Faith & Life

The Cat That Repaid Grace

It happened fifteen years ago. At our detached house, we often had many unexpected “guests” throughout the year. In spring came butterflies, earwigs, and millipedes; in summer, crickets, cicadas, and spiders. But the biggest trouble was mice. One day, my mom and I went around spraying insecticide and setting poison from the rooftop to the bathroom and storage room to get rid of the mice and bugs. Suddenly, we heard a faint “meow” from somewhere. Since we did not have a cat, I did not think much of it at first. But the crying continued through the night, growing louder and more desperate. In the middle of the night, my mom woke up to the sound and quickly ran outside.…

Eun-jin Choi from Tokyo, Japan

The Secret of Blessing

I was curious about why a certain member seemed to receive so many spiritual blessings, so I began to observe her closely. Before long, I discovered the answer. Her greatest gift was gratitude. Whenever she found even the smallest reason to give thanks, she did so abundantly. She never forgot the things she was thankful for but kept them in her heart, reflecting on them again and again. It seemed that the true secret to blessing lay in living like a true child of God—never taking the sacrifices of Heavenly Father and Mother for granted, but being thankful at every moment. Then I looked back on myself. When I first received the truth, I was grateful for everything. But somewhere…

Choi Yoonhee from Daegu, Korea

How Could You Endure It?

When I was little, the four of us sisters shared a small room. As soon as we lay down to sleep, we could hear our mother groaning softly in the next bed. “Oh . . . oh . . .” My sister, who was two years older than me, and I worried that she might be seriously ill. “Tomorrow morning when we wake up, you have to ask Mom where it hurts, okay?” “Okay.” But by the time we woke up, Mother had already gone out to the fields. In the end, we never asked—and as time passed, we simply forgot. Not long ago, I visited my parents’ home. That night, I once again heard my mother groaning in bed.…

Kim Sun-sook from Chungju, Korea

Fruit

During the reign of King Yeongjo of the Joseon Dynasty, Jeong Ho, who had once served as Chief State Councilor, retired from government service and devoted himself to tending an orchard in his hometown. One day, Yi Hyeong-jwa, the Chief Royal Secretary, came to visit and saw Jeong Ho grafting branches onto a pear tree. “Sir,” he said, “aren’t you already in your eighties? If you are still grafting trees, when do you expect to enjoy the fruit?” Jeong Ho gave no reply. Years later, when Yi Hyeong-jwa became the Governor of Chungju, he visited Jeong Ho again. This time, Jeong Ho served him a perfectly ripe pear. “It’s so sweet and delicious! Where did you get such a pear?”…

Spiritual Buoyancy

On earth, the blue whale is known as the largest animal, with adults weighing over 100 tonnes. In the Southern Hemisphere, some even reach 180 tonnes—an astonishing size. Yet even such an enormous creature does not sink but swims freely in the ocean. The secret lies in buoyancy. Buoyancy is the upward force exerted by a liquid or gas that allows an object to float. Without it, not only whales but no marine creature, person, or ship could remain afloat upon the water. In the same way, a soul once drowning in the sea of sin can rise toward heaven because spiritual buoyancy began to work through God’s sacrifice. I give sincere thanks for that boundless grace.

Park Eun-seo from Daegu, Korea

My Mom

In my mom’s mind, there is room for nothing but thoughts of her children. Under the scorching sun, she pulls weeds while checking again and again whether the sesame seeds have ripened. She carefully threshes each one and sends them by courier, parcel by parcel, to her children living far away. Even after giving us everything she has, whenever she calls, she only asks how we are doing and if we need anything. In conversations entirely centered on me, I barely manage to ask how she is doing—but her answer is always the same. “I’m fine. As long as you live well, that’s enough.” I found it difficult to raise even two children, but my mom raised three. When my…

Park Hye-young from Gimhae, Korea

If We Remain in God Until the End

When I was in middle school, I was a troublemaker who never listened. I did whatever I wanted, always full of complaints, frowning, and rebelling. I did not practice God’s teachings—such as speaking with grace, greeting warmly, or showing consideration for others. In high school, I tried to pull myself together and change, but it was not easy. Serving my brothers and sisters and praying for others, as I had learned in Zion, felt beyond my ability. Even so, I never missed the student group gatherings. Whether it rained or I was out with friends, I always made sure to attend. Before long, I became a young adult and wanted to take part in many gospel activities such as IWBA…

Song Hae-in from Incheon, Korea

If You Cannot Win Against the Weeds

Two farmers who had moved from the city to the countryside began farming for the first time. In spring, as they planted rice seedlings, they made a friendly bet to see who would reap the greater harvest in the fall. By summer, the rice in both paddies had grown lush and green. But soon, weeds began to sprout between the rice plants—so many that it seemed there were more weeds than rice. “No matter how much I pull them out, they keep growing back. How long do I have to keep doing this?” Grumbling, one farmer finally gave up weeding altogether. The other farmer, however, continued to pull weeds whenever he could—not trying to clear them all at once, but…

Preparing in Advance When There Is Leisure

A wild boar was diligently sharpening its long tusks beside an elm tree. A passing fox saw this and asked, “Boar, there are no hunters around, and no danger in sight. Why are you needlessly sharpening your tusks?” The boar smiled and replied, “When danger suddenly strikes, there will be no time to sharpen them. I prepare in advance so that I can use them when the moment comes.”

A Mother’s Hands

I once watched a social experiment video. Participants were shown photos of someone’s palms and asked what kind of work the person might do. Their answers were: “hands with many wrinkles that work with soil,” “someone who does hard labor,” “hands that have endured much hardship.” A moment later, the owners of those hands appeared. They were the participants’ own mothers, wives, sisters, or daughters. Stunned, they stood speechless for a while. Soon, tears welled up, and some even kissed the hands before them. Seeing the stories engraved in those hands—hands that had sacrificed for family and silently endured a lifetime of hardship—brought a lump to my throat. I, too, quietly held my mother’s hand. Married when she was still…

Gu Yeonhee from Suncheon, Korea

Mother’s Laundry

After leaving home to live in a dormitory for my studies, I go home once a week to deliver worn clothes for laundry. I stay for only a few hours to idle and to eat, leaving extra work to my mom. And then, I return to the dormitory. My home became more like the dormitory and my dormitory has become home to me. One day I came to stay home for a longer time. In the mean time, I decided to do good deeds at home. While unpacking my bags, I folded my laundry and stacked them one by one. Seeing the laundry piled up, I thought, ‘How did Mom wash all my clothes every week, along with all the…

Mary Rose Tandugon Tandoy from Quezon City, Philippines

The Thief Who Stole from Himself

There was an infamous thief who was skilled at stealing expensive jewels. He was clever enough to evade the police for a long time. One day, he was finally arrested while robbing a house, and spent twenty years in prison. When he was released from prison, he was sixty years old—the twilight of his life. He deeply regretted his past and began to live a decent life. One day, a reporter interviewed him and asked, “From whom did you steal the most?” With tears he replied, “The one from whom I stole the most . . . was myself. I was good with my hands, handling machines and playing the piano. I was an eloquent speaker, and I was in…

Waves of Emotion Flowing throughout Brazil

During the preaching festival around the last Pentecost, people got baptized every day. Our great fervor and enthusiasm for the gospel during the feasts and preaching festivals spread throughout the areas near Brasilia. After the festival, seven members went for a short-term mission to Governador Valadares, Caratinga, and Manhuacu in the state of Minas Gerais for forty days. They left Brasilia with a strong will to find our lost brothers and sisters from heaven, and after a whole day of trip, they arrived in Governador Valadares. We had been there once for a short-term mission in February. First, we visited those whom we had met during our first mission trip. “I’ve been waiting for you to come back. I’ve wanted…

Short-term Mission Team to Brasilia, Brazil

Mother Bird’s Maternal Love

While I was plucking out bean stalks in a vegetable garden with my wife, I found a bird’s nest. It seemed that there was only the nest, so we thought nothing of it and threw it away with the bean stalks. But while I was working, I was surprised to find a baby bird near my legs. In haste, I wrapped the baby bird in my hands, and when I looked around again, I saw another baby bird nearby. Just to be sure, I looked around here and there, and I found another baby bird at some distance. Just then, I suddenly remembered the bird nest that we had thrown away with the bean stalks. I gathered the baby birds,…

Nir Kaji Pakhrin from Kathmandu, Nepal

The Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard

The following parable teaches us a lesson about unity: “For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire men to work in his vineyard. He agreed to pay them a denarius for the day and sent them into his vineyard. About the third hour he went out and saw others standing in the marketplace doing nothing. He told them, ‘You also go and work in my vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right.’ So they went. He went out again about the sixth hour and the ninth hour and did the same thing. About the eleventh hour he went out . . . ‘You also go and work in…

Mother’s Love That Bears Everything

When I started attending school, I was excited that I would meet new friends whom I could play and learn with. However, my mother was not like me; from the beginning of the semester, my mom walked me to my school and then headed off to work every day. When my class ended, she brought me to her workplace. Then she bought an ice cream and put it on my hand so that I could behave while waiting for her to finish. Mom always woke up early to prepare meals for my sister and me, walked miles away every day to drop and fetch me to school, and could not sleep until late to wash our uniforms so we could…

Judy Anne Gaquit from General Santos, Philippines

Precious Life, Precious Gospel

While preaching in a mall, I met a woman who had just started to believe in God. When a member and I asked if we could show her about God the Mother who is testified in the Bible, she said, “Of course! Actually, I just bought a Bible!” She took the beautiful hardcover Bible out of her shopping bag and handed it to me. We showed her about Heavenly Father and Mother, the Saviors in this age, and God’s regulations, through the Bible. For a long time, she listened attentively to God’s words. She was astonished at the earnest message of God which contained the truth and eternal life. She leaned in closely to pay more attention. When we were…

Joy Padua from Chicago, IL, U.S.

Those Who Were Conscious of God

The LORD said to Moses, “How long will these people treat me with contempt? How long will they refuse to believe in me, in spite of all the miraculous signs I have performed among them? I will strike them down with a plague and destroy them, but I will make you into a nation greater and stronger than they.” Moses said to the LORD, “Then the Egyptians will hear about it! By your power you brought these people up from among them . . . ‘The LORD was not able to bring these people into the land he promised them on oath; so he slaughtered them in the desert.’ . . . forgive the sin of these people, just as…

Ramie Mac Perfett from Pittsburgh, PA, U.S.

Writing has always been my way to understand the world around me, and I have kept many journals over years. I rarely went back to read old entries that I had written, simply because they always proved to be painful reminders of the constant struggles we face on this earth. They also served as a reminder that I hadn’t gotten any closer to finding answers as to why we suffer, even though they were written years ago. But recently after being blessed to be in the truth for one year—all thanks and glory to Father and Mother for the grace—I found myself reading through my old journals late one night. From one page to the next, each entry seemed to…

My Daughter’s Comfort

“Mom! I got one question wrong by mistake in the test today. I could’ve got it right . . . .” My daughter expressed her frustration as soon as she got home. “It’s okay, dear. You can do better next time! Is there something you want to eat at the dinner? I will cook it for you.” My daughter is young, but she has her own worries and things that make her upset such as the school tests just like any other kids. I feel bad because I can’t do it for her. The only thing I can do is comfort her with encouraging words, hoping that she can overcome it by herself. I think I should be concerned and…

Na Su-yeon from Wonju, South Korea