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The Way of Love for the Lord
Chapter 22. Even if they treat me as if I am insane, I will offer it up gladly. (August 22, 1981)
Every evening, my husband used to come to my beauty parlor to bring me home on his motorbike. One day, he parked it outside the beauty parlor and waited inside for me to finish work. When we went outside after my work, we were shocked to find that the motorbike was gone despite its being locked. We searched every corner of Naju for it, because it was not my husband’s but belonged to the agricultural extension office. I instantly offered up this situation to the Lord. “Lord, everything is Yours. I entrust this matter to You who take charge of everything. May Your will be done!” Because the motorbike that he rode to go to work went missing, he had to take a taxi to work in the meantime. He was considering buying a new motorbike. Two days later, a phone call came from the police station. “Did you happen to lose a green motorbike?” I said, “Yes, we lost one two days ago.” The policeman said, “We are keeping a green one here. Come quickly and check.” Upon hearing his words, we set off to the police station. When we arrived there, we saw two teens sitting on a long wooden bench with their hands behind their waists. We checked the motorbike with the policeman. We were certain that it was the one that my husband had lost despite the fact that the license plate had been removed. When the process of checking up ended, he told us a detailed story. “I got a phone call from a man running a motorbike shop. He stated that two teens came to his shop to sell a motorbike. The teens told him that their elder brother had given it to them and that they had come to sell it because they needed some pocket money. But he found their story too strange and called our police station. I rushed there and discovered that the motorbike had no license plate, let alone its key. I thought they must have started ignition using electric wires. I was sure that they had stolen it. So I brought them here for interrogation. In the end, they confessed that they had stolen it in front of your beauty parlor.” I sprang to my feet even before he ended his talk. The teens were surprised. I thought to myself, ‘How hungry they must be now! They have not eaten their meals since yesterday. How desperate they must have been for money to resort to such theft!’ I was troubled and heartbroken by the thought that they had committed sin due to my husband’s motorbike. I hurried out of the police station and quickened my pace to search for a store to buy them something to eat. After buying two packets of milk and some bread, I came back and gave milk and bread to the teens, but they did not receive the food. I asked them, “Don’t you want to eat it?” They replied, “Yes.” I asked them again, “Then, why did you not receive it?” Then the policeman said, “I put handcuffs on them.” He had made them sit on a wooden bench with their handcuffed hands behind. That was why they did not receive the food. They were just sitting still. So I fed them with bread and milk, saying kindly. “It was not only your fault but also our fault. Don’t do such a thing anymore. Instead, let’s all do good things together and live nicely, shall we?” I began to pray for them, and soon they burst into tears. While I was praying, I felt that people were throwing daggers at my back. I turned around and saw the policemen looking at me with their hands over the heads and circling them. Such gestures indicated that they were thinking of me as crazy. I thought to myself, ‘It doesn’t matter whether or not I am regarded as insane. If these teens could repent through my practice of love, I would willingly be treated like that by looking upon their misunderstanding as glory and by offering it up for the Lord’s glory.’ I beamed at them, but the looks in their eyes told me how insane I must have seemed to them. I did not care. I patted the teens on their back and said to them again, “Don’t commit wrongdoing any more. From now on, will you be able to live a good life?” “Yes.” They both replied in a faint voice, their heads sinking towards their chests. I prayed earnestly, ‘Lord, have mercy on these teens that have been turned away and deserted. Embrace them so that they may return to Your bosom. Let their wounded hearts be healed through Your love. May they live a new life!’ After my prayer, I implored the policemen to set them free. They asked me, “Will you really forgive them?” I replied, “Of course, they will not do bad things any more.” They asked me again, “You would have to fix the motorbike and this would incur expenses. What would you do about it?” I replied, “We will cover the expenses ourselves.” In the end they set the teens free. When everything was settled, I bid the policemen goodbye before leaving for home. But they were only staring at me as if I were a crazy woman. I joyfully offered to Lord the disdain and insults from them, praying that He might receive glory, praise and consolation. Anyway, I truly felt that I owed apologies both to the teens and to the policemen. My husband had parked the motorbike outside, arousing the teens’ impulse to steal it, and they had ended up stealing it. So this was our fault. The reason why I felt that I owed an apology to the policemen too was that I should have behaved more carefully so that they might not look at me as if I were insane. It was my fault that I appeared so to them. So I said to all the policemen, “I apologize to you for all of this.” But they just gazed at me blankly. Then they turned their eyes to my husband, starting to look at him with sympathetic eyes as if they were saying, ‘How pitiful and unlucky you are to have that foolish woman as your wife!’ Yet, I felt so happy with all of this, for my heart was full of love for the Lord. “Oh, sweetness of love! Because You love me, I am able to love everybody. The reason I can love all of them even if they treat me as if I were insane or a fool is that You have kindled the fire of love in me. So I will love everyone and praise You forever.” “My beloved little soul! You have given hope and comfort to those in the state of sin by loving and forgiving them, instead of reproaching them. And you have given glory to Me, rejoicing over the disdain and insults. That is why you are a flower of consolation to My Heart.” I came home with a joyful heart. A few days later, when I was doing a customer’s hair, the mother and sister of the teens came to see me and expressed their gratitude. I said to them, “I did not do anything by myself. It is not me but Our Lord who did it. Please give your gratitude only to Our Lord.” But they kept on bowing their heads and thanking me before leaving. Looking at them leave, I prayed, “Lord, have mercy on them so that they can taste Your love in Your house without a day’s delay.” “They will get to know that the bright sun is shining even in the dark night.” “O Lord, thank You. I believe that Your words will be realized. I am tied only to You. May Your will be done! Amen.”
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