Faith & Life

A Man Who Took Off His Shoes

“Earth is blue.” This was spoken by Yuri Gagarin, the first human in space on April 12, 1961, looking at Earth out of the atmosphere. Gagarin entered Earth’s orbit on the spacecraft Vostok 1 and flew around Earth for about one and a half hours and returned safely. He succeeded in flying a lonely and fearful flight that could not guarantee the pressure of the gravitational acceleration and his return alive, and he still remains a Russian hero. At that time, there were many candidate cosmonauts excellent in flight, adaptability to sudden pressure changes, and expertise. Before the final successful candidate was announced, all the candidates were given the opportunity to board Vostok 1. Then, Gagarin, unlike other candidates, quietly…

According to the Words That There Is a Time for Everything

I lay in bed, but I couldn’t fall asleep. I just kept repeating, “Father and Mother, thank You,” in my mind. I was surprised to see a text message from the chief hairdresser this morning. “I‘ll be baptized today.” I checked that short sentence over and over again. She had said she wasn’t interested until the previous day. It was unbelievable. We’ve known each other for seven years. I could’ve given up after seven years of refusal, but I didn’t because she was just like me before I received the truth. Somebody preached the gospel to me tirelessly for about ten years until I became a child of God. I wasn’t interested at that time. I took the words as…

Lee Yeong-ja from Paju, South Korea

A Person Who Wants to Put On a Crown

The crown, which symbolizes dignity and authority, is decorated with gold and jewels throughout the ages and the world. Korea’s National Treasure No. 191, a golden crown in Silla Dynasty, is elaborately decorated with about 375 grams [0.8 lb] of gold and 77 pieces of comma-shaped jade. The crown used at the coronation of the Iranian Pahlavi Dynasty was studded with 3,380 pieces of diamonds and 369 pearls. The weight of the gems alone is 10,400 carats and the crown weighs about 2 ㎏ [4.4 lb]. The U.K.’s Imperial State Crown that attracts the attention of the world is densely decorated with 2,868 diamonds, 273 pearls, 17 sapphires, 11 emeralds, and 5 rubies. And the front of the crown has…

Change

In cold winter days, when the temperature drops below freezing, a slow-flowing river and a pool on the ground turn to solid ice that anyone can glide over it. On the contrary, when water is heated, it evaporates. Liquid water cannot fly into the air, but it can, when it turns into vapor. What was impossible before can be done easily after transformation. The principle applies to God’s children too. As Mother said, if we are reborn as heavenly people, giving thanks in all circumstances will become easy although it was hard to practice. Being joyful always and praying continually will become our everyday life. We can surely love our brothers and sisters as ourselves and even save a soul…

After a Long Wait

My husband and I do a small food business. We usually work from 6 a.m. to 4 p.m., but one day we left work around 2 p.m. and came home because I caught a cold and was very sick. While closing the window to lie down and get some rest, I saw some people going door to door. Since it was a very hot summer day, I wondered what they were doing under the scorching sun. When they knocked on my door, I asked my husband to open the door quickly. Then he asked me, “You want me to open the door for people you don’t even know?” And I said yes. I was filled with curiosity, so I quickly…

Elisangela de Oliveira Silva Assuncao from Feira de Santana, Brazil

Molting

When a child grows up, he changes his clothes into a bigger one. Likewise, an insect turns into a new body, throwing away its old self that no longer fits itself in due time. This is called molting. The process by which insects are newly born through molting is never smooth. While taking off their exoskeleton, they sometimes get wounded or finish their life, failing to get out of it due to lack of strength. Right after they molted, their skin is soft and they act unnaturally that they are vulnerable to attack by other insects. Despite a number of dangers and pains that follow, insects molt several times in their lives because there is no growth without molting. The…

Without Oxen, the Manger Is Clean But …

In an agrarian society, the next most important property after land for farmers is oxen. Oxen can do work equivalent to several workers in the field. Raising oxen, however, is not easy. You have to wake up early in the morning to make fodder and put it in the crib. You need to clean stalls often, unless you want them to be dirty and smelly. But there is no farmer who would think, ‘I wish I had no oxen,’ just because he doesn’t feel like mucking out messy stalls. It’s just something he should do to get the benefits of oxen. While doing the work of God, sometimes we meet people who give us a hard time or we face…

Smiley Faces, Happy Home

The human face is capable of creating more than 7,000 expressions. Among those many, the expression that makes you look the youngest and most beautiful and makes you and other people happy is of course a smiley face. When you frown, your eyes and the corners of your mouth are pulled downward, and your forehead and the space between the eyebrows become narrow; you don’t look well. However, when you smile, your eyes, the corners of your mouth, and the cheek muscles are lifted; and the eyebrows and the forehead spread outward; your face becomes bright. The facial muscles when smiling and frowning move in the opposite direction. There is a Korean proverb that goes, “You can’t spit on a…

Sparring Partners

There are sports players working in a sweat for their fellow players to win gold medals. They are sparring partners of the players who will compete in the Olympics. The players of individual sports such as judo, taekwondo, and boxing, absolutely need a partner for their training. The sparring partners should have some level of competency enough to spar with the national team members and also have a spirit of sacrifice to support the players and follow them like a shadow. On top of that, they need to identify the characteristics of the opponents their players will fight against in the games to offer them the experience like the actual battles, and should be careful not to have them injured…

Growing Pains of Faith I Had in the Philippines

This happened a few years ago. At that time, I planned to go on a mission trip overseas, which was one of my New Year’s goals, but to be honest, I didn’t think it was going to happen. I thought only those with good faith could go for overseas preaching. However, the opportunity to achieve the goal came sooner than I had thought; I was able to participate in the short-term mission trip to the Philippines. I arrived in the Philippines with a big dream. However, it did not take long to realize the wall of the reality. It was November, but it was still so hot that I got a headache just by walking for half an hour. The…

Kim Hyeon-ju from Seoul, South Korea

Wait

In Korea, there is a flower that is hard to see even once in a lifetime. It is a sweet potato flower. Since it blooms once in a hundred years, it is hard to see even once in a lifetime if you do not live a hundred years. But recently, many people have seen lavender-colored sweet potato flowers that look like morning glory flowers. Sweet potatoes, which originated in Central and South America, are subtropical plants, and so it is difficult to flower in Korea, which is located in the temperate climate zone. However, as a record-breaking heat wave continued throughout the summer a few years ago, sweet potato flowers bloomed everywhere. Since the sweet potato flowers are the evidence…

Harmony Overcomes Difficulties

COVID-19, which swept the world, has brought many changes to our daily lives. As we learn about personal hygiene and “social distancing” through TV news, newspapers, disaster notification messages, etc., the time we stay at home is getting longer. As we had never stayed only at home for a few days, at first I was worried about how we should spend time together. What is more, it was not an easy task to set the table three times a day for my children, who were having a very long winter vacation. One day, my youngest son said during a meal. “Mom! Come to think of it, housework is not difficult but a little bit annoying.” Then, he asked me not…

Gwon Mi-suk from Seoul, South Korea

Vernalization

Forsythia, azalea, cherry tree, magnolia … Spring flowers burst into bloom when a warm southern wind blows after cold winter is gone. Outwardly, it seems that spring plays a crucial role in blossoming, but it is actually winter that does the job. Did you know that? The trees that make flowers bloom in spring must endure severe cold throughout the winter. If you leave the trees in a warm greenhouse, the trees do not bloom even if they become lush with leaves. The reason is because of vernalization. It refers to the phenomenon that winter plants bloom after being exposed to a certain low temperature that stimulates their growing points. Even though trees seem to be dead during cold winter,…

For Your Own Good

We often hear people say, “small but definite happiness.” It refers to the small happiness that we feel in our daily life. Seoul National University’s Consumer Trend Research Institute chose the “small but definite happiness” as one of the top ten consumption trends in Korea in 2018. The term “small but definite happiness” came into vogue when a famous Japanese writer said in his essay book that he felt satisfaction while snacking off his freshly baked bread with his hands or looking at his clothes well-organized in drawers. The writer’s message was “Live with such small happiness in everyday life because happiness doesn’t need to be tremendous,” and his message has aroused great sympathy from modern people who are having…

Conversation between a Father Emperor Penguin and His Young

“Dad, how long was I in the egg?” “You were there for two months.” “Then what were you doing until I hatched?” “I was holding the egg on top of my feet to keep it warm.” “For two months without rest? Eating nothing?” “Sure. Unless I incubate the egg even for a while, it will freeze soon in the piercing cold. Sometimes it becomes the food of skuas that keep their eyes on eggs or other penguins may come and snatch it.” “Wow! That’s awesome. Dad, when I grow big like you, I’ll protect you!” “Haha, yeah! Sounds wonderful!” The father emperor penguin, who smiled with satisfaction, said to himself, ‘By that time, however, you will be busy keeping your…

A Fun Day like a Picnic

We went to a vineyard in Daebudo Island to help a farmer. It takes over an hour to Daebudo Island from Bucheon, so we left early in the morning to give the farmer as much help as possible. Very early in the morning, we were excited as if we were going on a picnic. The farmer of the vineyard welcomed us as if he was welcoming his own children visiting him from a different city. He thanked us for coming all the way there in a busy farming season when it is hard to hire people even for a high price, and he smiled brightly, which made us feel great even before starting the work. What we needed to do…

Yun Mi-hyang from Bucheon, South Korea

Family

A few years ago, in a high school in Bucheon, Korea, a homeroom teacher attracted a lot of attention by making breakfast every day for her class children. At a high school in Seoul, Korea, students who were absent from the beginning of the semester began attending school by their school counselors’ suggestion to eat breakfast together, and the absent rate was remarkably reduced. The breakfast contained the school counselor’s affection for students. It didn’t only deepen the relationship between the teacher and the students but also was a great communication tool. Students were able to enjoy healthy and pleasant school life by sharing their concerns with the teacher and receiving comfort and advice. There are many situations that draw…

I Am the Supporter of My Family!

When we watch sports, we can see the people who are as enthusiastic as the players. They are supporters. Supporters refer to the people who support or sponsor a specific group or person, or the people who cheer for players in the stadium. The supporters’ backing and cheering give players strength and confidence, which leads the game to victory. It is true that the players who have finished the game say, “I was energized by the cheers of the spectators.” Not only sport players but everyone needs encouragement and support. This is because everyday life towards a dream or for a task given to us is sometimes like a fierce game. This month, become a reliable supporter for your family.…

Find Something in Common

Joe Girard, an American salesman, has been on the Guinness Book of Records for twelve consecutive years as the world’s greatest car salesman. One of his secrets of success was that he found what he has in common with his customers and developed a close bond with them, believing that they would buy a car from a salesperson they have a good feeling toward. People are likely to have a good feeling toward the person who has something in common with them like native place, hobby, tendency, and appearance. This is called Principle of Similarity in psychology. It works in objective parts, but the effect is much greater when we show empathy to others with words like, “I felt the…

God Will Guard Your Minds

A man has tens of thousands of thoughts in mind from the moment when he gets up till he goes to bed. A study by American psychologist Shad Helmstetter shows that most of them are negative thoughts like anxiety or worry and that few are positive thoughts. Negative thoughts do not spring up from the beginning. When distracting thoughts are left alone in your head, they naturally flow in a negative way. A person who easily feels bored even for a good thing, comes to incline toward a negative way unconsciously as time passes by according to the habit of brain that accepts negative things more actively. So experts say that we need to make efforts in order to have…