not be with me anymore, but nothing will prepare me when that day arrives. I will grief, that's for sure. It is strange to talk about her death on her birthday, isn't it?

Accepted

Dan and I are accepted by the EFCA-International Missions as missionaries to Cebu, Philippines. Our area of ministry will be teaching. We are in the process of support team building. Please see our website if you would like more detailed information, or photos of the school and the city we are going to: www.bush-family.info

In the middle of the EFCA-IM Candidate School in Minneapolis back in mid-July, we received news that Dan's father died of a massive heart attack. His body is cremated and we are going back to Michigan this weekend for the burial and a memorial service. We are not sure if his father was a believer, though he attended church regularly early on. He was only 57. Dan's parents are divorced, when dad died, he was living in South Carolina with his sister and attending U of SC for a BA.

School has started back at Trinity, my work involves a lot of academic advising, therefore, it has been non-stop for a while. Dan is under pressure of writing his thesis for the Master of Theology program, he will have to finish it by December.

Due to everything that happened, it has been difficult for me to concentrate for translation, I have tried to do a little bit at a time, but it has been challenging.

Prayers:

1) Support team building: pray that God will guide us to the churches and individuals whom he has ordained to join our support team, we know God has already provided, it is a matter of finding out who!

2) In the midst of all the stress that Dan and I have right now, pray that we will have peace and grace to handle everything that is on our plates.

老虎、豆腐、底褲

養 育 祺 祺 佔 了 我 和 DAN 很 多 時 間 ， 為 人 父 母 的 都 知 道 帶 大 一 個 孩 子 不 容 易 。 可 是， 其 中 的 歡 樂 是 在 別 處 找 不 到 的 。 今 天 她 說 了 三 個 名 詞 ， 是 她 幾 個 星 期 前 就 學 會 了 的 ﹕ 老 虎 、 豆 腐 、 底 褲 ， 但 是 說 出 來 三 個 名 詞 都 差 不 多 ， 十 分 好 笑 。 但 你 若 是 用 心 聽 的 話 ， 每 個 名 詞 都 是 有 分 別 的 。

一 個 月 前 在 我 們 開 車 從 明 尼 亞 波 里 斯 的 宣 教 士 訓 練 大 會 回 家 途 中 ， 她 突 然 說 ﹕ ‘ 爹 爹 Na Nu。 ’我 們 問 她 Na Nu 是 甚 麼 ， 她 也 沒 有 解 釋 ， 只 是 說 了 之 後 就 微 笑 。 隨 後 她 又 說 ‘ 媽 咪 Na Nu， MeMe Na Nu’ 當 我 說 ‘ 祺 祺 Na Nu’ 的 時 候 ， 她 就 輕 輕 的 笑 兩 聲 。 從 此 之 後 每 次 我 們 說 Na Nu， 她 都 興 緻 勃 勃 地 把 她 毛 公 仔 的 名 字 連 到 Na Nu 上 一 起 說 。 到 現 在 我 們 都 搞 不 清 楚 究 竟 Na Nu 是 甚 麼 。

今 天 晚 上 她 睡 覺 前 跟 她 數 手 指 ， 我 一 邊 扳 開 她 的 手 指 一 邊 說 ﹕ ‘ 手 指 公 、 食 指 、 中 指 、 無 名 指 、 手 指 尾 ’ 無 當 我 數 到 無 名 指 的 時 候 ， 她 都 大 笑 起 來 ， 原 因 不 明 。

如 果 你 認 為 我 和 DAN 的 世 界 似 乎 是 以 祺 祺 為 中 心 ， 你 觀 察 得 沒 錯 。 神 說 ‘ 不 可 敬 拜 別 神 ’ ， 這 個 誡 命 十 分 重 要 ， 因 為 甚 麼 在 我 們 生 命 中 佔 上 最 多 時 間 的 ， 很 多 時 候 就 成 了 我 們 敬 拜 的 對 像 。 有 些 人 是 工 作 ， 有 些 人 是 男 朋 友 ， 有 些 人 是 某 種 活 動 。 對 我 和 DAN來 說 ， 這 個 小 小 的 人 兒 佔 據 了 我 們 的 生 命 的 好 大 部 分 ， 若 不 是 神 的 這 個 誡 命 的 提 醒 ， 把 祺 祺 看 為 ‘ 神 ’ 是 多 麼 的 容 易 啊 ！ 但 是 神 說 生 命 是 神 所 賜 的 ， 祺 祺 只 是 神 交 託 給 我 們 照 顧 的 一 份 大 禮 物 ， 我 們 並 不 擁 有 她 ， 神 才 是 她 的 主 。

Music to my ears

Kioni said 'Happy day' to me on my 42nd birthday, it was music to my ears.








And boy, did she like to have a taste of my Baskin Robins ice-cream cake, without a plate, without silverware, that was just fine with her.

Life should not be busy

I don't think God created us to run around all day trying to fix this and do that. Yes, we have to make good use of our time, but what is making good use of our time if we don't even have time to spend with the God who created us and the people that God put in our lives for us to love? Love trumps all things. Kioni will not remember how many important theological lessons I have translated for Third Millennium Ministries, however, she will remember mommy taking a walk with her. Thankfully, Dan is getting a dosage of Kioni in the mean time. I am sure she will remember daddy taking walks with her in the morning, building a fort with blankets and chairs in our living room, blowing bubbles and drawing with chalk on the patio.

We all have sacrifices to do, but what should be sacrificed? There is a time and a season for doing certain things, the season for raising Kioni presents itself once, and before you know it, it is over. I already miss the tiny baby with no teeth smiling at me, very soon, I will miss the toddler who can only string two or three words together, and cry out for mommy when she is awake from her nap. I wish I have all the hours in the day to just hold her whenever she asks me to, and just nuture her to the best of my knowledge, but I don't. I know I am going to miss out. How I wish this season of working at Trinity will past soon! Even though I enjoy my work very much. There is a time and seaon for everything.

不 可 思 議

家 中 的 老 狗 和 小 孩 都 不 足 三 尺 高 。 郤 是 很 多 歡 笑 和 怒 氣 的 來 源 ， 那 麼 小 的 東 西 ， 竟 然 有 那 麼 大 的 能 力 影 響 我 的 情 緒 ， 真 是 不 可 思 議 ！ 神 看 我 們 想 必 也 有 幾 分 相 像 的 地 方 ， 人 在 神 眼 中 算 得 是 甚 麼 ？ 祂 竟 然 愛 我 們 到 為 我 們 死 在 十 字 架 上 ， 真 是 不 可 思 議 ！

七 月 中 到 明 尼 蘇 達 州 接 受 播 道 會 國 際 差 傳 部 的 宣 教 士 訓 練 ， 兩 個 星 期 長 的 訓 練 對 我 這 個 怕 極 開 會 的 人 來 說 甚 為 難 過 ， 加 上 祺 祺 因 受 新 鮮 事 物 吸 引 而 不 願 吃 東 西 ， 眼 看 她 越 來 越 廋 ， 心 都 痛 了 。 兩 個 星 期 就 像 兩 年 那 麼 長 。 會 議 過 了 一 個 星 期 之 後 ， 接 到 DAN弟 弟 們 的 電 話 ， 說 他 們 爸 爸 突 然 因 心 臟 病 去 世 了 ， 他 差 兩 個 星 期 才58 歲 。
他 的 死 引 起 了 許 多 問 題 ， 想 不 到 人 死 後 才 是 各 種 問 題 的 開 始 。 人 際 關 係 的 複 雜 ， 人 生 命 的 脆 弱 ， 真 是 不 可 思 議 ！
老 爺 的 過 身 令 我 心 中 更 急 切 地 為 我 自 己 的 父 母 祈 禱 。 感 謝 神 賜 他 們 長 壽 健 康 ， 但 是 他 們 還 未 認 識 造 他 們 的 主 ， 為 他 們 死 的 耶 穌 基 督 。 我 不 可 以 說 ﹕ “ 他 們 還 ‘ 年 輕 ’ 。 ” 生 命 在 神 手 中 ， 我 不 知 道 我 們 何 時 要 離 開 這 個 世 界 。
我 的 禱 告 是 神 在 爹 媽 身 邊 放 置 大 膽 向 他 們 作 見 證 的 基 督 徒 。 我 們 作 兒 女 的 有 時 候 真 的 很 難 叫 他 們 好 好 聽 我 們 的 。