Faith & Life

Woodpecker’s Brood Patch

Feathers are light and have very good thermal stability. So in winter, down jackets are popular among people. However, woodpeckers pluck out the feathers that cover their bodies and keep them warm. It’s only for their young. Woodpeckers willingly pluck the feathers off their bellies that directly contact the eggs during incubation. This bare area is fluid-filled and highly vascularized, making it possible for the birds to transfer heat directly to their eggs when incubating. This featherless area on their chest that they press against the eggs to keep them warm is called a brood patch. In most birds, a brood patch on the abdomen is automatically developed, but woodpeckers pluck their feathers from their own bodies. Moreover, their beaks…

Lost Shoes Back

My grandma always wants to give me more. When I was in elementary school, she bought me a desk for hard study. She paid for school uniforms in my middle and high school days. When I became a college student and lived alone, she sent me various side dishes. She always asked me if I needed anything. During the Korean national holiday Chuseok a few years ago, my grandma gave me a gift of shoes. She had even asked my aunt and cousin to choose my shoes with a fashionable design that suited me well. When I returned to my place after the holiday, she followed me to the bus terminal to see me off though I tried to dissuade…

Oh Jin-hui from Anyang, South Korea

Squeaky Clean, Feeling Sweet!

That satisfying squeak, squeak you hear when washing with soap—there’s something wonderfully refreshing about it. After lathering up and rinsing clean, even the fatigue that has built up in your heart seems to gently melt away. Why not turn this simple, soothing moment into a special Squeaky Clean Day and enjoy it with your family? As you gently wash and care for the hands and feet of your hardworking parents, your supportive spouse, or your beloved children, you may find your hearts growing closer. This month, try setting aside a Squeaky Clean Day. Love will rise like soap bubbles, and a quiet sense of pride will softly bloom. Tip Ask your family what water temperature they prefer Lather up with…

Coming Close to God

When I was in my first year of middle school, I learned the Bible deeply at Zion. Actually, I started to go to church with my family when I was a child, but that was my first time to study the words of God seriously. I had been always proud of myself, thinking I knew the Bible to some degree even though I was young. However, the prophecies of the Bible and their fulfillment made me feel as if I had never experienced the Bible before; the Bible was full of testimonies that I couldn’t deny, and God truly existed. I was so happy to be able to completely believe both in God and the Bible that I wrote a…

Lee Pyung-hwa from Seoul, South Korea

Saying “Wow!” Makes You Happier

After struggling breathlessly up a mountain on legs that feel as heavy as lead, we finally reach the summit, and a cry rises spontaneously from our lips: “Wow!” The magnificent view unfolding below is breathtaking, and the sense of accomplishment that comes from not giving up halfway and overcoming our own limits bursts out in that single exclamation. To marvel is to be deeply moved by a sense of wonder and admiration—a distinctly human capacity. We all have a natural desire both to express admiration and to receive it. Why do people spend so much time and money visiting famous attractions such as the Eiffel Tower and Niagara Falls? Would they make the journey at all if those places did…

God Is Our Guide Forever

Sometimes I think, ‘I am lacking in many ways. How can I successfully carry out my God-given mission?’ Soon, however, I get reminded of God’s sure promise, which makes me cheer up. “For this God is our God for ever and ever; he will be our guide even to the end.” Ps 48:14 God divided the Red Sea for the Israelites to cross over on dry ground and destroyed the fortified city of Jericho to level the way to Canaan. God is still guiding His children who are preaching the gospel to all people around the world in the age of the Holy Spirit. Although I am still weak in faith, I will do my best to successfully carry out…

Jeon Sahng-hui from Seongnam, South Korea

Criteria for Selection

When a famous Major League Baseball scout in the United States was asked about his criteria for selecting players, he answered, “Head, heart, and gut.” When asked about this unusual answer, he explained it clearly: “Head” refers to knowledge and understanding of baseball; “Heart” refers to passion for the game; “Gut” refers to the courage and boldness to perform well even in critical situations. Then what criteria are used to select workers who will walk together on the journey of the gospel? “But select capable men from all the people—men who fear God, trustworthy men who hate dishonest gain—and appoint them as officials over thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens.” Ex 18:21 God chooses workers who fear Him, are trustworthy and…

A World Where We Live Together

In a hospital, there were newborn twins. One of the babies, however, was so weak that its life was in danger. One compassionate nurse believed the baby would survive. So, even though it went against hospital regulations, she placed both babies together in the same incubator. Then something unbelievable happened. The healthy baby stretched out its arms and embraced the weaker baby. From that moment on, astonishingly, the weaker baby’s heart rate, pulse, and body temperature all returned to normal.

True Happiness

There was a housewife who loved reading and writing. However, her husband’s income alone was not enough to support the family, so she had no choice but to open a small general store. As word spread that she was honest and kind to her customers, more and more people came to her shop. Business became so busy that supplies had to be delivered by truck, and she spent every day occupied with selling goods. One day, when her husband came home from work, he saw how busy she was and said, “The other stores in our neighborhood hardly have any customers anymore. The shop across the street may have to close soon.” After hearing this, she reduced both the amount…

Shame and Laziness

Shame from the past is not true shame, and laziness from the past is not true laziness. True shame is the shame of the present, and true laziness is the laziness of the present. Knowing that I am being lazy right now and yet failing to correct that laziness—that is shame. Doing something shameful right now and yet failing to correct it quickly—that is laziness.

Mutualism

Among living things in nature that exist in a mutually beneficial relationship, known as mutualism, are mushrooms and trees. Mushrooms supply trees with minerals and moisture from areas their roots cannot reach, while trees supply carbon and sugars to mushrooms, which lack chlorophyll and therefore cannot perform photosynthesis. Trees that live in symbiosis with mushrooms grow more than 50 percent larger than those that do not, and mushrooms also grow healthier by receiving carbon and sugars from the trees. This symbiotic relationship between mushrooms and trees plays an important role not only in the survival of plants but also in preventing desertification. Likewise, no living thing can survive entirely on its own. Perhaps that is why people living together are…

Regrets Over the Things Left Undone

“Not studying hard enough.” “Missing several important opportunities in life.” “Not spending enough time with family or close friends.” According to research by Thomas Gilovich, a professor of psychology at Cornell University, these are among the things people regret most when they look back on their lives. There are two kinds of regret. One is the regret we feel when something we have already done turns out unsatisfactorily. The other is regret over something we never did, even though it could have led to a good outcome. Of the two, the second leaves the deeper regret. People naturally tend to view the experiences they never had in a positive light. As a result, we imagine that if only we had…

Fear

When Pericles, the general and statesman of Athens, was about to take part in the Peloponnesian War, a solar eclipse occurred. His soldiers were frightened by the sudden darkness and hesitated to set out for the battlefield. At that moment, Pericles placed his cloak over the head of one of the officers in front of the soldiers and asked: “Are you afraid because you cannot see the sun because of my cloak?” “No.” “Then why should you be afraid if the sun is covered by something only a little larger than my cloak?” At his words, the officer and the soldiers cast off their fear and went out to war. Fear is created in one’s own mind.

More Than Just a Resolution

Psychologist Steven C. Hayes conducted an experiment with college students. Students in Group A were asked to publicly declare the test score they wanted to achieve to the people around them. Students in Group B were asked to make the same resolution only in their hearts. Group C was given no instructions about the exam. Afterward, the test scores of the three groups were analyzed. The results showed that Group B, like Group C, experienced almost no change in their scores. In Group A, however, most of the students achieved scores close to their goals. The phenomenon in which a thought or goal becomes more likely to be achieved when it is spoken to others is called the “public commitment…

The Most Difficult Instrument to Conduct: The “Second Instrument”

A reporter once asked Leonard Bernstein, the world-famous conductor: “Maestro, what is the most difficult instrument to conduct?” Bernstein answered thoughtfully: “The second instrument. Without a second instrument to harmonize with the principal instrument, beautiful music would be forever impossible. Yet it is rare to find someone who plays the second instrument with the same pride and passion as the one who plays the principal instrument.”

Knowing and Doing

“Knowing” and “doing” are inseparable, like the two wheels of a cart. Without knowledge, it is difficult to act; and without action, even what we know gradually grows dull. Between knowing and doing, there are several kinds of people: those who know what should be done and actively do it; those who do it, even if they do not know much and do it imperfectly; those who know but do not act; and those who do not act because they do not know. Among these, the person who gains the most is the one who clearly understands what should be done and actively puts it into practice. Such a person achieves the ideal harmony between knowledge and action. The next…

Mr. Praise and Mr. Criticism

As a traveler was passing through a small farming village, he noticed an unusual sight. Rice was being harvested in two fields facing each other across a narrow path. In one field, many people were working together to help with the harvest. In the other, the owner was struggling to harvest the rice all by himself. Puzzled, the traveler walked over to the villagers and said, “Look here, isn’t this too harsh for people from the same village? So many of you are helping with the work in this field, but why is no one helping with the harvest in that field?” “Too harsh? We are simply following our hearts. The owner of this field, Mr. Praise, always speaks words…

Gold and Seeds

A passenger ship lost its course in a violent storm and was wrecked on a deserted island. No matter how much the passengers discussed the situation, they could find no way to leave the island. As they searched through the wrecked ship, they fortunately found enough food to last for several months, along with a supply of seeds. Knowing that their food would eventually run out, they decided to plant the seeds and began digging the ground. Then they discovered lumps of gold buried beneath the soil. Consumed by the excitement of digging for gold, they forgot that they had intended to sow the seeds. Instead, they scattered across the island, searching for more gold. Several months later, gold had…

Lowering Ourselves

Grasses have chosen to lower themselves as a strategy for survival. Because their growing points are located so low that they almost touch the ground, even when grazing animals eat their leaves, the growing points remain unharmed. In this way, grasses are able to preserve their species. The essential condition for completing the wilderness journey of faith is to humble ourselves. Even when hardships come, we can reach the promised land, the spiritual Canaan, not by relying on our own experience or understanding, but by depending on God, humbling ourselves, and obeying His word completely. Only by lowering ourselves can we grow, overcome, protect ourselves, and endure to the end. “Remember how the LORD your God led you all the…

A First Attempt

In the 16th century, the French judge Montaigne wished to express his thoughts in writing. Before he turned forty, he left his career as a judge and made a new attempt. Unlike the conventional literature of his time, he wrote freely, without restrictions on form, length, or subject, recording people and life as they were, along with his own thoughts, without embellishment. His collection of writings was published as Les Essais, and Montaigne later came to be recognized as the creator of a new literary genre—what we now call the essay. The word essay comes from the French essai, and its verb form, essayer, means “to try” or “to attempt.” If a goal or desire has begun to grow in…