You Are My Sister

By Story

I.

I had been feeling rather down that day. I had a lot of things on my mind - moving house, losing my job, ....etc. Although I had had an interview, I wasn't very happy, as it was not the kind of job I wanted. My heart was quite heavy. There were crowds of people on the subway, all jammed in like canned sardines, some going in one direction, others going the opposite way. People carrying all kinds of briefcases, striding along with grim expressions on their faces.

I finally found a seat and sat down. Suddenly a dwarf appeared in the hot stuffy carriage, selling maps. Forgive me for using the word "dwarf". It's perhaps not very respectful, but I don't know what other words to use to describe her. She was around thirty years of age - and she had an indescribable look of joy on her face. When she showed up, I felt prompted to buy one of her maps. I gave her the money, then said, "You keep the map, I don't have any use for it." She immediately refused, saying, "Then you don't have to buy it. I don't want your money. God bless you!" "God bless you" sounded quite odd in this Beijing subway carriage, but I felt quite comfortable with it. I said, "I'm a Christian. You are my sister. Please accept my money, but keep the map for someone else." After I called her "my sister," her eyes suddenly brightened, and even I myself felt surprised and even moved.

II.

"God's grace exists in small things," said the Polish writer Shienkiewicz. This has often been my experience. There are many small things which may not be very significant in themselves, but they can still come as God's small meaningful gifts to you. The gift may be neither expensive nor beautiful, but it is full of little signs of genuineness and love and of surprising inspiration. Only you yourself understand God's heart. He is always there watching over you, even when you are absorbed in your present circumstances. He touches you with His invisible love.

No wonder people say, "God both reveals Himself and hides Himself."
He is willing to quietly share lovely truths with you in a way that only you understand. He is not noisy, but neither is He silent. When you are quiet, He reaches your heart.

And now God had come to me to a subway carriage, in the conversation I had with the little dwarf sister. God had come among us. 'Sister dwarf' had such a lovely smile. I don't know why so many people started buying maps from her. In a short time she had sold 7 or 8 maps. She was taken by surprise and could not find enough change for people. So I began helping her as her assistant, and she trusted me, because I was her sister in Christ.
When the train arrived at the station, she had to get off. As this happy sister said thank-you to me, I responded with, "Thank the Lord. Thank God.", "Thank God !" she called. Even after she got off, the words "thank God !" seemed to float in the air still.

III.

In church Brother F shared a story about one sister's dream: "She was dreaming about heaven. In the dream she met lots of people she had known before. For instance, brother Wang's family, sister Chang and her daughter...etc. One surprising thing was that she even recognized a family, all of whom were dwarfs. But, she said, in Heaven they didn't look short at all. In fact, they looked beautiful and tall." 

That dream seems to correspond with my story in the subway. I believe that one day in heaven, I will meet that little "map sister" again. And there she will not look short, but look really beautiful and tall.

The writer is from China and lives in Beijing.