Enlightenment

A Steadfast Helper

It was during my first job after college that I encountered a humbling misstep. I had designed a promotional leaflet for our company and sent it off for printing, only to discover upon delivery that the final size didn’t match my original specifications. Somewhere between planning and production, something had gone awry. Flustered and unsure how to fix the situation, I stood frozen until my team leader approached with a calm smile. “Another lesson learned today,” he said. “This is how we grow. Every mistake is a step forward as long as we take what we’ve learned and do better next time.” His words brought to mind a memory from another first: the first time I drove a car after…

Song Yeon-ju from Seongnam, Korea

The Thornbush of My Soul

I was on my way to meet someone, wearing a sweater I cherished. The air was fragrant with the scent of spring, and I strolled along, lost in the charm of the day—when I suddenly felt a tug on my arm. I turned and saw that a thorny vine, stretching from a dense bramble, had caught the yarn of my sweater and refused to let go. “No, please, no!” I hurriedly freed myself from its grasp, but the damage was done. My sweater was snagged, its threads pulled and torn, the delicate fabric left in tatters. I muttered a complaint to the city office, never once admitting that the fault had been mine, for failing to notice the bramble while…

Gahng Min-seo From Seongnam, Korea

Mature Faith

Today, we live in an age shaped by instant reactions and immediate rewards. With a single click, we earn money, complete purchases, or launch games. What once took three or four days to arrive now appears on our doorstep overnight. Many jobs offer wages the same day or shortly after. According to a psychiatrist specializing in mental health, one key reason people so easily fall into addiction—whether to gambling, shopping, gaming, or alcohol—is the immediacy of the reward. When gratification is instant, dopamine—a neurotransmitter that produces feelings of pleasure and happiness—is rapidly released to the brain’s frontal lobe, reinforcing the behavior and making it powerfully addictive. This expert defined maturity as the capacity to wait for delayed rewards rather than…

Lee Ji-won From Gimhae, Korea

The Reason I Can Keep My Faith

At our Zion, we held a media exhibition. Each day, people streamed in—curious, eager to learn about the Church of God—and witnessing their realization and joy brought me quiet happiness. I had been assigned to help manage the exhibit, a task I initially assumed would be simple. After all, the materials weren’t going anywhere. As summer unfolded, things grew more complicated. The rainy season brought thick humidity, which began to affect the books and items on display. The brothers and sisters overseeing the exhibition became increasingly busy checking the lighting, adjusting dehumidifiers, tending to each detail with quiet diligence. Watching their care stirred a reflection in me: perhaps faith, too—though it may appear firm and unshakable on the surface—is quietly…

Baek Hwa-rang From Suwan, Korea

My Longed-for Hometown

In my childhood, our home was a bustling household of nineteen family members. The house stood on a broad plot of land, filled with memories as expansive as the space itself. One corner of the yard held a small greenhouse overflowing with plants, and beside the well we raised chickens, ducks, and rabbits. Fruit trees surrounded the entrance gate—pomegranates, cherries, mulberries, persimmons, apricots, and chestnuts—marking the passage of seasons throughout my youth. Beyond the gate, an old zelkova tree welcomed me, beside a pond bordered by an earthen embankment. A quiet stream meandered into a nearby reservoir. The hills surrounding the village, front and back, were my playground. If I followed the back path long enough, I’d reach the mountain,…

Choi Han-mi From Icheon, Korea

God, the Light of My Heart

Scientists have discovered that when mice are placed in threatening situations, a particular set of cells activates to signal anxiety—cells they named “anxiety cells.” If such cells exist in humans, I am certain I must have twice the average. I tend to worry excessively about everything, earning the nickname “chronic worrier.” I fret over the smallest details, wondering if a completed task contains hidden errors, or whether a minor prick from a sewing needle might lead to tetanus. Concerns that others might dismiss as absurd often weigh heavily on my mind. Whenever my heart is overwhelmed and sleep evades me, I reach for the Bible. Strangely, but consistently, when I open the Scriptures, my anxiety fades, and peace washes over…

Lee Seon-mi From Yongin, Korea

Heaven’s Way of Calculation

I visited the bank with my son, who had recently been discharged from the military, to take care of a savings account he had contributed to during his service. While we were waiting for our turn, a memory—a precious one I have cherished in my heart for about fifteen years—suddenly came to mind. My son was about seven or eight years old at the time. We had gone to the bank together, and after a long wait in a crowded lobby, it was finally my turn. My son, having grown restless from waiting so long, was already getting fidgety. I worried whether he would stay calm while I spoke with the bank clerk. Sure enough, he began wandering around, looking…

Yun Eun-ju From Goyang, Korea

True Love

At my mother’s request, I set out on an errand with my younger sister. We’re five years apart, and though she is now in high school, she still seems like a little child to me. Maybe that’s why I often say, “I love you,” without thinking twice.
 Today, however, I was unusually tired, and the heat pressed heavily on me. Wanting to make things easier for myself, I handed off the heavier bags and kept only the light ones. That’s when my sister turned to me and said: “You say you love me, but it doesn’t feel like it. It’s all talk—your actions don’t show love.”
 Her words stopped me in my tracks. Ashamed, I looked inward and asked myself,…

Son Yun-gyeong From Gyeongsan, Korea

Important Matters Require a Personal Touch

I work as a chauffeur, taking on driving assignments as requests come in. Today, I was tasked with escorting the branch manager of a bank to a factory in a rural area. The branch manager remained silent and visibly tense during the drive. Upon our arrival, he stepped out and said, “I’ll only be a few minutes. Please be ready to leave as soon as I return.” True to his word, he was back in the car within moments. This time, his face was beaming with relief. He made call after call, cheerfully telling each person that everything had gone smoothly. As it turned out, the matter had already been arranged—he only needed to obtain a signature. I found myself…

Oh Dae-yeop from Seoul, Korea

Even to This Extent

When spring arrives and the first green sprouts emerge from the earth, my mom’s steps grow hurried. It is the season of wild herbs, and she moves busily—gathering, preparing, and sharing them with her children. Among the many seasonal delights, her homemade green onion kimchi is a cherished favorite for all six of us siblings. She makes it faithfully, year after year.
 As long as I can remember, I’ve only received this gift—never once helping her make it. But this year, after cataract surgery, she finally confessed that her strength wasn’t what it used to be. She asked if we could make it together. So my two sisters and I set out early in the morning to her house. When…

Baek Jeong-hwa From Jeonju, Korea

Once a Stranger

“At that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ. . . . Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household.” Eph 2:12–19 As I read through a sermon in Elohist, these words caught my eye. For so long, I had lived with no memory of my Heavenly Father and Mother. I had forgotten the home I came from—the eternal kingdom where I once belonged—and the brothers and sisters…

Park Ji-won From Toronto, Canada

Longing

My children live in distant cities now, and I only get to see them once every few months. After graduating and settling into jobs far from home, they had promised to visit at least once a month. But reality had other plans. Far from coming monthly, they would show up after several months—just long enough to share a meal before hurrying back.
 One day, they finally came home. I thought I would feel only joy at their arrival. And yet, as we sat down for a meal together, a quiet emptiness stirred in one corner of my heart. Even in their presence, I missed them.
 “How can I miss someone who is sitting right in front of me?” I wondered.…

Park Jin-mi from Daegu, Korea

The Gift

When I was a child, the moment my neighborhood friends and I gathered, we would divide into teams with a game of rock-paper-scissors and play “fist baseball.” It was a simple game where we hit a rubber ball or tennis ball with our fists and caught it with our bare hands. As long as we had a ball about the size of a fist, we would play joyfully in the alley until the sun went down, never tiring. As we pounded the ball with our bare fists until they stung, the one dream we all shared was to have a baseball bat and a glove of our own. We wanted to swing a bat and catch balls with a glove,…

Park Dong-min From Yongin, Korea

God’s Grace in Every Circumstance

My brother-in-law, who lives overseas, recently visited Korea. After a meal at home, we all gathered to watch a women’s volleyball match. The players kept the scores neck and neck, exchanging sets back and forth until they reached the fifth set. Though drenched in sweat and gasping for breath, they gave their all under the coach’s guidance, spurred on by the crowd’s enthusiastic cheers. Regardless of the final outcome, the focus and dedication of both teams were truly admirable. After the match, my brother-in-law shared a story that had touched him beyond the game itself. Each team had a foreign player, and he had been particularly attentive to one of them. This foreign attacker had spiked the ball countless times…

Lee Mi-suk From Yongin, Korea

Invisible Love

I watched a video featuring an aquarium beautifully decorated with colorful coral. Inside lived marine fish such as the porcupine puffer, yellow tang, clownfish (famous from an animated film), and the blue-striped imperial angelfish—it was as if a slice of the ocean had been transplanted into the tank. Curious about how sea fish could be raised in an aquarium, I looked into it and discovered it was far more complicated and demanding than keeping freshwater fish. First, an aquarium is needed, along with a sump tank—a separate tank that filters water through special media made for marine fish and pumps it back in. You also need a salinity meter, a submersible heater, a thermometer, lighting, a wave-making motor, an oxygen…

Gahng Yo-na from Moscow, Russia

To Sound a Clear Trumpet

“How can I preach about God as boldly as Paul?” “How can I proclaim God as confidently as Peter?” I used to think that to preach boldly and confidently, great faith was necessary. After learning that “faith comes from hearing,” I diligently studied the Bible. However, my faith did not grow as much as I had expected. While wondering what I might be missing, I came across a verse that made me realize: “Again, if the trumpet does not sound a clear call, who will get ready for battle?” 1 Co 14:8 To produce a trumpet sound loud and clear enough to be heard from afar, the one blowing it must take a deep breath. Prayer is the breath of…

Park Mun-seo From Seoul, Korea

Rightly and Honestly

This happened while I was taking a break from school and working part-time at a convenience store near my home. One quiet afternoon, the sound of the bell jingling at the door snapped me out of my drowsiness. I clearly heard the door open, but no customer was in sight. Sensing something strange, I glanced at the security camera and saw a group of children, who looked like elementary school students, sneaking in through the back door. Their behavior was suspicious to anyone observing. From the cashier’s desk, the snack shelves near the back door were hidden from view. Because of this blind spot, two security cameras had been installed near the back, though the children obviously didn’t know that.…

Park Chae-un From Sokcho, Korea

Stand Firm

At the start of the new year, some of the members of Zion and I gathered together to share words of blessing and hope. As I considered what message I should share, I turned to the Scriptures, and a passage seemed to leap off the page: “But we ought always to thank God for you, brothers and sisters loved by the Lord, because God chose you as firstfruits to be saved through the sanctifying work of the Spirit and through belief in the truth. He called you to this through our gospel, that you might share in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. So then, brothers and sisters, stand firm and hold fast to the teachings we passed on…

Gahng Ye-jin From Gangneung, Korea

To Reach the Destination Safely

I remember the first time I boarded a flight to Russia. Since I had to travel alone for many hours and make two layovers, I was very worried that something might go wrong. With a fearful heart, I clung to God and prayed earnestly: “Please guide me so that I can find my way at each layover. Please help me reach my destination safely.” It was past midnight, and the darkness made it difficult to read the signs, but by God’s grace, I arrived safely in Russia. One year later, I boarded another flight to Russia. Since I had the experience from the previous trip, I was not very worried this time. But what happened next was completely unexpected: at…

Park Yun-ju From Melbourne, Australia

God Counts Even the Hairs of Our Head

After drying my washed hair, I’m often startled to see how much hair has fallen onto the floor. Worried that it might be the start of hair loss, I decided to do a self-check. They say that if more than 100 hairs fall out in a day, it may be considered hair loss, so I decided to try counting how many strands I lost throughout the day. However, it was much harder than I thought. It wasn’t just during washing or drying—hair would naturally fall out during everyday activities, making it nearly impossible to keep an accurate count. But as I began trying to count, I naturally became more attentive to my hair—noticing its thickness, color, and length more carefully.…

Baek Jeong-hwa From Jeonju, Korea