Our Editor Rachel debuts in WitnessLA with a story which brought her back to one of the darkest times in her life.
A few years ago, I was at the bottom of my career in Hong Kong entertainment. The company I joined was seemingly established with the biggest stars and 30 years of history but all of a sudden, it closed down. When I was drowning my sorrows in Shanghai with my friends, I met an accident which caused me to be hospitalized. That same weekend, I broke up with my boyfriend of three years. When I thought I was at the lowest point of my career, love and friendship, a close friend of mine sent me emails, asking me to come home to Malaysia, where she would be there for me. Her name was Shu.
Shu was the girl with the beautiful hair and features. She had a smile that would light up the entire college hallway. Even when she was going through tough times, she would tell me her stories with a great sense of humor. Her optimism was an inspiration to me.
In the spirit of Valentine’s, at WitnessLA.org we’re featuring the stories and testimonies on what God has shown Christians about singleness, relationships, and love all the days leading up to Feb. 14th. Today, our Voice Kytia shares how the relationship between God and man is the greatest love story she’s come to know.
When most people think of Valentine’s Day, they think of holding hands with their somebody or avoiding the public due to the fact they don’t have a somebody. However, the greatest love story I’ve ever known is the relationship between God and man. A great thing happened to me when I was single, living in Hawaii, and “oh-so-not” looking for romance. I experienced the love of God and of friendship which both fill a void that causes many hearts to ache. The following is a myspace blog post I wrote over three years ago about that very thing, and it is as relevant now as it was on July 7th, 2008. To give you some backstory, I’ll let you in on a little tradition that happens in Hawaii for people of all ages. At Waimea Bay on the North Shore of Oahu, there is a VERY massive rock that beach goers take turns climbing and leaping from all day and this was my chance to do the same. It didn’t go quite as planned, but it is a very memorable moment in my walk with God nonetheless.
Our own WitnessLA’s reader goes in depth on a problem we all face on a daily basis: sin and how to live victoriously despite life’s challenges. Our reader shares the importance of relying on God to be our guide in everyday activities, and to ask God today for the grace and wisdom to make the right choices tomorrow.
Why is sin such a bad thing?Ask ten people and you’ll get ten different answers.What does it even mean to sin?Religious people may define sin as rebellion against God’s Commandments.Others may say sin is anything you do that hurts yourself or others.A child might simply know sin as “doing bad stuff.”
“By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” - Jesus Christ, John 13:35 (NIV)
Although not necessarily faith-related, this 2003 documentary shows through the unfiltered eyes of 10 year old schoolchildren in Japan what it means to have compassion and love for one another. Unlike adults, who have learned the ability to put up a front or deny their own feelings, the children in this documentary can’t help but show what it means, and it what it feels like, to be human. We could all learn a thing or two from them about how to truly show love and compassion to others as Jesus commanded us.
John Wesley once said “Do all the good you can, by all the means you can, in all the ways you can, in all the places you can, at all the times you can, to all the people you can, as long as ever you can.” And as we all know, this has to start first with the heart.
