GOD’S ACTS OF LOVE

Ever since I was born God has blessed my loved ones, and He has always shown His love for me throughout my life. The first miracle occurred in 1976, when I was still a baby and my family lived in Taiwan.

One night, my family and friends were awakened by a flood and tried to reach higher ground for safety, but in the midst of frenzy they accidentally left me sleeping in the crib.

Through God’s mercy and love, my grandfather came to the rescue. He swam to the building where I was stranded and brought me safely back to my family and friends.

My grandfather was amazed to find me sleeping peacefully and unafraid, even though the water was rising quickly and I was just a vulnerable infant. God had protected me and held me with His big and warm hands.

This kind of wonderful work by God happened very often in my life.

As I became older, the peaceful child became naughtier. I was always leading a group of kids to do challenging things: climbing trees, exploring the hills behind my old house in Taiwan, catching weird insects, etc.

I often put myself in dangerous situations, but, time and again, God always came to my rescue. He comforted me when I fell down from trees or lifted me out of the deep end of the pool where I thought I could swim but I couldn’t.

As an adult, I slowly lost sight of my heavenly Father. I became so overwhelmed with my life and my career that I had lost my path with Him.

Nevertheless, He never left me, nor did he stop protecting me or guiding my footsteps. He gave me many chances to return to Him, but my ears didn’t hear, my eyes didn’t see, and my heart was no longer hot or cold. I had jeopardized my love and faith for Him and had become lukewarm.

Rev 3:15, 16 records God’s similar warning in a letter to the church in Laodicea:

I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot. So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth.

HE GAVE ME MANY CHANCES

God loves us and always gives us chances. 1 John 1:9 says, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.?

But if we continue in blindness, then God’s discipline will strike. This is exactly what happened to me a few months ago.

I have a bleeding disorder and I don’t even quite know when it started. I was always told that it would go away eventually but it never did. Whenever I have my menstrual cycle, I will have it for weeks—sometimes months, and even off and on for a year.

Through God’s mercy and love, this problem never affected my personal life. Until this year, my bleeding worsened to the point that blood was flowing out like an unstoppable broken water fountain.

However, I was too occupied with myself to think too much of it. I was wrapped up with work, buying a house, and a new marriage that resulted in my missing many Sabbaths.

I slowly stopped participating in church work, and my spiritually started to dwindle. I knew that, as a Christian, I should serve God where I could, but I was weak.

I was always thankful to God for the talents He had given me, and, at the back of my mind, I did want to serve Him more, but I always gave myself an excuse. Finally, God chastised me.

I DIED FOR FIVE MINUTES

Two days before the incident, He warned me through dreams that something bad was going to take place. In one of the dreams, I saw myself eagerly and fiercely climbing up an active volcano.

Two nights in a row, I dreamt that I was jumping over lava and climbing continuously until I reached the peak of the mountain. And as my usual self, I didn’t give too much thought to my dreams.

That Friday night, I was again overwhelmed by work and exhausted from my menstrual cycle. I couldn’t eat or do anything except sleep, so I went to bed early. Around 1:00 a.m., I woke up, went to the bathroom, and passed out.

I died for 5 minutes or longer. My eyes were dilated, my body turned pale, and my neck was twisted and seemed out of place. I wasn’t breathing at all. Finally, because of my dogs?continuous barking, Kevin, my husband, woke up.

He came to see what was going on and found me shockingly in a pool of blood. The toilet was filled with blood, and the floor was covered with blood—it was an appalling image.

Kevin tried to perform CPR on me but without success. He pounded hard on my chest, but I didn’t wake up. Shaking, he walked downstairs to the kitchen and called 911 for help.

All this time, I was still in the bathroom breathless. Then, I faintly heard the word, “Awake!?The voice became louder and louder and called me three times. At first I thought it was Kevin but later on confirmed that it was not him.

So, I woke up and saw my dogs staring at me. I weakly cried out to Kevin, but he couldn’t hear me, so I somehow managed to get up on my own. I didn’t know what had happened to me. I just knew that blood was everywhere, and I was terribly cold.

I walked carefully out of the bathroom and tried to call Kevin again. This time, he heard me and ran up the stairs to see what was going on. I saw him shaking uncontrollably and choking on his words as he was talking to me.

He asked me how I felt, and I replied that I was very dizzy and cold. He told me what happened and suggested that I should go into the emergency room. But all I could think about was how much this would cost and if my insurance would cover what just happened.

We decided it would be best to go to the hospital.

A QUICK RECOVERY

As we walked into the emergency room, I was still hesitant and suggested that maybe we should go home. Then a doctor saw me and instructed me that I should stay for some tests. He told us that my countenance didn’t look good and that I was too pale.

After several blood tests and numerous examinations, the doctor returned and said that I needed to be placed in the ER/ICU section and ask me whether I could walk there or if I needed a wheelchair.

I boldly told the doctor that I would walk, and I did. I walked to my sickbed and laid myself down. All the doctors and nurses were amazed. I found out why later on. As soon as I laid down on the gurney, the personnel in the hospital placed an oxygen mask over me and immediately performed more tests.

The results finally came back, and the doctor briefed us about my condition. He told me that I had lost two-thirds of my blood and that my hemoglobin count was down to barely four. The average hemoglobin count for men is 16 g/dL and for women is 14 g/dL.

Hemoglobin (Hb) in red blood cells carries oxygen to all parts of the body, providing energy for the body to function. When the body is anemic, less oxygen is able to reach the muscles and organs.

This can leave a person fatigued and unable to do things that require a lot of energy. Anything below a count of six or seven is considered dangerous, and I was barely four. The doctor and nurses were amazed.

They said they were surprised that I could walk into the hospital, walk to my sickbed, and walk to the restroom several times. They said that I should have been comatose and that I shouldn’t have been doing what I was doing.

They informed us more extensively about the severity of my condition and transfused four bags of blood into my body. At first they thought I might have cancer or a tumor, but the tests turned up negative.

My health recovered very quickly, and I was discharged from the hospital the next day. God gave me a second chance at the age of twenty-six—a chance that not everyone is given.

I am ashamed of my past, but I cannot rejoice enough at being given a second chance. Through this incident, God has awakened me to His message, to feel His love, and to walk more faithfully in His path.

Even though there are tribulations, frustrations, and many more things that may cause us to stumble in life, as long as we have Jesus Christ, this difficult and narrow journey is worth all our efforts.

I am thankful that God has given me the opportunity to bear witness to His miraculous work, and I only hope to encourage everyone to wake up from their own spiritual lethargy.

May all the glory and praise be unto His holy name. Amen.