Dear K & Drs:
I just woke up at midnight to read both K and you two’s touching warm emails. I copied them down below for my memories and my readers.(I have already written "The unpredictable outcomes of an old lady stumbling over a big rock" in Chinese and posted in my other blog. click the link for Chinese version
老太婆跌跤，後果難料！Old ladies are very fragile, especially if they have Osteoporosis and most of time can't afford a big fall, that reminds me of Humpty Dumpty.)
Dear sister BH, peace to you!
I wonder if you have cuts anywhere in your body? Have you had any sore or aching spots today?
After Listening to my husband KV’s description of your falling down yesterday, I’m very worried about you and hope all turn out fine with you!
Take good care of yourself and Happy Mother's Day!
Blessings,
K ( May 10th 2015)
"Is everything OK?"
Dear sister BH:
"Today at Canaan church, we heard KV said yesterday at "Little Yosemite" you had a big fall, was it quite serious?!Are you okay? We are very concerned!I hope all are fine and okay!To ice the hurting parts and rest well! .... I trust you know how!
Peace and Joy to you!
LY & JF (an orthopedic and a surgeon) May 10th
It seems to me that K’s husband KV really is a "big mouth" (just kidding, on last Saturday’s outing, he actually was very thoughtful, safeguarded the last small group of hikers, in case something might happen; Wilson, little K and our small elderly group had been taken cared of by him.)
I wonder if you have cuts anywhere in your body? Have you had any sore or aching spots today?
After Listening to my husband KV’s description of your falling down yesterday, I’m very worried about you and hope all turn out fine with you!
Take good care of yourself and Happy Mother's Day!
Blessings,
K ( May 10th 2015)
"Is everything OK?"
Dear sister BH:
"Today at Canaan church, we heard KV said yesterday at "Little Yosemite" you had a big fall, was it quite serious?!Are you okay? We are very concerned!I hope all are fine and okay!To ice the hurting parts and rest well! .... I trust you know how!
Peace and Joy to you!
LY & JF (an orthopedic and a surgeon) May 10th
It seems to me that K’s husband KV really is a "big mouth" (just kidding, on last Saturday’s outing, he actually was very thoughtful, safeguarded the last small group of hikers, in case something might happen; Wilson, little K and our small elderly group had been taken cared of by him.)
In fact, the day before Mother’s Day, our Fremont Fellowship had an outing to a nearby “Little Yosemite” in Sunol , I accidentally had a big fall, which could be very serious, but fortunately, by God’s grace and mercy , it was a near miss, no major injuries incurred.
However, I'm sorry, to let KV and his daughter little K to be so scared. KV witnessed the seemingly shocking falling down, after all, the outcome of an old lady falling down could be very severe and hard to predict, not a laughing stock at all; K herself stayed behind with my cousin at the Picnic table, so she was not hiking let alone in our last lag-behind small group, and I didn't want to disturb anybody in their joyful outing mood, I didn’t mention anything about my falling down; on the way back, I was still laughing and talking as usual. Later on, K heard from KV that I fell down and she looked at me with such a sorrowful and concerned eyes, offering me two small ice packs to cool down my bruises, I was very touched. I was very impressed that ahead of this outing, K even had prepared the ice packs for the person who might fall down. Her caring and concerns for me is surely unforgettable! But I assured her I did not need any ice packs, and nicely declined her offer. (Many thanks to Mrs. Wang who took out her small alcohol pad to clean my bruises and applied some ointment over them. That reminds me to always carry some extra Band Aids in the future to help others or myself.)
Next day, on Mother’s Day Sunday, in South Canaan Church, no one wanted to believe that I had a great falling down the day before, because my bruised left knee and a small bruised dent under my right knee, have all been reduced to a minimum size, almost healed. (After I got home from the outing, I quickly applied aloe vera over the bruises several times in a row, the aloe is very effective to heal skin cuts indeed.) But they thought I was exaggerating and bragging about my falling down, I then zipped up my mouth.
Nevertheless, I am very grateful to God, though I should not be so careless, ignoring a not too small rock lying lowly next to my feet, after a photo-shoot, I hurried and turned around to go back,stum-bling down immediately on the rock and suddenly found myself hugging the rock; my two knees were bruised and bleeding , my camera lens also flying out, landing with spread of fine sand on the ground. In retrospect, perhaps my camera even balanced my falling down a little bit ? my small hat and long pant might also reduce my injuries. (After I fell, the first thing I worried about is if my camera is broken down or not. I had less fear to worry about whether my bones were broken up. Ha ha!) Thank God, my camera really is sturdy enough to withstand such a fall. It is still working, my old bones still sustain the big fall, really, it is all God's grace. To my great surprise, the next day I didn’t feel any soreness or pain. (Except the right arm was a little sore and aching, but now the even that was gone)
After returning home from the hiking, in the evening, I did find a small forehead abrasion, when I touched it, I felt the pain, it also seemed to be swollen, so I put a small ice pack on it to prevent it from further swelling. Oh, I did find a couple internal bleeding bluish spots in my arms, but they are all small in size, no big deal. Thank God for keeping me safe!
Nevertheless, I am very grateful to God, though I should not be so careless, ignoring a not too small rock lying lowly next to my feet, after a photo-shoot, I hurried and turned around to go back,stum-bling down immediately on the rock and suddenly found myself hugging the rock; my two knees were bruised and bleeding , my camera lens also flying out, landing with spread of fine sand on the ground. In retrospect, perhaps my camera even balanced my falling down a little bit ? my small hat and long pant might also reduce my injuries. (After I fell, the first thing I worried about is if my camera is broken down or not. I had less fear to worry about whether my bones were broken up. Ha ha!) Thank God, my camera really is sturdy enough to withstand such a fall. It is still working, my old bones still sustain the big fall, really, it is all God's grace. To my great surprise, the next day I didn’t feel any soreness or pain. (Except the right arm was a little sore and aching, but now the even that was gone)
After returning home from the hiking, in the evening, I did find a small forehead abrasion, when I touched it, I felt the pain, it also seemed to be swollen, so I put a small ice pack on it to prevent it from further swelling. Oh, I did find a couple internal bleeding bluish spots in my arms, but they are all small in size, no big deal. Thank God for keeping me safe!
There were few incidents that happened this year I like to recall here. in South Canaan Church, at the end of January, we had a sister in her 50s who accidentally slipped over a slightly wet plastic piece on the entrance to a Kaiser Hospital and sprained her left ankle 90 degree, it was very unusual to have fallen down in her particular situation, her doctor told her that in hundreds years, the world only has had 60 cases like hers. After having undergone operations twice, she has not yet fully recovered by now; after her incident, the other church sister's daughter about 30 years old, when hiking down the slope of Mt. Diablo, kicked a rock and fell down, thus she also had had an operation on her foot. Just a few weeks ago, one of my old friends went back to Taiwan, she fell backward and broke the back part of her head, had to go to the intensive care unit, and even had to open an air pipe around her neck, her case is very severe indeed, please pray for her. Worst of all, my daughter told me that she had a friend whose mother fell down, hitting her head badly, that brought her death soon.
So you see, especially for an old lady, a fall could be very serious and unpredictable in outcome. I have to count God's grace and blessings, because at my old age, my bones have sustained with no serious problems after this big fall; I know it’s all because of God’s grace and His watching over me. (I also realize that I am very lucky not having osteoporosis, as I have played table tennis all the time, even just the day before the hiking or else my kneecap might be broken this time.) I cited these appalling cases not to gloat, but with great gratitude, knowing that I might fall severely like them; nevertheless, I believe all things work together for good, all have the grace of God, everyone has under God’s grace to learn different lessons from all the situations. I'd wish even if I broke my bones this time, I could still give thanks to our Creator God. Praises be His precious name!
Indeed, this reminds me of the warnings from Jesus, "do not become someone else's stumbling blocks". I was too careless and overconfident. God really taught me a good lesson. (Before the falling down, I was just racing with small K race, and she was just 10 years old, I did not fall behind her too much. I was very proud of myself. Unknowingly that racing may serve as pre-warming up?)
KV initially offered a walking stick to me, I asked him: "What for? "He embarrassingly said:" It is for you to hit a mountain lion ( or tiger) . " (What? For me to imitate ancient Wu Song hitting a tiger with one stick?, I thought in my mind.) However, I know his good intention and was impressed that little K knows how to deal with mountain lion, if we met one on the way as little K blurted out “how to” to us.
Jesus said to His disciples, "It is inevitable that stumbling blocks come, but woe to him through whom they come!(Temptations (snares, traps set to entice to sin) are sure to come, but woe to him by or through whom they come!) "It would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck and he were thrown into the sea, than that he would cause one of these little ones to stumble.…(Luke 17:1-2)
Every time since my childhood, whenever I have encountered this Bible verse, I'm always very afraid, lest my words and deeds, imperceptibly, let others fall. We Christians really need to be very careful not to abuse the freedom which God offers to us in Christ, to grieve the Holy Spirit, and to cause others fall. Hindering others to believe in our Lord Jesus, what kind of offences is that ? We should pay attention to the warnings from our Lord Jesus. This also answers the question of some skeptical friends, they think the grace of forgiveness is too cheap, if Christians could repeatedly sin and repent, since Jesus will always forgive. But just because we have a box of Band Aids, we wouldn't go ahead and cut ourselves all the time, right? Likewise, we must not regard the expensive salvation coming from the sacrifice of our Lord's life as a cheap salvation to abuse it.
Paul also warned us “...Therefore, whoever thinks he is standing securely should watch out so he doesn't fall…” (1 Cor 10:12)
Next day, my big cousin A-bi expressed her regret to me that at lunch time in the picnic, she publicly ranted me not to laugh so loudly not knowing that I just had a big fall before lunch. She is 10 yrs older than me and she has known me well since my growing up years, she always thinks that women should not laugh so loud like me. But I was born that way laughing loudly and I enjoy to joke around, it is difficult to change my funny bones though. Fortunately, I was born later than her generation, I don’t seem to know this biased rule against women in earlier generations in my motherland. Sorry, if I laugh too loud to displease you or have other manners to offend you and let you stumble over, I deeply apologize; pray that you will always forgive and correct me, always remind me not to be so arrogant, if I laugh too loud, okay?
At South Canaan Church, I had played ping-pong wholeheartedly with all my strength this afternoon so you really don't have to worry about my falling down any more.
Nevertheless, I am very grateful to all of your considerations and concerns. Thank you very much! (I was deeply touched, having read your e-mails this early morning, so I immediately wrote back, because now I'm not sleepy at all. )
*This article is an embellished version of my email reply to K & Drs. F & S. on May 11
(Below are some more Bible verses about stumbling blocks for your references)
Where is the wise person? Where is the teacher of the law? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe. Jews demand signs and Greeks look for wisdom,but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. (I Corinthians 1: 20-24)
Jesus replied, “Go back and report to John what you hear and see: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor. Blessed is anyone who does not stumble on account of me."(Matthew 11: 4-6)
p.s. recent newspaper reports a Taiwanese teenage girl taking pictures in Yellowstone National Park was gored by a bison. Taking photos really do need to be very careful. My falling down can be counted as a small risk of taking pictures. If interested, you may click the following link.
http://www.appledaily.com.tw/realtimenews/article/new/20150517/611657/
http://www.appledaily.com.tw/realtimenews/article/new/20150517/611657/
