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Perfect protection of God in the church
I had delivered my baby on the evening of December 31st, which is the last day of the year in Japan. When I woke up to feed my baby, I saw the hospital compound still dark, but all white covered with snow. I was impressed by the beautiful scenery which was totally different from the previous day, when there was no snow. After that, I went to the toilet and on the way back to my bed I met a lady at the corridor unexpectedly.
She was the lady whom I met in the maternity classes in the same hospital a few times. She was admitted to the hospital for delivery of her son 3 days before I delivered my baby. She looked very sincere and tried to talk to me many times during maternity classes, but I behaved rudely, because I did not want to talk to her, which I didn’t know why. However, I was no longer like before when I met her in the hospital again. I was very happy to have met her and ran toward her. She was shocked to see my sudden change and asked me what happened, without showing the shock on her face.
I broke up with my baby girl’s father, who and I planned to marry after delivery, 2 days before my delivery. He left the apartment we rented. So I had to deliver my baby alone, and felt miserable. Under such conditions I was happy to meet this lady again and started to tell her all the happenings on me, although I didn’t know her well. She said, ‘My husband is the specialist on it.’
I was wondering what she meant by ‘specialist’. On that afternoon, her husband and his friend, who was very large, came to the hospital to visit her and after that came to see me. Her husband was a pastor. This pastor asked me, ‘Jesus Christ died for your sins. Why don’t you repent your sins and believe Him as your savior?’
Actually, I didn’t understand what he was saying at all. Also I could not trust any man at all at that time. However, I felt that what he said must be the truth. It used to look like it was very hard for me to be a Christian, because I had to give up a lot of fun and so on. But at that time, all my property was only my baby. I had already quit my job and my family gave me up because they opposed my delivery. So I had nothing to lose when I believed in Jesus Christ. I boldly made up my mind to believe in Him. Also, I truly felt that I was a sinner in the prayer led by the pastor. I did not hesitate repenting my sin.
7 days passed in the hospital. On the day I was discharged from the hospital, I was carrying my baby and waiting for a car. The car was late. So I was walking around the corridor of the hospital, to and fro, where I found a small box on the wall. That was a box of collection of money to help children with incurable diseases and disorders. When I was looking at the explanation, I felt that I had to put 1000 yen in the box.
My daughter was born with jaundice, caused by parents’ blood type incompatibility. Because of the jaundice she was admitted to the children’s ward of hospital for 3 days. When she was discharged from the hospital, she was not covered by insurance yet, so I paid the full amount of medical fees. All the saving I had at that time was only 5000 yen (US$50). Under this situation1000 yen for me was too big and it was very difficult for me to make the final decision to give. However, I gave 1000 yen, because I was filled with joy.
You might say I was not supposed to be filled with joy in such a condition. But I was, from the bottom of my heart. Before delivery, I could not help quitting my job, because of serious morning sickness. Baby’s father, who was a University student at that time and I was living together, but he was poor because he was a student. Because of the unstable relationship, we could not take care of each other, which was not good for mother’s mind and health. I was thinking that baby might have physical disorder because of my unhealthy days of carrying baby. But I decided to take good care of my baby when she was be born.
Despite this worry, my baby was born very strong and healthy. She was so healthy that other mothers of new born babies in the same room could recognize her cry and kindly told me that my baby was calling me, when I was at the basin which is quite far away from her. I thought it was a miracle. I thought that there must have been an invisible super power that protected her. I was full of thanks in myself to the one who protected my baby. And I wanted to return something to the one. That is why I put 1000 yen into the box.
We were supported by God and people’s love
The car delayed for 3 hours. When I went back to my apartment in the car, my neighbors came to visit us to celebrate my daughter’s birth. The pastor who taught me about Jesus was there, too. He left an electric blanket and an envelope with money in it. I was shocked to see the amount of money. There was 140,000 yen (US$ 1400), which was too much for me. I called his wife and asked for the reason of the money. Then she said, ‘God told us to do so. Please use the money without worry.’ Still, I could not believe what she said and could not use the money at all.
One month after the delivery, the pastor’s church sent me a car to take me there. I attended the church service for the first time with my baby and the pastor’s wife. I heard the church’s message for the first time.
Inside the message, the pastor said, ‘On the morning of the day Miss A was discharged from the hospital, God told me to give my one month salary to her. I was worried, because my child was also born at almost the same time. I asked my wife to beg God to change His mind, but she advised me to obey Him. So I bought an electric blanket using a part of my salary, and gave the rest to her. Then God blessed me double, triple of what I have given immediately after that. Our household was protected. God is livingly working.’
I came to know clearly that God really works livingly. This God not only protected my baby in my womb, but also tried to protect my living through pastor’s giving. If God blessed only my family and did not protect pastor’s family, I probably could not believe this God. But God blessed the family of this pastor who obeyed and gave all the amount of his salary and revealed his glory.
Probably, He was testing whether I would obey Him or not. When I gave 1000 yen, by obedience of the Lord, He blessed me with money many times more than that. Also, the pastor later said this in his message. He said, ‘God told me that He would send my family and me to Patmos. God also told me that He purposely made me to give Him 10% in order to send us to Patmos.’ God gave the pastor money of blessing more than 10 times of what he has given to me, and he and his family participated in the Summer Patmos team of that year.
Several years later, I thanked the pastor’s wife for making me a Christian. Then she said it was not her who made me a Christian. Her son’s expected date of birth was actually one month later than that day, which God had changed so that I would be saved. Her son, who was named after John the Baptist, obeyed God in her womb. Actually the pastor’s wife’s body was not ready for this sudden delivery, which allowed her to have scar and she had to spend few years for the treatment. However, she never blamed me for that.
She said God told her to talk to me many times before our delivery. But she was afraid of me because I was not friendly to her. However, she tried to keep on talking to me, which made me trust her when I met her again in the hospital.
Going through testing – blessing by obeying God
My daughter’s father has never come to see my daughter, although I am ready to make her meet him, but her father in heaven is always with her.
She was born very healthy, but I noticed that she has developmental disorder. She has not yet tested in detail in the hospital, but she probably has ADHD when I recall everything since she was a kid.
However, I could not tell her directly and prayed God what I could do. Then, immediately after I prayed she asked me if she was sick or not. I prayed and found a psychiatrist, who advised me to read a homepage about one’s ADHD child’s symptom. I and my daughter agreed that it was exactly how she behaved.
I didn’t think that she was sick. I thought she was only unique. She can concentrate greatly on what she is interested in, but very forgetful of what she is not interested in. In her actual life she forgot to lock the house door and she lost the door key many times. So I used to tell her that she might lose her own life someday.
When she was a small kid, she was just a forgetful child, but there are serious outcomes when a teenager makes serious mistakes. There were many times that I lost my temper and scolded her with hurtful words. Although I knew that she was hurt, I could not control myself when I was hurt, too.
The homepage that the psychiatrist introduced me convinced me that she was sick. I finally could tell her that she was sick and it was not her fault of what she had done. Whatever things happen, we have God to lean on. My daughter also told me that she used to pray God to solve her problem.
My daughter understood her situation and asked for God’s healing in her prayer. The patients of ADHD cannot understand other people’s feelings, so they are usually reluctant to do teamwork. However, now she works for God in a team in church and is doing part time job happily with good colleagues. Also she could go to College and she started to love studying, which she hated before.
She said she wanted to have detailed examination of ADHD someday. I expect that it will be revealed that she will have been healed by the examination.
My daughter and I have been walking in the perfect protection of God in the church. We witness Jesus’ power and blessings are filled in the church.
‘And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.’ Ephesians 1:22-23 (NIV)
God is Love.