By Duan Yu
Just as her family despaired, Duan Yu heard from one of her friends that there was a hospital that could heal Shasha, but when Duan Yu’s son contacted the hospital and found out that the cost of the operation would be 100,000 yuan, this struck the family as a tremendous sum of money. Seeing her granddaughter at death’s door, Duan Yu felt even more grieved, and thought to herself, “Shasha is so young still. If this operation fails like the last three did, will she be able to bear it? And besides, where on earth could we borrow that much money? But if we don’t try and Shasha really does die, how will our family ever be able to endure such a blow?” Duan Yu felt all knotted inside and didn’t quite know what to do. In her despair, she thought of how only God was her support and so she prayed to God: “O God! I know that all things are in Your hands, so I entrust my granddaughter to You once again, and I ask that You lead me and guide me so that I may know the right thing to do….” After praying, Duan Yu thought back over the almost 20 days that her granddaughter had been back at home. She hadn’t eaten once and if she drank any water, she would vomit it up straight away. And yet she had not starved to death, so had this not been the care and protection of God? God rules over and administers all things and our lives and deaths are in God’s hands, thought Duan Yu. If God didn’t cause Shasha to die then she would not die, and as long as she had one breath left, then there was still hope that she would live! And so, Duan Yu also entrusted the matter of raising the money for her granddaughter’s treatment into God’s hands.
A week later, after the family had explored every avenue to borrow money, they had finally raised 100,000 yuan, and they arranged a time for Shasha to undergo her operation. Duan Yu knew that God had opened a way for her, and she silently offered her thanks up to God. Before her son and daughter-in-law took Shasha to the hospital, Duan Yu exhorted her granddaughter to pray and to rely on God no matter what, and Shasha gave an earnest nod. At the hospital, the doctor gave Shasha 10 days’ worth of IV fluid, but just as they were preparing for the operation, Duan Yu’s son suddenly called her and said, “Ma, the doctor says Shasha’s constitution is too weak, plus the fact that she hasn’t eaten in so long, her large intestine has become all stuck and twisted together. All they can do is try, but they can’t guarantee that the operation will work. We just have to see whether Shasha’s luck can hold out.” When she heard this, Duan Yu couldn’t help but feel panic rising inside her again. She thought of how Shasha was only six and weighed only 11.5 kilograms—would Shasha be able to endure such an operation? And if the operation didn’t work again, Shasha could possibly…. But then she thought again: “God is the Lord of all creation who rules and administers all things. My granddaughter’s life and death are in His hands and only God can save man. It’s no use no matter how much I worry, as the result of the operation is ruled by God. All I can do is rely on God and look to Him, seek His guidance and submit to His orchestrations and arrangements!”
“Ring ring….” The sound of the telephone interrupted her thoughts. She answered it and heard her granddaughter say with much difficulty, “Grannie, I’m going to have an operation this afternoon. I haven’t forgotten what you told me….” Hearing her granddaughter say this, Duan Yu’s eyes clouded over with tears and she could say nothing through her sobs …
That afternoon, Duan Yu sat beside the telephone, waiting in silence for news of Shasha’s operation and praying constantly to God. The hands on the wall clock kept turning as she gazed at it: One hour, two hours…. After four hours had gone by, her son called her at last, but all he said was that Shasha’s operation was not yet finished. Hearing this, Duan Yu began to fret again, and she hurriedly prayed to God, asking Him to quiet her heart and to lead and guide her to understand His will. Afterward, she read God’s words that said: “When you have faith that you will see His actions in your practical experience, then God will appear to you, and He will enlighten and guide you from within. Without that faith, God will be unable to do that. If you have lost hope in God, how will you be able to experience His work? Therefore, only when you have faith and you do not harbor doubts toward God, only when you have true faith in Him no matter what He does, will He enlighten and illuminate you through your experiences, and only then will you be able to see His actions. These things are all achieved through faith. Faith comes only through refinement, and in the absence of refinement, faith cannot develop” (“Those Who Are to Be Made Perfect Must Undergo Refinement” in The Word Appears in the Flesh). From God’s words, Duan Yu understood that she had to keep faith in God no matter what situation may arise. Especially now that her granddaughter was in such a serious condition, it was even more necessary for her to have faith in God. In such a difficult situation as this, only by experiencing God’s work and submitting to His orchestrations and arrangements could she better witness God’s wondrous deeds and come to a greater understanding of God’s almightiness and sovereignty. Duan Yu thought of the story of Lazarus in the Bible: He had been dead for four days and his body had begun to stink, but the Lord Jesus just spoke a few words, “Lazarus, come forth” (John 11:43), and Lazarus lived and came out from his tomb. God’s authority reaches above the heavens and He rules our lives and deaths, thought Duan Yu. “No matter how difficult Shasha’s operation is, whether or not it succeeds is in God’s hands, and I must have faith in God.” Thinking this, Duan Yu no longer felt so anxious and worried.
Seven hours later, her son called her again and said happily, “Ma, Shasha’s operation was a success, and even the doctor said the operation was an exceptional success and that we’ve been very lucky!” When she heard this, Duan Yu felt relief flood over her and she kept thanking God. She knew very well that the success of her granddaughter’s operation had been nothing to do with luck, but had been because of God’s care and protection, and that it had been God’s wondrous deed.
Two weeks later, Shasha was discharged from hospital and returned home. Though she still looked unwell, she was able to speak normally and could eat some food that was easy to digest. The neighbors all came one by one to see Shasha, and Duan Yu’s son cheerfully said to them, “After Shasha’s successful operation, many patients from other wards and their family members all came to see Shasha, and they said that it really was a miracle that a six-year-old girl could endure a seven-hour operation, and for that operation to be such a smooth success when her condition was so serious!”
The neighbors were thrilled and amazed as they said, “It’s inconceivable! Who would have thought that she could have survived after being so close to death.” When she heard her neighbors say this, Duan Yu silently offered up her thanks and praise to God.
A few days later, Duan Yu sat talking with her family, and her home was once again filled with the sound of joy and laughter. Shasha said happily, “Daddy, when I had my operation that day, I prayed to God and relied on God. It was God who healed me, so I’m going to believe in God!” Duan Yu’s son looked at Shasha and said, smiling, “OK. From now on, you can believe in God with your grannie, and your daddy will support you both!”
“Shasha, how about we read a passage of God’s words?” said Duan Yu. Shasha cheerfully nodded, and together they read: “This is because life can only come from God, which is to say, only God Himself possesses the essence of life, and only God Himself has the way of life. And so only God is the source of life, and the ever-flowing wellspring of living water of life. … Man’s life originates from God, the existence of heaven is because of God, and the existence of earth stems from the power of God’s life. No object possessed of vitality can transcend the sovereignty of God, and no thing with vigor can elude the domain of God’s authority” (“Only Christ of the Last Days Can Give Man the Way of Eternal Life” in The Word Appears in the Flesh). After experiencing this episode of her granddaughter being burned by caustic soda, Duan Yu couldn’t help but say an “Amen” to God’s words in her heart. She had truly come to appreciate that the lives of human beings originate from God, that God’s authority and power are unique, and that only God can express the truth, bestow life on man, and show man the path they should walk. Duan Yu thought back to when her granddaughter had accidentally ingested the caustic soda, and all the doctors had said she could not be healed. Everyone around had said, too, that Shasha wouldn’t last more than a few days. And yet, over two months later, her granddaughter had come smoothly through her operation, it had been a great success, and she was still living—had God not created the miracle of life? While her granddaughter had been sick, Duan Yu had fretted, feared and weakened, so much so that she had even begun to blame God. Yet God had not concealed His face from her because of that, but had used His words to enlighten and guide her, to make her realize how little faith she had in God and how unreasonable her demands of God were, and His words had enabled her to find the resolve to submit to His orchestrations and arrangements. When she had been in pain and had despaired, it was God’s words that had given her faith and strength, and that had enabled her to truly rely on God. Duan Yu truly experienced God’s great and profound love, and she experienced His truly wondrous deeds. What’s more, Duan Yu also came to have some practical understanding of and appreciation for God’s almightiness and sovereignty; she knew that it was God who had given her granddaughter another chance to live, and she wished to spend the time that was left to her to strive to pursue the truth and to perform her duty diligently so as to repay God’s love.
Three months later, Duan Yu and her son took Shasha to the hospital for a checkup. In amazement, the doctor said, “I never would have thought it! The burned areas have completely recovered. It’s a miracle that she could have recovered so fast. This girl really is so very lucky!” When she heard this, Duan Yu’s faith in God was strengthened even more, and she knew that this was all because of God’s great power and mercy, otherwise her granddaughter would be long dead. God’s deeds truly are wondrous and unfathomable, thought Duan Yu, and they are with us everywhere and at all times.
“Grannie, I’ve done my homework. Let’s read God’s words together.” Duan Yu heard her granddaughter call out to her and she gathered her thoughts back from her reverie. Then, the two of them, grandmother and granddaughter together, began to read God’s words …
The End.
Part One: After a Six-Year-Old Girl Accidentally Ingests Caustic Soda, God Saves Her From Danger (I)
