Enlightenment

There Is No Such Thing as Coincidence

I moved from Daejeon to Anyang to attend high school. Two years later, I moved again from Anyang to another city, and my commute became much longer. It was only after riding the bus for over an hour to get to school that I realized how large Anyang truly was. While living in Anyang, my range of activity had been quite small—just my high school, Zion, the subway station, and the intercity bus terminal. Everything I needed was within a ten-minute walk. Because all these places were so conveniently clustered together, I had assumed Anyang was simply a small city. Looking back, I see that this was nothing short of a miracle. They say there is no such thing as…

Bae Su-jin from Cheongju, Korea

Removing Stains

My son, who is in elementary school, loves playing in nature. Since he enjoys catching insects and fish, he always leaves the house in clean clothes in the morning but often returns covered in dirt and stains. The problem is that if I put his clothes straight into the washing machine, the stains remain, and the clothes look as if they were never washed. Dark-colored clothes can hide them a bit, but on light-colored ones, the stains stand out vividly. No matter how many times I wash them, they do not come out easily, so I end up setting them aside in a pile until I have time to work on them. On that day, I spray stain remover on…

Yoo Seunghee from Busan, Korea

The Reason the Way to Heaven Is Peaceful and Smooth

One day while preaching the gospel, a childhood friend came to my mind. I really wanted to deliver the good news of salvation to her, but I couldn’t remember how to get to her house. I earnestly prayed to Heavenly Father and Mother to allow me to meet her. Finally, thanks to God’s help, I remembered visiting her house with my mom. Actually, the one who took me to her house was my mom when I was young; she was the child of my mom’s friend. Several days later, I visited her with my mom. When I arrived at the garden, the memory of playing around in bare feet slowly returned. After spending a good time with each other, we…

Saru Baskota from Kirtipur, Nepal

What Empathy Is

Unlike me, who has many years of driving experience, my wife did not have a driver’s license. So whenever we went anywhere, driving was always my responsibility. Sometimes, when an aggressive driver suddenly cut in, I would be startled and feel a surge of irritation, but I kept it in. Yet when my wife scolded me, asking what I would do if I hit the brakes too suddenly, I felt unfairly blamed. I wanted to argue back, “If I don’t brake when someone cuts in like that, we’ll crash!” But I stayed quiet, reminding myself to focus on driving safely. Eventually, my wife got her driver’s license. However, even after several years, the number of times she has actually driven…

Oh Dae-yeop from Seoul, Korea

The More I Give Thanks

On a hot summer day, a blackout occurred in the apartment due to excessive electricity usage. After four hours, the emergency generator was operated, but before long, another blackout occurred. The announcement asking residents to refrain from using electricity except for the refrigerator continued late into the night. I was worried because I had to move luggage brought from my parents’ house from the parking lot, but I was thankful that the elevator was operating. I was thankful that the apartment stairway lights were on so it wasn’t dark. I was thankful that I could use my phone’s flashlight when going to the bathroom, and that water came out so I could wash. I was thankful that the food in…

Im Kyung-a from Gwangju, Korea

Presenting to God With Thanksgiving

Recently, my worries have increased. I wanted to find a solution, knowing that merely worrying would change nothing. To me in such a state, God gave the answer: Be thankful. “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” Philippians 4:6 While thinking about how to put thankfulness into practice, I came across the idea of a “gratitude journal.” At first, I wondered what effect simply writing down things I was thankful for could have. Thinking I had nothing to lose, I decided to give it a try. Without any set format, I began filling a notebook with a list of things for which I was grateful. Surprisingly,…

Kim Min-gi from Gyeongju, Korea

How I Saved My Younger Brother

I was born as the seventh child in a family with seven daughters and one son. I had nothing special and drew no attention of people. Not only the villagers but also my relatives would even ask my name whenever they gathered on the national holidays. However, there were times when adults would pay attention to me. It was when they talked about my younger brother, the eighth child in my family. Since he was a precious son, I was an indispensable figure when they tried to find out after whom he was born. Accordingly, the most important mission for me in my childhood was taking care of my younger brother. When I think about it now, since I was…

Im Ji-yeon from Seongnam, South Korea

A Life of Steady Change

I once read that it is harder to maintain a changed self than to change from one’s current state to a better one. Looking back on my life, I have found that to be true. I could make plans and try something once or twice, but carrying it out consistently was never easy. The life of faith is the same. Even though I always resolve to change and live as a true child of God, it is difficult for us—who still carry the nature of sin—to put that realization into practice every single day, every single moment. To such people as us, God gave this teaching: “Have nothing to do with godless myths and old wives’ tales; rather, train yourself…

Yoo Bo-mi from Soon cheon, Korea

The Meaning of the Morning Glory

The symbolic meanings given to flowers according to their characteristics are called the “language of flowers.” For example, the green rose symbolizes “noble love that exists only in heaven.” I learned this from a new sister I met at a club gathering, and for some reason, it deeply moved me. That encounter sparked my curiosity about the meanings of other flowers as well. The hyacinth represents humble love, the cotton flower signifies a mother’s love, and the morning glory stands for good news. The moment I learned that the morning glory symbolizes good news, I was immediately reminded of our mission to proclaim the gospel of heaven. As those who spread the good news of the kingdom of heaven with…

Jo Min-ah from Seongnam, Korea

The Sound That Eases My Longing

“Turn left.” “Continue straight.” Even when I know the way to my destination perfectly well, I still find myself entering the address into the navigation system—just to hear its voice. I think it started after I installed a navigation system that offered Korean-language guidance. Having lived abroad for nearly twenty years since leaving Korea, I no longer face much difficulty in daily life. But when I first settled here, waking up each morning to the unfamiliar language around me made my head ache all day. If a conversation drifted even slightly beyond my understanding, I would strain to keep up, forcing my brain to work faster. When that failed, I would simply “switch off” my mind and give up trying…

Kwon Soon-young from Fresno, CA, U.S.

Air

I work in a job that requires a lot of physical movement. These days, because of COVID-19 prevention measures, I wear a mask while working, and even the slightest movement makes me feel suffocated and irritable. But when I move to a different spot for a moment, take off the mask, and take a deep breath, there is no greater joy than filling my lungs with fresh air. Then I thought, “If I had to live in an environment where the air was even more restricted than it is now, how stifling and difficult would it be?” With that change in perspective, my irritation turned into gratitude. Today as well, I thank God for giving me the simple happiness of…

Kim Min-seong from Suwon, Korea

Foreigners and Strangers on Earth

It has been several years since I came to the Philippines. By God’s grace and through the love of my Zion family, I’ve adapted so well that I sometimes forget I am a foreigner, and for that, I am truly thankful. Still, there are moments when I feel disheartened, especially when I’m unable to fully express what’s in my heart to the local members. When speaking with those who struggle with English, I try to mix in simple local phrases, use a bright smile, and express love and care through cheerful gestures. There were times when, despite looking up words in dictionaries or studying with translation apps, wondering how I could comfort a member after work, or how I could…

Jeong Eun-seo from Las Pinas City, Philippines

For the Everlasting Crown

When we are in God, we are happy and joyful with the grace of salvation and the promise of the kingdom of heaven. However, there are many things we need to be patient with and endure as God’s children. Before getting married, it wasn’t easy to go to church, leaving all the colorful neon signs of the city behind after getting off work on the weekdays. However, whenever I shook off the temptation and studied God’s word at the church, or focused on the spiritual work with the young adults of the same age group, I gave thanks to God for giving me self-control and moving my steps toward Zion. After marriage, there were more things that require self-control than…

Kang Gyeong-mi from Changwon, Korea

Mom’s Baby Book

In the days of my puberty, a war of nerves with Mom was my daily routine. As usual, I was scolded by Mom and banged the door, entering the room. I murmured that I would never talk with her anymore and sat in front of my desk. I opened a book to study. Strangely, I became fastidious whenever I tried to study. So I decided to study after cleaning up, and started to arrange books on the bookshelf. Then, I found an old book that I had never seen before. Baby Book was written on the front cover. It was Mom’s baby book. I became curious about the stories of my babyhood. On the other hand, I got nervous at…

Kim Hyeon-ji from Uijeongbu, South Korea

Eye

Starting a few years ago, my left eye looked blurry as if there was a fog. The same symptom started on my right eye also. I wore glasses, thinking it might be presbyopia, but I still felt frustrated. I went to the eye hospital because my wife urged me to go, but the doctor told me to go a bigger hospital to find out the exact cause and only gave me an eye drop prescription. Afterwards, because of the busy restaurant which we were running, I couldn’t spare any time. But later when I couldn’t even distinguish an object, I felt the seriousness of the situation and went to a big hospital. The doctor said he doubted that it was…

Choi Yong-gyu from Seoul, South Korea

Parental Love

I always thought my son was a little kid, but he is already a lot taller than I am now. It’s still vivid when he was a lovely little kid whom I could embrace, but now I can be embraced by him. I’m happy that he’s grown, but sad at the same time because I know I am not everything to him anymore. When he was a kid, he would burst out into tears whenever I wasn’t right next to him, and he said that he could never live without me. However, as he grew up, he started sharing his interests with his friends, and looked for me less and less. I thought about how much he thought about me…

Jo Eun-jin from Changwon, South Korea

God Daily Bears Our Burdens

Whenever I faced difficult moments though rarely, I fell into a sense of shame and felt burdened—‘Why am I the only one tired and suffering?’ But there was the One more burdened than I was. “Praise be to the Lord, to God our Savior, who daily bears our burdens. Selah.” Ps 68:19 God knows how lonely and exhausting it is for us to pass through the desert of faith. That’s why God daily bears our burdens. It’s all thanks to Heavenly Father and Mother who bear our load and lead us to salvation, so that we can have a little more rest and strength to move forward to heaven.

Daejeon, South Korea, Kim Mi-jeong

Mother’s Love Only for Her Children

One day, I was having lunch with my grandfather, and we were discussing the most important thing in relationships. I mentioned communication as something I thought was important, and then he told me an old story: Before my dad was born, my grandparents had another son. He was born brain-dead, and the doctor told my grandfather that he would live only a day or a week or two weeks at most. My grandfather’s biggest concern was how it would break my grandmother’s heart to see her son die like this, and he wanted her to avoid the pain. So he made a decision, without consulting her, to send the newborn off to an institution far away. Afterwards, he could see…

Philadelphia, PA, U.S., Maxwell Rothstein

Take Off Your Old Self and Put On the New Self

When I look back at the life I lived, I cannot help but cringe. Everyone knew my personality: loud, arrogant, and spoiled. I was set on my plans of world victory and I was going to show it off to everyone I knew. I only wanted things to go my way or there was no way. Who on earth could have pulled me out of myself? Looking back, my past was just dark. Some years had gone by and I felt like Solomon: “Meaningless! Meaningless! Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless.” There was even a point in my life where I thought, ‘If I die now, I wouldn’t have to work anymore or be on this earth!’ Three days had gone…

Riverside, CA, U.S., Vivian Paire Dewong

When Every Part Isn’t United

“It’s an intruder! Attack!” “No, wait! I’m not an intruder. We’re a family!” “Liar! Attack! Attack!” This is what goes on inside the body of someone with Hashimoto’s thyroiditis. Hashimoto’s thyroiditis is an autoimmune disease; a disorder in which the immune system attacks the thyroid because it looks at the thyroid as a foreigner in the body. The thyroid is located in the front of your neck. It’s in the shape of a butterfly. The thyroid gland makes hormones that control metabolism and energy. Low or non-functioning thyroid can lead to hypothyroidism, a condition in which the thyroid does not make enough hormones for the body’s needs. It can cause certain symptoms such as fatigue, depression, weight gain, hair loss,…

Manhattan, NY, U.S., Viana Lynnette Vazquez