This post is also available in: Japanese Chinese (Simplified) Korean
Encounter with Jesus and my husband
I went to a high school run by missionary, and came to know that Jesus is the one true God and I can go to heaven through Jesus only. However, I didn’t think that that was so important to my life at that time.
When I started to work, I felt empty in myself and was about to lose hope in my life. I had read a book written by Ayako Miura (a famous Christian novelist), and wanted to become a Christian. I told that to my husband, whom I met around that time. Although I was afraid that he would ignore me, he unexpectedly encouraged me to be a Christian. It was because his uncle, who was living with him, was a devoted Christian and he used to have Christian meeting at home. However, I believed Jesus only in my mind without going to the church and my life was very messy. Finally, I have become almost alcoholic. I was afraid that I would fall into the worst situation. That is why I have decided to go to the U.S.A in order to get rid of my messy life.
My life has changed drastically in the U.S.A. I went to church and I got healthy mentally and physically. In October 1983 when I came back to Japan 2 years later, I got married to my husband who was patiently waiting for me.
Gave birth and raised children
I used to go to a church before I gave birth to children, but after that, slowly I was away from the church because I was very busy raising my children. My husband was working very hard from morning until midnight even on Sundays. He ignored my request to spend time together with family. I was very tired raising alone two children whose age gap was only one. My mind was full of complain towards my husband and I regretted my marriage. I pitied myself and blamed people around me including my husband, and I never thanked God for the situation.
To the church again
On one day when my mind was full of hatred towards people, I have accidentally got my daughter’s hand burned seriously by my carelessness. When doctor told me that she had to have graft surgery, I was plunged into despair. I wanted to die with my daughter. I was unconsciously shouting in my mind, God! Help me! Then suddenly I realized that there was the church that I used to go to near the hospital. I went to the church right away and talked to the pastor. When I talked to the pastor, I realized that I had to be with Jesus, so I started to connect to the church with my children again.
After a while, I was led to repent my sin through a book of Pastor Cho Yonggi and salvation was given to me. I was released from all the hatred and was baptized by water in December 1990 and I have become a Christian both by name and reality. At that time I thought I have achieved my purpose of life, but I have come to know later that ‘God’s thoughts are much higher than my thoughts’.
My attitude towards my father was changed
I used to keep my Sunday worship in Nagasaki, because I used to visit and take care of my sick father in Nagasaki every weekend. He was suffering from stroke. I slowly wished to go to church where Holy Spirit works apparently, because I wished my father’s sickness being healed. I also felt spiritually dry.
Besides my wish for my father to be healed, I felt strong desire for my father to go to heaven. It took quite a while for me to love other people from the bottom of my heart since I have become Christian. It was only after I have learned to thank God for everything. I used to be scared of and to hate my father, who often was drunken and shout at us and I did not feel love towards my father. So having the desire that my father goes to heaven was quite impossible for me. I think the Lord has changed my inner self when I repented my sin, forgave people and gave thanks to Him for everything.
Salvation of my father, family and relatives
Soon after I started to pray for my father to believe Jesus, he suddenly fell into a critical condition by Sepsis in the hospital, where he was under his rehabilitation. When the doctor told me that only few day are left in his life, I repented that I did not tell him the good news and prayed the Lord seriously, ‘Lord, please make his life longer so that he will be saved!’ The Lord heard my prayer and my father was miraculously recovered.
I thought I could not waste the time the Lord has given to me and I asked the pastor of the church which I newly started to go to and I still belong to now, to visit and talked to my father in the hospital. My father soon believed Jesus as his savior and he was saved. The pastor went to see him every weekend to have time of worship with him. He was called to the heaven several years after he was baptized by water on the bed.
‘They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved-you and your household.”’(Acts 16:31) As promised in this scripture, God has given salvation to my elder sister and her husband and my younger sister, not only to my father.
My brother in law’s salvation was dramatic. After about two weeks when my elder sister believed in Jesus, he went to ocean for fishing, got missing on the storming ocean and was drifting for one day and night. He was miraculously saved when even the Japan Coast Guard had given up the situation. My elder sister prayed God for a whole night. My brother in law said he also had been shouting to God for help. After the incident, he went to the church and received salvation. He is connected to the church with his wife and is serving God as a pastor now.
You must fulfill your promise
Since the Sasebo church was started in February 1992, my faith life has been strengthened by His blessing. However, my husband, who was saved, seldom attended the Sunday service with the excuse that he was busy with his work. I was actually happy with him being saved, but God’s will was not only that. He actually had His hand on him directly.
It was when my husband was watching summer high school baseball game, on which one of the high school of his hometown was in the finalist in the local elimination on TV that he swore to God in his prayer saying, ‘Please let this team win this game so that they can go to Koshien Stadium (the baseball stadium that all young baseball players yearn for). If you will make my wish come true, I will get baptized by water.’ The team won the game and went to Koshien. However, he did not get baptized and time passed by.
One day he was listening to the worship tape that I passed to him without any intention. There were words of wisdom at the end of the service that goes ‘You surely swore to me. You must fulfill your promise.’ He felt that the Lord was speaking to him, and quickly be baptized.
‘Hallelujah!’ to his ‘losing job’
My husband still was living his work-centered -life. In the middle of that situation, the Lord spoke to me, ‘the time has come’, when I was reading bible at the beginning of year 1998. However, time passed by without anything happen. It was around 2 months before the year 1999 that I started to thank the situation that my husband could not take leave on Sunday if he works for the company at that time and prayed that he could be able to attend the Sunday services. I prayed that on every house prayer meeting which was newly started by pastor’s suggestion.
On one day after around one month of that prayer, my husband called me from outside. He sounded quite nervous to speak out. He said that he lost his job because his branch office was to be downsized. I was shouting ‘Yes!’ in my mind and uncontrollably shouted’ ‘Hallelujah!’
My husband, who expected me to burst into tears or blame and shout at him, could not believe what he heard at that moment and thought that I got crazy. It must be true that no wife is happy when her husband lose his job after serving for 20 years for one company, but I used to pray God so that he could attend the Sunday worship which is the most important for Christian. I thanked the Lord who answered my prayer and gave the best to my husband’s life. My mind was unbelievably peaceful when he lost his job.
Since that time, our ‘the Lord-centered- life’ began. We were blessed to participate in ‘Marlene America team’ in February and in ‘Kids America team’ in March with our two children. Last time when I tried to apply to this ‘Kids America team’ with my two children without my husband just by my faith, it didn’t work and we could not go. God worked in His best way, at His best time. The Lord is really compassionate and truthful.
My husband’s devotion, uncle’s interceding prayer
There was one time that my husband’s Christian uncle heard that my husband had become a theology student, and came to our church without notice. It seemed like that he was worried about our church’s teaching. After that, he said, ‘I am happy now. Although I could not become a pastor, you can be. I will leave everything to you.’ After a while, he got sick and returned to heaven.
My husband was anointed on the 6th May 2002 as a pastor. I think my uncle in law has been interceding praying for him in heaven.
We experience training and learning in my life in many ways. We experience the truth of the scripture, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” (Roman 8:28)
Half a year later, my husband has got job offer from the company which fired him once. Now he is working for the company again with the condition that he put the priority on his position as a pastor. What God does for us is immeasurable. He makes any difficulties and problems good for us. I thank the gracious and compassionate Lord from the bottom of my heart.
Yamada Makiko
(Reprinted from monthly magazine “Kumo No Aida Ni Aru Niji” (Publisher: Kumo No Aida Ni Aru Niji Shuppan) May 2008 issue)
God is Love.