Submission to God’s Plan

Wing-mui with her husband King-yan and child Jeremy

　　Looking back at the past six years, I found that many things did not happen as I had expected they would. I still remember the year 2016, when my husband and I entered the Hong Kong Baptist Theological Seminary together to receive theological training. The theological program was supposed to be completed in four years; however, I gave birth to my child during my second year and consequently studied at a slow pace afterward. It took me six years in total to obtain the degree. Year after year, seeing my fellow students graduating batch by batch, I really had mixed feelings. Despite this, the only thing I could say is God’s plan far surpassed what we had expected.

A Dilemma

　　Not long after the birth of our child, my husband and I planned to leave our 6-month-old son in the care of a crèche but our son’s reaction was against our expectations. He kept crying at the top of his lungs in the crèche, with his fair complexion turning ruddy and then purple. The teachers at the crèche contacted us many times, asking us to take him home earlier. At first, we thought that our son just needed time to adapt to the environment of the crèche. So we continued to take him there every day, though with tears in our eyes. However, after a week, seeing no progress in his situation, we were no longer stonehearted enough to send him to the crèche again. Nevertheless, as a couple of full-time theological students, how could we handle the heavy workload from our studies and take care of our son at the same time?

　　On one occasion, I was having lunch with my teachers and fellow students at the seminary’s canteen. When one of the teachers knew that we had sent our son to the crèche, she tried to understand the situation from us. During that period, we were very afraid to be asked about our son as we were neither hardhearted enough to let our son stay at the crèche every day nor willing to change our original plan. In face of such a dilemma, we did not know what to do. At that moment, the teacher was just asking after me but it instantly triggered my tears, which gushed out like a spring. Then, the teacher began to listen to me during lunch, trying to understand my struggles. After that, the teacher explained the philosophy of Christian education and the developmental needs of children to me again. She encouraged me to take my son home because infants will develop stronger senses of trust and security if they grow up in an environment where their needs are always heeded by the caregiver. Moreover, we are still responding to God’s calling when we look after the inheritance entrusted to us by Him. In an instant, I felt much relieved. At first, I struggled hard as I felt I would let God down if I put aside His initial calling for me to receive full-time training. I felt extremely guilty about this. I was painfully caught in the dilemma between the need to take care of our son and that of responding to His calling. What the teacher said during the conversation, however, let me feel a great sense of relief. Recalling this experience, I have to thank the two teachers for encouraging us to give priority to looking after our child when I was at a loss as to what to do.

New Life at the Seminary

　　After discussing and praying with my husband, I decided to look after our son myself. Although I was still studying in a full-time program, I cut down the number of courses to be taken each term, which means it would take me four and a half years to complete the original two-and-a-half-year studies. In this way, my studies could tie in with my husband’s class schedule. From then on, I started a new life at the seminary, in which I was inseparable from my son. Together, we attended the chapel services, had the lessons, did the assignments, went to search for information at the library, enjoyed activities at the Recreation and Leisure Area on the third floor of the Student Activity Block, went to see the turtles in the turtle pool, lingered around at the canteen, hung the clothes at the rooftop, and watched the students play basketball at the basketball court. Basically, the entire seminary was where we lived and played. The teachers and my fellow students have all become members of our family.

God’s Plan

　　Staggered as the journey was, it feels like I graduated in the blink of an eye. After six years, I completed the degree program of Bachelor of Theology. Again, I have to say that things did not proceed as I had expected. I had planned to join a ministry field after graduation but I had to make changes again because of the needs of my family. Now, I have become a full-time housewife. During the past six years, God has changed my plans again and again. This reminds me that God has His own plans for me. Having said that, I still feel indescribably weak when I am faced with all sorts of uncontrollable situations. On the other hand, when I see my son growing bit by bit in these four years, I begin to understand what it means to “live for others.” To me, God is calling me to take good care of my son and my family at this moment, which is a very important service to Him.