Though Jie’s (a Christian woman) hometown is far away from mine, she has become like one of my family members in Christ since I knew her five years ago. Despite the fact that many people come to Christ because of serious illnesses or God’s special calling, Jie did not experience great difficulties or special events as God led her by grace to become a Christian.
In 1999, she worked as an assistant teacher in a private kindergarten in Beijing, where she was influenced by the true love of devout Christians around her. Once, a kid in the kindergarten had a serious accident falling from a high place and every staff member in the kindergarten became worried about the kid caring for him alone though their jobs might be affected by the accident. What touched her most was the true love of a godly Christian woman, the mother of her colleague who came to pray for the child on her own initiative many times after she learned about the accident. Witnessing the love of Christians, Jie started to have a good impression of Christians.
Believing that Christians were good and trustworthy men, she later developed an inexplicable affection for and trust in Christians when choosing her spouse. In the beginning, it felt difficult for her to accept the man that was introduced by her friend, who became her husband later because of distance. Afterward, when she found the man by chance reading the Bible, somehow her worries about this long-distance marriage suddenly disappearaed since she believed Christians were trustworthy based on her own experience. Later, she went to church, attended worship services, and read the Bible on her own initiative, truly becoming a Christian.
After getting married, she moved to Jiangsu province and actively attended worship services at the church near her home. Though some church staff tried to encourage her to go to seminary, she often responded negatively, believing that it was too early for her to study theology. In 2011, her second-born child got bronchopneumonia through a sudden serious cold and fever and had difficulty breathing. When she brought her child to the hospital preparing to pay the bill, she found out that the money she had brought, just enough for the hospitalization, had been stolen. In despair, she cried out to the Lord for help, and God answered her prayer, giving her a way out. Later her child recovered well. Afterward, some church staff encouraged her to go to seminary again, but she could not make the decision easily because she had many worries mainly about her family and her children. She did not know who could take care of her children and family during her four-year absence from seminary. Her husband’s weak body was one of her concerns too. It was not until her mother-in-law, a devout Christian who always gave her guidance in faith, encouraged her to study theology with the following words: “Don't worry, we will take care of the family and kids". Then she decided to go to seminary. Today, she has completed her study in seminary. By God's grace, her children have grown up healthily, her eldest son has passed the entrance exam to university, and her husband is well!
After graduation from seminary, for some reasons, she was not able to become a full-time minister in the church and she could not even find a church to serve, she was still thankful for God’s guidance.
Her attitude is that wherever God leads her, there she will go. She firmly believes that God is her savior and wherever she is, it is enough for her to fulfill her own responsibilities.
- Translated by Alvin Zhou
我和洁姊妹认识有五年多了，虽然她并不是我们本地人，从地理位置上感觉很远，但从属灵的角度上来说，却又与我们身边的亲人没有什么区别。谈到是如何信主的，有的人是因为重病，有的人是因为神特别的呼召，但她的信主蒙恩经历既没有太大的坎坷，也没有特殊事，但却也处处充满上帝的带领和恩典。
1999年她在北京某区的私立幼儿园做助教。在她所处的环境中，有很多虔诚的基督徒，她在这样的环境中也潜移默化受到了影响。当时园里的一个孩子摔了，比较严重，园里的都为他特别担心，并不是因为自己的工作是否会受到影响，而是单单为这个孩子。特别是一位同事的妈妈，是一位虔诚的基督徒，当她知道这件事后，多次主动地来为这孩子祷告，那一份真情令她十分感动，原来信耶稣的人是这样的好。
鉴于此，在后来择偶时对基督徒产生莫名的好感和信任。她和她的丈夫是朋友介绍的，两人是两个省份的，家里隔着一千多公里，一开始也有很多的挣扎。但后来一次偶然的机会，她发现他正在读《圣经》，就莫名地消除了对这远嫁的顾虑，因为根据她自己的经历，认为真正有信仰的人是不错的人。后来，她也去了教会，参加了崇拜，主动读起了《圣经》，也真正接受了这份信仰。
她嫁到江苏后，常在家附近的教会参加崇拜，教会的相关同工也劝过她要去读神学，但她总是不积极，认为读神学离她很远。直到2011年，她生了二胎，孩子突然感冒发烧，得了支气管肺炎，并且呼吸困难，越发严重。在她准备给孩子办理住院并交住院费用的时候，发现自己带的刚好够住院的钱被偷了。绝望中，她向主呼求，祈求主的帮助，上帝也给她开了出路，孩子后来恢复得很好。后来又有同工劝她读神学，本来还有些犹豫，毕竟有两个孩子了。如果去读神学，一走四年，家里怎么办？孩子谁照顾？而且丈夫的身体也有些软弱。她的婆婆鼓励她：“你好好读神学，家里的事有我们，不要担心！”因为婆婆也是一名虔诚的基督徒，在信仰的道路上常常引导她。如今，她神学已经毕业。感谢上帝的恩典，孩子健康成长，大儿子也考上了大学，丈夫的身体也一直平安
神学毕业后，因为一些原因，她并不能在教会全职侍奉，甚至连一个可以侍奉的教会都没有，她并没有怨言。
Though Jie’s (a Christian woman) hometown is far away from mine, she has become like one of my family members in Christ since I knew her five years ago. Despite the fact that many people come to Christ because of serious illnesses or God’s special calling, Jie did not experience great difficulties or special events as God led her by grace to become a Christian.
In 1999, she worked as an assistant teacher in a private kindergarten in Beijing, where she was influenced by the true love of devout Christians around her. Once, a kid in the kindergarten had a serious accident falling from a high place and every staff member in the kindergarten became worried about the kid caring for him alone though their jobs might be affected by the accident. What touched her most was the true love of a godly Christian woman, the mother of her colleague who came to pray for the child on her own initiative many times after she learned about the accident. Witnessing the love of Christians, Jie started to have a good impression of Christians.
Believing that Christians were good and trustworthy men, she later developed an inexplicable affection for and trust in Christians when choosing her spouse. In the beginning, it felt difficult for her to accept the man that was introduced by her friend, who became her husband later because of distance. Afterward, when she found the man by chance reading the Bible, somehow her worries about this long-distance marriage suddenly disappearaed since she believed Christians were trustworthy based on her own experience. Later, she went to church, attended worship services, and read the Bible on her own initiative, truly becoming a Christian.
After getting married, she moved to Jiangsu province and actively attended worship services at the church near her home. Though some church staff tried to encourage her to go to seminary, she often responded negatively, believing that it was too early for her to study theology. In 2011, her second-born child got bronchopneumonia through a sudden serious cold and fever and had difficulty breathing. When she brought her child to the hospital preparing to pay the bill, she found out that the money she had brought, just enough for the hospitalization, had been stolen. In despair, she cried out to the Lord for help, and God answered her prayer, giving her a way out. Later her child recovered well. Afterward, some church staff encouraged her to go to seminary again, but she could not make the decision easily because she had many worries mainly about her family and her children. She did not know who could take care of her children and family during her four-year absence from seminary. Her husband’s weak body was one of her concerns too. It was not until her mother-in-law, a devout Christian who always gave her guidance in faith, encouraged her to study theology with the following words: “Don't worry, we will take care of the family and kids". Then she decided to go to seminary. Today, she has completed her study in seminary. By God's grace, her children have grown up healthily, her eldest son has passed the entrance exam to university, and her husband is well!
After graduation from seminary, for some reasons, she was not able to become a full-time minister in the church and she could not even find a church to serve, she was still thankful for God’s guidance.
Her attitude is that wherever God leads her, there she will go. She firmly believes that God is her savior and wherever she is, it is enough for her to fulfill her own responsibilities.
- Translated by Alvin Zhou
Christian Woman Witnesses God's Guidance in Her Life
