교단 재미 총회 참석차 미주를 다녀왔습니다.마침 가까이 캐나다에 계시는 선교사님께서 목회자 세미나를 한다고 강의를 부탁해왔고 미국 필라델피아에 있는 한 곳 교회 집회도 있어서 한꺼번에 몇 가지 일들을 엮어서 다녀오게 되었지요.
토요일에 맞추어 돌아오려고 하니 갈아타는 시간이 빠듯한데다 총회가 열렸던 덴버에서 비행기가 한 시간 연착하는 바람에 비행사의 도움으로 다른 비행기로 바꾸었는데도 불구하고 그 큰 공항마다 헐레벌떡 뛰어다녀서야 겨우 토요일 밤 10시에 집에 도착할 수 있었습니다. 하지만 그 먼 거리를 별 탈 없이 잘 돌아오게 되니 또 얼마나 감사한지요. 이번에도 감사할 일은 참 많았습니다. 주일에 반겨주시는 성도님들을 만나니 또 감사하고요. 동서남북으로 다녀보아도 역시 우리 집이 최고이고 우리 교회가 최고인 것 같습니다.
가는 곳마다 주 안에서 교제하던 형제자매들을 만나고 얼마나 반가웠는지 모릅니다. 특별히 말씀으로 인하여 감동받았던 이야기, 삶이 변한 이야기들을 듣게 되니 더더욱 기뻤습니다. 캐나다 토론토에는 오래 전에 같은 교회에서 함께 지냈던 목사님 가정이 계십니다. 남편이 주례도 했던 분들이지요. 우리가 울산에 내려온 후로 그 분들도 유학을 떠나는 바람에 거의 못 만났던 분들인데 며칠 함께 지낼 수 있었습니다. 어린 아이이던 자녀들도 다 자라 대학생이 되어 있었습니다. 그러고 보니 우리가 꽤 나이를 먹은 모양입니다.
큰딸 수진이는 어릴 때부터 야무진 아이였는데 고등학교 때 주님을 만나 은혜를 경험하고는 삶이 아주 달라져서 부모가 보기에도 신기할 정도였습니다. 물론 엄마가 딸을 위해 늘 기도했었지요. ‘주님 한 분 만으로 만족하는 아이가 되게 해 달라’고 말입니다. 사춘기 때는 엄마를 아주 힘들게 하던 아이였는데 이제는 천사처럼 변했다고 아버지 목사님이 귀띔을 해 주십니다. 하나님을 만나고 나서 가난한 사람들을 향한 하나님 아버지의 마음을 경험하고는 인도 같은 가난한 사람들이 있는 곳을 방문하며 그들과 삶을 나누는 것을 큰 기쁨으로 여기는 딸이 되었더라고요. 정말 놀라운 일이었습니다.
그 나이가 되도록, 오래토록 공부하는 아빠 때문에, 그래서 가난한 삶이 싫었고 창피하고 짜증났었던 아이였습니다. 이제 그 아이는 이렇게 말합니다. “엄마, 우린 너무 많은 것을 가진 것 같아요.” 이전에는 자기보다 잘 사는 친구들을 쳐다보던 아이가 변하고 나서는 비로소 자기보다 못한 사람들이 눈에 들어왔던 모양입니다. 그리고는 자기 옷을 한보따리 싸서는 “엄마, 꼭 옷 없는 사람에게 줘야 돼.”라고 하기에 살펴보았더니 글쎄, 유명 메이커 제품은 모조리 싸서 내 놓았다는 것입니다. 그렇게 유명 메이커를 좋아하던 아이였는데 말입니다.
동생 시온이 역시 캐나다에서 제일 좋다는 토론토 공과대학에 좋은 성적으로 합격을 했지만 기도하고 나서 기독교 대학인 미국 칼빈대학으로 진학했고 지금도 매일 기도회에 참석하며 행복해 하고 있답니다. 두 남매가 얼마나 우애가 좋은지 서로를 아끼고 사랑하는 일에는 남다르다고 하네요. 그동안 아빠가 유학생으로서 가난하고 힘들게 살아왔지만 이보다 더 큰 보람이 어디 있겠습니까? 자식이 주님을 사랑하고 경외하는 일이야말로 우리 부모들에게 제일 되는 기도제목일 테니까요.
그런 중에도 목사님과 사모님은 힘든 사람들을 격려하고 도와주며 베풀면서 살고 계셨습니다. 형편이 어려운 대학 입시생을 아들처럼 도시락까지 싸주면서 데리고 계셨고 영어도 잘 안 되고 깨어진 가정의 젊은 자매를 도와주느라고 바쁘셨습니다. ‘하나님께서도 이 분들을 기뻐하셔서 자녀들까지도 복 주신 게아닌가?’ 라는 생각이 들었지요. 그리고 저는 덩달아 감사해서 또 울었습니다. 모든 감정을 눈물로 표현한다는 남편의 핀잔을 받으면서도 흐르는 눈물을 어찌하겠습니까? 사나흘 함께 지내면서 정말 예수님 한 분만으로 만족하는 삶이 어떤 것인지 볼 수 있어서 참 감사했습니다.
I recently traveled to North America to attend our denomination's General Assembly in the United States. Along the way, a missionary in nearby Canada invited us to lead a seminar for pastors, and there was also a church gathering in Philadelphia, allowing several ministry commitments to come together into one journey.
Trying to make it home by Saturday left us with very tight layovers. To make matters worse, our flight out of Denver, where the assembly had convened, was delayed by an hour. Even though airline staff helped us rebook onto another flight, we found ourselves sprinting breathlessly through those cavernous airports, barely managing to arrive home at 10 o'clock on Saturday night. Yet, what immense gratitude filled our hearts to have returned safely across such great distances without mishap. Once again, there was so much to be thankful for. Meeting our congregation as they warmly welcomed us on the Lord's Day brought deep thankfulness. Truly, no matter how far north, south, east, or west we may wander, there is no place like home, and no place like our church.
Wherever we went, meeting brothers and sisters in Christ with whom we had shared fellowship brought us indescribable joy. It was particularly moving to hear how they had been touched by the Word and how their lives had been transformed. In Toronto, Canada, lives a pastor's family with whom we had once served in the same church long ago. My husband had even officiated their wedding. After we moved down to Ulsan, they had left to study abroad, so we had hardly been able to see each other since; but on this trip, we were blessed to spend a few days together. Their children, once so small, had grown into university students. Seeing them made us realize just how much older we ourselves have grown.
Their eldest daughter, Sujin, had been a sharp and capable child since she was little. Yet after she met the Lord in high school and experienced His grace, her life was transformed so completely that even her parents looked on in wonder. Her mother, of course, had prayed continually for her—asking that she would become a child who finds her full satisfaction in the Lord alone. Her father quietly shared with us that although she had given her mother a very difficult time during her adolescence, she had now transformed into an angel. Having encountered God, she felt the Father's heart for the impoverished. She began visiting places where the poor live, such as India, finding immense joy in sharing her life with them. It was truly a marvelous sight.
For a long time, having a father who pursued studies well into his mature years made poverty feel suffocating, embarrassing, and frustrating to her as a child. But now, that same daughter confesses, "Mom, I think we have far too much." Where she once looked envyingly toward friends who were better off, after her transformation she finally began to notice those less fortunate than herself. One day, she packed a large bundle of her own clothes and said, "Mom, please make sure these go to someone who has no clothes." When her mother looked inside, she discovered that Sujin had packed away all of her designer brand-name clothing—the very brand names she had once cherished so deeply.
Her younger brother, Sion, was also accepted with excellent marks into the engineering school at the University of Toronto, widely regarded as the finest in Canada. Yet after praying, he chose instead to attend Calvin College, a Christian university in the United States, where he happily attends daily prayer meetings even now. The bond between the two siblings is so affectionate and deep that their love and care for one another is truly exceptional. Although their father has walked a lean, demanding road as an international student, what greater reward could there ever be? For our children to love and revere the Lord is, after all, the foremost prayer of any parent's heart.
Even amid their own challenges, the pastor and his wife have continued to live lives of generosity, encouraging and aiding those in need. They opened their home to a struggling college applicant, packing his lunches as if he were their own son, and poured themselves into assisting a young sister from a broken home who struggled with English. I could not help but think, 'Surely God is so pleased with this couple that He has poured His blessings down upon their children as well.' Touched by it all, I found myself weeping with gratitude once again. Though my husband gently teased me, saying that I express every emotion through tears, how could I hold them back? Spending three or four days together, I was deeply grateful to witness firsthand what it truly means to live a life wholly satisfied with Jesus alone.
Ek het onlangs na Noord-Amerika gereis om ons kerkverband se Algemene Sinode in die Verenigde State by te woon. Terselfdertyd het 'n sendeling in die nabygeleë Kanada gevra dat ons 'n leraarseminarium aanbied, en daar was ook 'n gemeentebyeenkoms in Philadelphia, sodat verskeie bedieningsgeleenthede in een reis saamgevleg is.
Omdat ons teen Saterdag wou terug wees, was die oorklimtye bitter min. Boonop was ons vlug vanaf Denver, waar die sinode gehou is, 'n uur lank vertraag. Alhoewel die lugrederypersoneel ons gehelp het om na 'n ander vlug oor te skakel, moes ons uitasem deur daardie reusagtige lughawens hardloop en kon ons eers om tienuur die Saterdagaand tuis aankom. Tog was ons harte oorweldig met dankbaarheid dat ons so 'n lang afstand veilig en sonder enige teenspoed kon aflê. Ook hierdie keer was daar so baie om voor dankbaar te wees. Dit was 'n vreugde om die gemeentelede te sien wat ons Sondag so hartlik verwelkom het. Waar 'n mens ook al noord, suid, oos of wes reis, bly jou eie huis en jou eie gemeente tog maar die heel beste.
Waar ons ook al gegaan het, was dit 'n onbeskryflike vreugde om broers en susters in Christus te ontmoet met wie ons vroeër gemeenskap gehad het. Dit was besonder verblydend om te hoor hoe mense deur die Woord geraak is en hoe lewens verander het. In Toronto, Kanada, woon daar 'n leraarsgesin wat lank gelede saam met ons in dieselfde gemeente was. My man het destyds selfs hul huweliksbevestiging behartig. Nadat ons na Ulsan verhuis het, het hulle oorsee gaan studeer, sodat ons mekaar skaars kon sien; maar tydens hierdie reis kon ons 'n paar dae saam deurbring. Hul kinders, wat destyds nog kleuters was, het intussen tot universiteitstudente opgegroei. Toe ek hulle so sien, het ek besef hoe oud ons self al geword het.
Hul oudste dogter, Sujin, was van kleins af 'n flukse, skrander kind. Toe sy egter op hoërskool die Here ontmoet en Sy genade ervaar het, het haar lewe so ingrypend verander dat selfs haar ouers dit met verwondering aanskou het. Haar ma het natuurlik gedurig vir haar gebid—dat sy 'n kind sou wees wat in die Here alleen versadiging vind. Haar pa het ons stilweg vertel dat sy gedurende haar tienerjare haar ma baie beproef het, maar nou soos 'n engel verander het. Nadat sy God waarlik leer ken het, het sy die hemelse Vader se hart vir armes begin verstaan. Sy het plekke soos Indië begin besoek waar armes woon en gevind dat dit haar grootste vreugde is om haar lewe met hulle te deel. Dit was waarlik 'n wonderbaarlike ding.
Om 'n pa te hê wat tot op daardie ouderdom nog jare lank studeer het, het meegebring dat sy as kind 'n hekel aan armoede gehad het; sy was skaam en gefrustreerd daaroor. Maar nou sê daardie einste dogter: "Mamma, ek dink ons het heeltemal te veel dinge." Waar sy vroeër altyd gekyk het na maats wat welvarender as sy was, het sy ná haar ommekeer uiteindelik begin raaksien wie minder as sy het. Sy het toe 'n groot bondel van haar eie klere bymekaargemaak en gesê: "Mamma, gee dit asseblief vir iemand wat nie klere het nie." Toe haar ma daarin kyk, het sy ontdek dat Sujin al haar bekende handelsmerkklere uitgehaal het—sy wat vroeër so behep was met ontwerpersname.
Haar jonger boetie, Sion, is eweneens met uitmuntende punte tot die ingenieursskool van die Universiteit van Toronto toegelaat—wat as die beste in Kanada gereken word. Maar ná gebed het hy verkies om liewer na Calvin Kollege, 'n Christelike universiteit in Amerika, te gaan. Vandag nog woon hy daagliks die bidure by en straal hy van geluk. Die liefde en toegewydheid tussen hierdie twee broer en suster is werklik buitengewoon mooi. Al het hul pa as buitelandse student 'n moeilike, armoedige pad geloop, watter groter beloning kan daar tog wees? Dat ons kinders die Here liefhet en vrees, is immers die heel belangrikste gebedsversoek in enige ouerhart.
Te midde van dit alles het die predikant en sy vrou aangehou om ander aan te moedig, te help en met oop hande te leef. Hulle het 'n sukkelende matrikulant wat vir universiteitstoelating voorberei het, soos 'n eie seun in hul huis ingeneem en selfs sy kosblikke gepak; hulle was ook besig om 'n jong suster uit 'n verbrokkelde huisgesin te help wat nog met Engels gesukkel het. Ek kon nie anders as om te dink nie: 'Is dit nie omdat God 'n welbehae in hierdie egpaar het dat Hy ook hul kinders so ryklik geseën het nie?' En oorweldig deur dieselfde dankbaarheid het die trane weer gevloei. Al spot my man altyd dat ek elke emosie met trane uitdruk, hoe kon ek my trane dan keer? Om 'n paar dae saam met hulle te kon deurbring en te sien wat dit waarlik beteken om volkome tevrede te wees met Jesus alleen, was 'n kosbare genade.