彩虹小品

YOUR LIFE IS A HEARTFELT SONG — — TO MY BELOVED, ONE AND ONLY YVONNE

By: Paul Lai

Translator: Jimmy Chan

The Lord is my strength and song,

And He has become my salvation;

This is my God, and I will praise Him;

My father’s God, and I will extol Him.” (Exodus 15:2; NASB)

Last year in June we received a greeting card on which these words were written (translated from the original Chinese content):

 “When we visited you last time, Yvonne, you appeared to be so strong, with your face always wearing a smile that fills the air with joy. We were shocked to hear that you were actually quite sick. Dear Paul and Yvonne, despite life’s challenges that you have been facing, you have been faithful witnesses for God, as time and again you have demonstrated how to preserve through every spiritual battle and hardship and experience victory in Christ by relying totally upon His power. God has recognized your in Him and delivered you from the dark abyss in life; He has not only guided you in every circumstance but also brought your faith to a higher ground. Your exemplary spiritual life has touched my life. Praise God for His amazing works and abundant blessings in your life.”

My beloved, one and only Yvonne, some years ago we went to France together. We enjoyed strolling along the beaches on the Mediterranean coast and hearing the rhythmic, soothing sounds of waves crashing on the beach. Our eyes were dazzled by the glow of the blue sky colliding with the blue waves. They seemed to be telling us in silence, “Life is so beautiful!” With the agitated waves still resounding, I thought to myself, “Why is my life constantly stricken by unexpected setbacksandadversities?”

My heart was sad and burdened. I pondered over these things and suddenly I had an insight: Life is like a song, with its score containing seven possible music notes. Some songs sound beautiful, while some songs are mediocre and monotonous. The mood and style of songs depends on how the composer perceives the world and responds to the changes he or she experiences. Likewise, each of us responds to life’s adversities differently and thus manifests a different kind of life. Life is also like a piano with white and black keys. If the composer only composes music with a piano that has only white keys and no black ones, the resulting musical piece would be not as rich in mood and style as the one composed with an intact piano containing both white and black keys. The pianist can play beautiful melodies only on such an intact piano, just as a person can live a rich life only with its ups and downs, joyful and sad moments. It is like the biblical character Job, without his suffering, how could he say: “I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear; But now my eye sees You” (Job 42:5, NASB)? Another example isJoseph from the Book of Genesis in the Old Testament. He experienced personal sufferings including betrayal, deceit and humiliations, and yet with a persistent submission to our Lord in humility, he receives rich blessings at the end, and his example is a blessing from those who reads life story from the Bible. My beloved Yvonne, your life is a beautiful song. You have experienced storms and dark nights, but in every difficult moment, God has used His words and songs to comfort you and restore your faith in Him, so that your life becomes a heartfelt song in the dark night, so pleasantly beautiful and utmost enjoyable. (Those who have not gone through the dark night would not be able to sing such a beautiful song of life.) Yvonne, your song has touched people who hear you (many times moving them to tears), giving them joy and peace and inspiring them to love God and one another in all circumstances.