Enlightenment

Happiness That I Learned in the Military

When I joined the military, my parents didn’t look sad while seeing me off. I entered the training center, thinking, ‘It’s good that my mom and dad didn’t get too emotional.’ But on the day we had the completion ceremony of the basic training, my parents ran to me, looking…

Kim Seung-hyeok from Busan, Korea

What Is Important to My Mom

When I came back home from meeting my friends on a Sunday evening, my mother had several layers of bandages on her pinky finger. “Mom, what happened to your finger?” “I got a little cut while doing something.” Glancing at it, however, it wasn’t just a little cut, and so…

Lee Sun-mi from Seoul, Korea

Home & Mother

On a day off, which I don’t usually have, I was busy doing all the house chores that had piled up and didn’t even notice my phone was ringing. I checked my phone later and found there was a missed call from my mom. “You called me?” “Yes, did I…

Kim Hyang-sun from Uijeongbu, Korea

Lost Memories

When I was a kid, I liked animated TV shows a lot. Whenever I came home after school, I was always excited to watch them, and whenever they ended, I felt so sad. I tried to figure out how to save those episodes so that I could watch them over…

Hong Sun-tae from Gangneung, Korea

Mother’s Errand

I am the second child in my family; I have an older brother and a younger brother. We live in different parts of Melbourne in Australia, and our parents live in Adelaide which is nine hours away by car from Melbourne. We cannot go visit our parents that often due…

Jeong Yeon-uk from Melbourne, Australia

The True Rest

There is something that many workers do when they receive a new calendar. It is to count holidays. Holidays give that much happiness to workers. To me, as a person who has just started a career, the autumn season of 2018 was one of the happiest moments in my life.…

Lee Jae-uk from Sacheon, Korea

Birthday Cake

When I was young, my family suffered financial difficulties. To make a living for seven children, my mother used to do hard work such as repairing walls, floors, and toilets. Since she could not afford to hire an employee, she had to do it herself. I was the youngest daughter,…

Suzana Machado Botton from Porto Alegre, Brazil

The Regret of a Death Row Inmate

I came to deeply realize how brutal the sin I committed in heaven is and how great God Elohim’s love is. As our Bulawayo Zion is situated near National University of Science and Technology, we have been granted the grace of meeting different kinds of people from different walks of…

Shava Macdonald from Harare, Zimbabwe

Mother’s Love Is Special

Some say that our life on earth is based on love. In fact, when you look into how a person is born into this world and grows over time, that sounds right, because we are all connected with one another through love while taking care of and giving help to…

Bayasakh Oyunbat from Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia

The Most Beautiful Fingers in the World

When I was an elementary student, I was led by my aunt to a big hospital. When I went there without knowing the reason, I saw someone I was familiar with in a patient gown. It was my mom. She was happy to see me but soon, she screamed. “Ouch!…

Ahn Ji-yeong from Kaohsiung, Taiwan

The Greatest Coordinator

When I was young, my mother always bought me clothes that I loved. Not only my clothes, but also other items that my mother bought me, such as my shoes and belts, fit me very well at all times. I felt good whenever I stood in front of the mirror,…

Tapiwa Toruvanda from Harare, Zimbabwe

Say, “I’m Sorry,” Before the Sunset

When winter passed and spring was about to begin, lockdown was issued in all cities in the U.K. It was an action taken to prevent the spread of the virus as the number of confirmed cases and deaths increased every day due to the global outbreak of COVID-19. As I…

Kim Du-ri from Manchester, U.K.

Unconditional Remission

The accounting and financial sector often deals with debts. A debt is a loan amount plus interest, and debt interest is calculated at an interest rate associated with an allotted time. In the case of an individual who has a huge debt that he cannot repay, there is a way…

Elias Américo Massicame from Maputo, Mozambique

A Prisoner in the City of Refuge

Clank! A blunt iron gate opened with a dull sound. A documentary captured the lives of prisoners in a women’s penitentiary. ‘How are their lives?’ My attention got focused on TV. Thirty minutes a day for exercise! It was the only time when the prisoners could see the sun. They…

Cho Eun-yeong from Ulsan, Korea

Giving Thanks in All Circumstances

One day, I felt like something was stuck in my neck. I had frequent acid reflux, too. I was confident of my health, saying that I could even eat a lump of metal and digest it, but something must have certainly gone wrong. “You’ve got reflux esophagitis.” The doctor told…

Lee Gwon-seob from Gwangju, Gyeonggi Province, Republic of Korea

The Flames Will Not Set You Ablaze

Around five o’clock in the early morning when everybody in my family was sleeping, a loud sound like a car crash woke me up. While I was still half asleep, something like a gunshot was heard. Fully awake, I woke up my husband. On the outside, I heard a few…

Celine Dharshana Solomon from Setapak, Malaysia

Even While I’m Sleeping

Some time ago, I read an article about a mother taking care of her sick son. Her son suffered from a disease that caused respiratory problems followed by muscle contraction. The doctors who diagnosed his disease told her that he only had eighteen months to live. She took her son…

Wei Wei from Philadelphia, PA, USA

A Kid Who Cannot See the Stars

The sound of kids’ laughter never ceased in a vacant lot in my neighborhood. Kids played there, forgetting about their hunger, and whenever it became dark, they gathered to count stars and look for constellations. Everybody enjoyed it except for one kid—me. “There are so many stars up there. You…

Jang Hui-won from Seongnam, Korea

When We Look with the Eyes of Love

I ordered a clothes rack to organize my dressing room. The clothes rack arrived a few days later. Although I didn’t have time because of my night work, I put the rack together and started organizing the room. I wanted to finish it quickly, but I got tired when I…

Park Eun-jeong from Chuncheon, Korea

A Novice Shepherd’s Realization

I was born and raised in one of the coldest northern states in the U.S. where the temperature went down to -40℃ (-40℉) in winter. It was hot in summer; it reached up to 38℃ (100℉). My closest neighbor was 1.6 km (1 mile) away, and I never really got…

Alan Sayler from Houston, U.S.