Faith & Life

After Conscious Sedation Endoscopy

I had a stomach endoscopy for the first time in my life. My husband had previously undergone the procedure without sedation and said it was difficult, so I chose to be sedated without hesitation. The nurse administered the sedative. One second, two seconds, three . . . and my memory faded. When I opened my eyes again, the procedure was already over. I was filled with gratitude to God for allowing me to go through it without any pain or discomfort. While I was resting in the recovery room, the doctor came by for rounds. But instead of mentioning the test results, he talked about something entirely unrelated. When I asked him about the results, he looked surprised and said:…

Kim Hyeon-im from Suncheon, Korea

Patience

The dictionary definition of patience is “enduring pain or hardship without giving up.” But beyond this meaning, many people have defined patience in their own ways: “Patience is the art of holding on to hope.” “Patience is the key that unlocks everything.” “Patience is a confident attitude that promises future rewards by choosing not to give up now.” “Patience is not just endurance—it’s preparation.” “Patience is the willingness to wait until the right moment comes for what you truly desire.” “Patience is the ability to maintain a good attitude while enduring.” Those who are patient will eventually receive something in return. But in order to gain something good from enduring, one must first overcome the desire to give up and…

The Waiter Rule

Not long ago, an executive from a major corporation assaulted a flight attendant on an airplane. Because of his absurd behavior, rooted in a sense of entitlement, the company he belonged to saw its carefully built reputation collapse in an instant. The executive was eventually dismissed from his post, and the company had to scramble to manage the aftermath. “If someone treats you well but acts arrogantly toward a waiter, he is not a good person.” This is a well-known saying in the United States, often referred to as the “Waiter Rule.” Among business leaders, there's also a common belief that “A person who mistreats waitstaff cannot become a successful manager.” It’s not just about how one treats a waiter;…

Emulsifier

Among the ingredients used to make cakes or cookies, there is something called an “emulsifier.” This emulsifier prevents oils and water, which normally do not mix well, from separating—helping the batter come together smoothly. While butter and water are essential ingredients in a delicious cake, the emulsifier that brings them together is just as indispensable. There are also people who play the role of an emulsifier among others. When conflicts—big or small—arise, they find common ground between opposing sides and help bring them together as one. Wherever such people are, harmony always follows.

Patience and Waiting

Patience means to endure pain or difficulty without giving up. People often talk about needing patience when calming their anger, exercising, dealing with a child’s tantrum, or staying awake when sleepy. On the other hand, waiting means to hope for a person or a time to come. You wait for uncooked rice to become a meal, for a friend to arrive, for a flower to bloom, or for wine to ferment. Patience focuses on the pain involved, while waiting emphasizes the belief that something will surely happen. Yet because both look toward a good outcome in the future, the two are often used interchangeably. True waiting always involves patience. If a farmer only wishes for a harvest without doing anything,…

Dust That Became a Popular Product

At a dyeing factory in Imabari, Japan, most of the textiles being dyed were towels, as many towel manufacturers were located nearby. Towels are made by combining countless fiber pieces, and during the dyeing and drying process, a large amount of dust is generated. This factory produced as much as 240 liters of dust a day. The cost of disposing of it was high, and it also posed a fire hazard—making it a major nuisance. Then one day, an employee suggested an idea: why not recycle the dust? The proposal was to turn the flammable dust into fire starters. As an experiment, they set fire to a clump of dust and found that it lit easily and made starting a…

The Grateful Owl

Stories about animals repaying kindness they’ve received from humans are called “tales of gratitude.” While such tales may sound like something out of a fairy tale, they do happen in real life. One day, a man in South Africa was leaving his house when he found an injured owl collapsed on the ground. He brought the owl home, treated its wounds, and provided it with a warm place to sleep and plenty of food. Thanks to his tender care, the owl recovered and, after about two months, was able to fly again. The man then released the owl back into the wild. But that wasn’t the end of the story. From that day on, the owl would occasionally return to…

Beneficial Shame

Shame is an emotion we feel when we’ve done something wrong or made a mistake. More precisely, it doesn’t arise simply from the wrongdoing itself, but from the fear that others will now see us as flawed because of it. That’s why people who make mistakes respond to shame differently depending on how others react to them. Dr. Anna Lembke, a professor of psychiatry at Stanford University School of Medicine, classifies shame into two types: “destructive shame” and “beneficial shame.” Destructive shame leads people to feel inferior, plunging them into depression, despair, or rebellion—especially when they are met with scolding or blame from others. Beneficial shame, on the other hand, includes a sincere desire to reflect on one’s mistake and…

Altruistic Love

On a loved one’s birthday, you carefully choose a gift, hoping to bring them joy. But when your own birthday comes around, they either forget or give you something far below your expectations. In such moments, many people think: “How could they do this to me?” This reaction stems from a desire to be compensated for the love you gave. When love is reciprocal—based on giving and receiving—there may be moments of happiness, but there are also negative emotions like anxiety and disappointment. However, when you genuinely wish for someone else’s happiness and success, with no expectation of return, that’s altruistic love. Acts of altruism—like helping someone or sharing with others—trigger the release of dopamine in the brain, bringing feelings…

The Mpemba Effect

If you place warm water and cold water in a freezer, which one will freeze faster? Since water freezes at 0°C, common sense tells us that the cold water should freeze first. However, in reality, the warm water freezes more quickly. This phenomenon is known as the “Mpemba Effect.” The discovery of this effect began with a question from a teenage boy named Erasto Mpemba in Tanzania. During a lecture at his school, Mpemba asked a visiting physicist about something he had observed years earlier: when making ice cream, he had boiled milk mixed with sugar and put it into the freezer. Surprisingly, it froze faster than his friend’s milk, which had been cooled longer. Everyone laughed at the boy’s…

The Great Operation

In 1950, when the Korean War broke out, the South Korean and UN forces launched a counterattack through the Incheon Landing Operation. However, due to the intervention of Chinese troops, they had to retreat repeatedly and eventually became isolated in the Heungnam region of South Hamgyong Province. In this urgent situation, with enemy forces tightening the encirclement, the Heungnam Port turned into complete chaos, packed with soldiers and refugees. Over 100,000 troops were to be evacuated, along with 18,000 vehicles and 350,000 tons of combat supplies. Yet, there was no evacuation plan at all for the more than 100,000 refugees. At this, Hyun Bong-hak, civil affairs advisor to the U.S. 10th Corps, earnestly requested General Almond, the corps commander, to…

The Result of Giving Up

A man arrived at a job interview location, only to find the room filled with many young and competent-looking candidates. Feeling discouraged, he looked around nervously when an older gentleman approached and struck up a conversation. “Do you think you’ll pass the interview?” the man asked. “Pass? Look at all these talented people. I don’t think I stand a chance,” the younger man replied. “Then why are you still waiting for the interview?” “Well. . . maybe a miracle will happen. But honestly, I don’t think today’s my day.” Just then, a staff member came out and said the interviews were over and everyone should return home to wait for the results. A few days later, the man received a…

With a Handful of Seeds

In 1979, a massive flood struck Assam, India. The flooded land was left in complete ruin. A teenage boy named Payeng suggested planting trees in the devastated area. But no one took his words seriously. Undeterred, Payeng planted a handful of bamboo seeds by himself. More than thirty years later, that small handful of seeds had grown into a vast forest—home to countless species of wild animals and plants.

The Road to Becoming a Champion

When Nancy Merki was around ten years old, she contracted polio and had to walk with crutches. Hoping to strengthen her leg muscles, her parents brought her to a swimming coach. Four years later, Nancy placed third in a swimming competition held in California. At the age of nineteen, she went on to become a national champion. President Roosevelt once asked her, “How were you able to become a champion despite your physical challenges?” She simply replied, “I just kept going.”

The Best Bald Dad

In the United States, a childhood cancer charity hosted a “Best Bald Dad” contest in celebration of Father’s Day. The goal was to select the dad who looked best with a shaved head—among those who had shaved their heads in solidarity with their children undergoing cancer treatment. The event aimed to support children who had lost their hair due to chemotherapy and to encourage the fathers who chose to share in their children’s pain by shaving their own heads. Mr. Marshall from Wichita, Kansas, entered the contest by submitting a photo with his son. At first glance, the photo stood out—both he and his son had identical large scars on the right side of their bald heads. It turned out…

The Order of What We Must Do

World-renowned business scholar Dr. Stephen Covey categorized daily tasks into four types: ① Urgent and important tasks ② Not urgent but important tasks ③ Urgent but not important tasks ④ Neither urgent nor important tasks So, in what order should we tackle these tasks? Most people agree that ① should be done first and ④ last. The real dilemma lies between ② and ③: should we prioritize what’s urgent or what’s important? Dr. Covey advises us to focus on important tasks rather than urgent ones. Because time is limited, it’s easy to get caught up in urgent matters. But when we constantly prioritize urgent tasks, truly important ones get pushed aside. Eventually, we end up spending our lives dealing only…

One Step at a Time

Yamada Honichi was an unknown athlete when he won the 1984 Tokyo International Marathon. People said he was just lucky. But in 1986, he proved them wrong by winning again—this time at the International Marathon in Italy. When reporters asked him the secret to his success, he explained: “Before each race, I walk through the marathon course and pick out visual landmarks to use as personal goals. For example, my first target might be a bank building, the second a large tree, and the third a red house. I create a series of small, manageable goals just for myself. Then, once the race starts, I run toward the first goal as if I’m doing a 100-meter sprint. When I reach…

Giving Compliments Well

“Giving a compliment is an art that must be learned.” Max Müller A compliment that feels fake, is always the same, or is given half-heartedly is often worse than saying nothing at all. Just like creating a beautiful piece of art requires practice and effort, giving compliments that truly touch and uplift others takes intentional effort. If you make a habit of carefully observing others’ strengths and expressing them often, you can become someone who gives meaningful and heartfelt compliments.

Together

When we observe animals that live in groups, we see that they gain great strength from being together. Meerkats, often called the sentinels of the desert, live in highly cooperative communities. If one of them is injured, others will guard it and help it safely back into the burrow, providing food until it recovers. Meerkats also take turns standing guard at the entrance of their burrows, with the elders going first. When a predator appears, the guard lets out a sharp warning cry, allowing the group to flee to safety. The same is true for animals like zebras and Thomson’s gazelles, which migrate twice a year in search of food and water. They travel in large herds to appear bigger…

Winning Together, Sharing the Joy Together

Road cycling races are grueling long-distance events that push human limits, spanning flat roads, uphill climbs, and steep descents. Since each cyclist rides their own bike, the race may appear to be an individual competition—but in truth, it’s a team sport. Typically, the most skilled rider on a team races for the win as the team leader, while the rest of the team supports him. No matter how strong the leader is, winning alone is nearly impossible. One especially crucial team member is the domestique. Depending on the language, this role is translated as “water carrier,” “helper,” “servant,” or even “friend.” A domestique rides ahead to block the wind for the leader, fetches water from the team car, keeps rival…