After immigrating to Chicago in 1981 and living there for 13 years, I led a life of reckless dissipation, much like the Prodigal Son. It was only after I had lost everything and was left completely penniless that I raised my hands and fell to my knees before the Lord. After repenting with tears for all my past sins and asking for forgiveness, I was able to feel the Lord’s mercy and experience the assurance of salvation.
It was 1994; I was 48 years old, and I was finally able to take my first step toward a meaningful life. As I began my life of faith, I prayed earnestly to the Lord to help me quit drinking and smoking—habits I had enjoyed for decades—and, miraculously, I was able to give them up. With the help of my brother and my wife, I also started a laundry business, allowing me to begin a new chapter in my life. Around that time, at my older sister’s suggestion, I subscribed to the *Christian Journal*, and I was able to become a member of the Christian Medical Mutual Aid Society, which was founded on the principle of “Bear one another’s burdens.” Since beginning my life of faith, I have lived a simple and sincere life, going back and forth only between home, church, and my shop. As a result, the Lord blessed our family with a beautiful home, and I enjoyed true peace living with my mother and son. Then, last February, I experienced a heavy feeling in my head and a headache. Thinking it was a cold, I took cold medicine every day, but the symptoms persisted. On February 11, I came home after work, but I had absolutely no memory of how I had driven there.
지금부터 말씀드리는 것은 아내가 전해 준 이야기입니다. After finishing dinner on Saturday evening and taking some cold medicine, I went to bed. The next day, I was supposed to go to church, but my wife said that no matter how much she tried to wake me up, I would only respond without actually getting up. When it became clear I wouldn’t be able to attend the service, my wife, feeling a little worried, called my older sister—a former nurse—to ask for help. My sister rushed over and said it seemed like just a cold, so we should wait another day to see how things went.
On Monday morning, I was supposed to go to the store, but no matter how much my wife tried to wake me up, I just kept responding without actually getting up. I gave up on opening the store and took some cold medicine, but around 3:00 p.m., I wet myself before I even made it to the bathroom. My wife, suddenly panicked, called our son—who was at work—to come over, and he carried me on his back to the hospital emergency room. The attending physician diagnosed it as a “subdural hematoma,” explaining that it occurred when a blood vessel between the facial skin and the bone covering the brain burst, causing the blood to clot. The doctor couldn’t pinpoint the exact cause, though. I underwent an initial surgery, but the prognosis wasn’t good. It wasn’t until after a second surgery—during which the pooled and clotted blood in his head was removed—and about four days in the intensive care unit that he was able to speak normally and regain his memory. However, even now, he has absolutely no memory of what happened from Saturday through Monday. He was hospitalized for about a week, was discharged on February 20, and after recuperating at home for about a week, he returned to work. Looking back, I cannot help but confess that even in the midst of such trials, the Lord took my hand and led me. If those symptoms had appeared while I was driving, what would have become of my wife and me? The very thought makes my head spin. Lying in my hospital bed, meditating on the Lord’s Word, I found myself thinking: “If I had stood before the Lord in this condition, how ashamed I would have been! I claimed to serve the Lord diligently, but weren’t my fruits far too meager? Could it be that the Lord gave me one more chance?” I sincerely thank the pastor and his wife, who visited me every single day without fail while I was hospitalized to comfort me and pray for me, as well as all the church members who prayed for and comforted me beyond measure.
Above all, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to the Lord for allowing this meaningful program, the “Christian Medical Mutual Aid Society,” as well as to all the members of the Society and the staff who have always responded to my inquiries with kindness and sincerity. I earnestly pray that the Lord’s grace and love will always be with you and your families.
March 15, 2006