By Duan Yu
“Grannie, I’ve nearly finished my homework. I’ll read God’s words to you in a little while!” Duan Yu smiled happily as she looked at her lively, clever and obedient granddaughter Shasha. She was no longer the sickly, matchstick-thin child she had been four years ago, and Duan Yu couldn’t stop her thoughts from drifting back to that time …
“Brother, sister-in-law, please go into the sitting room….” Duan Yu warmly greeted them when they arrived to attend her daughter’s wedding. She was very busy.
“Waaa … Waaa….” The sound of crying came to Duan Yu’s ears and she looked all around to find the source. All she saw was her six-year-old granddaughter Shasha pointing at a water bottle, crying loudly and hopping from foot to foot without saying anything.
Duan Yu rushed over and saw that Shasha’s mouth was full of blisters the size of grapes. Her mouth was open, and she could only breathe through her nose. Seeing Shasha in such pain, Duan Yu was scared out of her wits and tears fell from her eyes. She hurriedly picked up the water bottle from the floor and saw that there was caustic soda in the water. She panicked: “What can I do? Caustic soda is corrosive, and it really burns. Shasha has drunk it thinking it was mineral water. If anything happens to her….” At this thought, Duan Yu began to choke with sobs.
Duan Yu’s son and her relatives and friends heard the commotion, hurried over and were struck dumb by the scene before them. Duan Yu’s son’s expression was anxious as he said to her, “Ma, we have to get Shasha to hospital, now!” As he said this, he took Shasha up in his arms and ran out of the house. Duan Yu wiped the tears from her eyes and hurried after her son, and they rushed to the town hospital.
“Her injuries are so severe! Hurry, we have to pump her stomach!” yelled the doctor. Before her stomach could be pumped, however, the blisters in Shasha’s mouth began to burst and blood ran unbroken from the corners of her mouth. Soon after, Shasha went deathly pale and fell into unconsciousness. Seeing her granddaughter at death’s door, Duan Yu became even more fretful and worried. Shasha’s condition was too serious and the town hospital was unable to save her. All the doctor could do were a few simple things to manage her condition, and then arrange an ambulance to take Shasha to the county hospital.
On the way there, Duan Yu prayed constantly and silently to God: “O God! My granddaughter’s condition is so serious, and I don’t know what to do. O God! I just want to place my granddaughter in Your hands so that You may carry out Your orchestrations and arrangements. I ask that You protect my heart so that I may be at peace before You and so that I can rely on You to get through this situation.”
After examining Shasha, the doctor shouted to the nurse, “Hurry, hurry! Get her to the ICU right away!” When she heard the letters “ICU,” a look of horror dawned on Duan Yu’s face, and she flopped weakly down onto a chair in the hallway. Her granddaughter was just six this year, and if something happened to her, what would she do? The more Duan Yu thought about it, the more upset she became. Afterward, she went into the ICU a few times and saw that her granddaughter was still unconscious. She was so concerned and anxious and, in her bewildered state, she just kept praying to God, asking Him to heal her granddaughter. At midnight, her daughter-in-law arrived at the hospital after taking a plane to be with them. Duan Yu’s son was afraid that his mother had become too distressed, so he took her home.
Duan Yu did not sleep a wink that night. All night, she prayed to God to calm her heart and to protect her granddaughter so that she could make it through this trying time. Duan Yu endured much suffering until the dawn light came. Suddenly her daughter-in-law called her. “Ma, Shasha is awake. She keeps coughing up blood, but she’s out of danger for the moment. Don’t worry….” When she heard that her granddaughter was out of danger, Duan Yu was overcome with emotion, and she kept thanking God. She breathed a sigh of relief.
In the blink of an eye, 10 days had passed, yet Shasha was still unable to eat solid food, and if she drank any water, she would vomit it back up. The family decided it was best to transfer her to the municipal hospital. When they got there, the doctor examined her and said, “This child’s condition is even worse than if she had cancer. We have to perform an operation right away to open up her esophagus. She hasn’t eaten for such a long time, though, that her intestines have become twisted together. We cannot guarantee that the operation will work or that she won’t be left with complications afterward.” When she heard the doctor talking as though he was giving Shasha a death sentence, Duan Yu felt a heartrending grief, and she thought, “Shasha’s condition is worse than if she had cancer? Is there any hope? We’ve already spent more than 50,000 yuan on her treatment. Where on earth will we get the money to pay for an operation? And what will we do if the operation doesn’t work?” Just then, Duan Yu felt overcome with worry and distress, and she couldn’t stop her heart from weakening, as she thought, “I’ve prayed to God, so why isn’t God protecting Shasha?” Just as this thought came into her head, she suddenly realized that she was blaming God, and so she hurriedly prayed to God: “O God, I was wrong! I shouldn’t blame You. Whether my granddaughter can be healed or not, it is all in Your hands. I believe that Your good will is behind what is happening now. It’s just that I don’t understand Your will just now and I don’t know what the lesson is that I should be learning. O God! I ask that You enlighten and guide me and enable me to understand Your will and submit to Your orchestrations and arrangements.”
When she got back home, Duan Yu read God’s words: “While undergoing trials, it is normal for people to be weak, or to have negativity within them, or to lack clarity on God’s will or their path for practice. But in any case, you must have faith in God’s work, and not deny God, just like Job. Although Job was weak and cursed the day of his own birth, he did not deny that all things in human life were bestowed by Jehovah, and that Jehovah is also the One to take them all away. No matter how he was tested, he maintained this belief” (“Those Who Are to Be Made Perfect Must Undergo Refinement” in The Word Appears in the Flesh). As she contemplated God’s words, Duan Yu thought of the trials of Job during which he lost his mountains of cattle and sheep, his family wealth and property and his 10 children, and when his whole body broke out in painful boils. Even though Job felt weak and pained, he did not speak sinfully and he did not speak a word of blame against God or a word that would have grieved God, for he believed in the sovereignty of God and he knew that everything he had was given to him by God, and was not earned through his own toil. Job knew that, as a created being, whether God gave or took away, he should always obey God. Job did not lose his faith in God during his trials but was able to maintain his God-fearing heart and submit to God’s orchestrations and arrangements, and he said, “Jehovah gave, and Jehovah has taken away; blessed be the name of Jehovah” (Job 1:21), and “Shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil?” (Job 2:10). In the end, Job bore beautiful and resounding testimony for God, and he shamed Satan, and caused it to fail and flee in haste. Job’s faith, reverence and obedience to God earned him God’s praise and acceptance. Compared with Job, Duan Yu saw that her own faith in God was so pitifully small. With her granddaughter having accidentally ingested caustic soda and been burned, not only did Duan Yu not have a God-fearing heart and not seek God’s will, but even less did she have an attitude of obedience toward God. Instead, she just unreasonably implored God to heal her granddaughter and to protect her granddaughter so that she made a quick recovery. When her granddaughter’s condition didn’t seem to be getting any better, she began to blame God, and doing so meant that she was making demands of God and trying to strike deals with Him. She thought of how she was a created being and how believing in God and worshiping God were heavenly laws. What’s more, she had believed in God for all those years and had freely enjoyed the words given by God. She had also received unlimited grace from God, in particular the several times she had fallen from stairs, she had been protected by God and had not been injured. But not only had she not shown any gratitude, but she had instead blamed God and misunderstood Him because His deeds had not met her demands—she realized how without conscience and reason she had been. Just then, Duan Yu wept tears of shame, and she said a prayer of obedience and repentance to God: “O God! I’m so foolish and ignorant for not understanding Your sovereignty. I’ve enjoyed so much of Your grace and so many of Your blessings, but I never had true faith in You or truly obeyed You. Now my granddaughter is gravely sick, and yet I still make unreasonable demands of You, so much so that I even blame You for what is happening. I’m so devoid of conscience. O God, I was wrong. I wish to repent to You and to entrust my granddaughter into Your hands. Whether my granddaughter can be healed in the end or not, I will not complain to You again. I wish only to submit to Your orchestrations and arrangements and rely on You to face whatever will come.”
The next morning, Duan Yu read some more of God’s words: “Like all things, man is quietly and unknowingly nourished by the sweetness and rain and dew from God; like all things, man unknowingly lives beneath the orchestration of God’s hand. Man’s heart and spirit are held in the hand of God, everything of his life is beheld in the eyes of God. Regardless of whether or not you believe this, any and all things, whether living or dead, will shift, change, renew, and disappear in accordance with God’s thoughts. Such is the way in which God presides over all things” (“God Is the Source of Man’s Life” in The Word Appears in the Flesh). God’s words gave Duan Yu faith and strength and she came to understand that all things are in God’s hands, and that the lives and deaths, fortunes and misfortunes, of human beings are also in God’s hands. Even more so, she realized, it was up to God whether her granddaughter’s operation was successful or not, and it could not be decided by any human being. Even if a doctor said that her granddaughter was sure to die, she would not die unless God permitted it. And when she heard what the doctor said, she had quailed and become fearful, so by constantly worrying and feeling anxious about what might happen to her granddaughter, had she not fallen foul of the tricks of Satan? Satan wished to use her granddaughter’s condition to tempt her and disturb her, to make her lose her faith in God, and to make her deny God and betray God—Satan is so despicable! Duan Yu, however, saw through Satan’s deceitful scheme and, at the same time, through contemplating God’s words, she came to have some understanding of God’s almightiness and sovereignty, and her faith in God was strengthened. She knew that she shouldn’t carry on being timid and fearful and being tricked by Satan, but that she should entrust her granddaughter to God and submit to God’s rule and arrangements for her granddaughter’s fate. Even if the operation was a failure, she would not blame God, but would submit to His orchestrations. Once she had come to this understanding, Duan Yu’s heart felt much more at ease. She then hurriedly ate her breakfast and rushed off to the hospital. When she saw that Shasha was still unable to eat solid food or drink water, Duan Yu grieved, but she trusted that her granddaughter’s life was in God’s hands. She then pressed close to Shasha’s ear and whispered, “Shasha, be strong. You’ll have an operation tomorrow. Pray and rely on God, and with God as our backup, there is nothing to be afraid of!” Shasha nodded her head slightly.
Over more than 20 days in the municipal hospital, Shasha underwent three failed operations, and the doctor said, helplessly, “You should prepare for the worst. Shasha’s throat has been too badly burned by the caustic soda and the opening to her throat has greatly expanded. When she drinks water, she chokes and coughs it back up. There is nothing we can do now. It would be best if you took her back home.”
Duan Yu was filled with worry as she looked at her matchstick-thin granddaughter. The girl couldn’t even walk very stably, and was only being kept alive by her IV drip. If that was removed and they took her home, they would just be there waiting for her to die. But she had had three operations and none of them had worked, and the doctor had already given up on her treatment. Furthermore, their family had spent every penny on Shasha’s treatment. In desperation, the family could do nothing but take Shasha back home.
Shasha was simply incapable of eating solid food, however. Every day, they gave her a few drops of milk, but even that she vomited back up. Seeing Shasha in such pain and so emaciated, Duan Yu’s family grieved in their distress. When the neighbors saw Shasha’s condition, they discussed it amongst themselves, and said, “She’s so sick, poor child. It doesn’t look as though she has much longer to live.” Their words caused Duan Yu even more pain and distress and she wept all day, every day, and she could neither eat nor sleep. To keep Shasha alive, Duan Yu’s son took Shasha to the town hospital every day to receive IV fluid treatment, but no one knew how long Shasha would live for. As time wore on, the family gave up on giving Shasha any treatment. Witnessing all this, Duan Yu’s heart felt like it was cloven in two and, in her pain, all she could do was pray silently to God.
To Be Continued …
Part Two: After a Six-Year-Old Girl Accidentally Ingests Caustic Soda, God Saves Her From Danger (II)
