By Chunxia
On August 3, 2017, it drizzled all day. In the evening, it was raining harder and harder to the point that torrential rain was pouring down. I heard the news of some villagers evacuating the country. At that point, I packed the books of God’s words and put them in a safe place. I was worried that this heavy flood would sweep my house away, because my house laid low, behind which was rising ground, and on the east and west side of my house, there was no way for flood waters to flow out, so the flood waters could only flow toward my house. If the flood waters flowed in my house from the back gate, my house was sure to be knocked down. With these apprehensions, I came before God, praying, “O God! The wind, frost, snow and rain are all in Your control. The water behind my house can’t flow outward. I’m scared that the flood waters will flow into my house. Now I’m helpless. God, I can only rely on and look to You. May You watch over these books and keep them from damage. Though some people have evacuated, I can’t leave and I’m willing to devote myself to protecting these books. Regardless of how heavy the rain is, I’ll obey Your sovereignty. God, irrespective of what You do, I’ll thank and praise You.” After I finished praying, I was much more stable, and then fell asleep.
I was awakened from my sleep by bells when it was 3 a.m. Hearing the sound of pouring rain and the roar of the great flood, I was afraid and feeling uneasy. I put on my shoes in haste, put up an umbrella, and waded toward the entrance door to see how deep the river water was. Reaching the entrance door and looking outside, I was stunned. Dozens of meters away from my home was a vast expanse of water and the turbid rolling river water surged forward wave upon wave. I could hear the rumbling of big stones rolling in the water. I was over 70 years old and had never seen such heavy rain or such a big flood. This scene was so terrible that I was frightened, my heart was beating fast and my legs were trembling. I walked slowly back to my house, and came in front of God, praying immediately, “O Almighty God, I’ve never seen such a great flood. I know You’re chastising corrupt mankind. I’m one of them and should also accept Your chastisement. God, I beg You to protect my heart, so that I can quiet my heart before You and submit to the circumstances You arranged for me. Whatever damages or disasters I encounter, I’ll give thanks and praise to You.” After my prayer, my heart calmed down and I was not alarmed and scared any longer.
At past 4 a.m., the rain fell much more heavily, like a waterfall. I saw the water rushing out from my neighbor’s east yard like water rushing out after the floodgates had been opened, and that the caldrons, refrigerators, gas tanks, lids, and other daily necessaries were washed out. The water then directly surged toward my neighbor’s perimeter wall and swept down two over four-meter high granaries by the wall that were welded together. In addition, my neighbor’s gate was also damaged, their forty-meter long henhouse was also swept down, and then the water flowed into my vegetable garden. I was on edge and called out to God in my heart. Marvelously, no sooner had the flowing water come to my wall than it turned the direction toward the big river. If the water had not changed the direction but instead flowed directly forward, my house would have been swept away. At the sight of that scene, I could not stop thanking God for His protection. God showed mercy on me. Had it not been for the exception of grace God made for me, my house would have met the same end as others. I called to mind God’s words, “The disaster originates with Me and is of course orchestrated by Me” (“Prepare Sufficient Good Deeds for Your Destination”). These words allowed me to have more faith in God and was no more in fear of the flood.
After the rain stopped, I saw four large firewood stacks standing in orderly arrangement in my field. Due to the river bed widening, the stacks were just in the middle of the river, like the lonely islands in a vast sea. They were not washed away but still stood upright in the water. My forty-meter long hen house beyond the river was not washed away either. After the flood waters receded, I crossed the river to go to my hen house and saw that the flood had passed by the hen house, run along the foundation and then flowed for more than twenty meters into the river. As a result, my hen house was undamaged, whereas other people’s grain depot below my hen house, built on large rocks, was destroyed by that flood. In addition, a row of a dozen or so rooms of the granary were knocked down and the three houses opposite the granary, including their over fifty sheep and two pigs weighing over 300 kilos, were also swept away. The flood waters flowed into the house on higher ground. Though that house did not collapse, all the things in it were washed away, making it uninhabitable. Moreover, two new houses of the family who believed in sorcerers were swept away. I saw many houses were washed away in our village, but mine survived the great flood safe and sound under God’s wondrous protection. Thank God very much!
After experiencing this flood, I had some real realization and knowledge of God’s words, “Of everything that occurs in the universe, there is nothing in which I do not have the final say. Is there anything that is not in My hands? Whatever I say is done, and who among human beings can change My mind?” (“Chapter 1” of God’s Words to the Entire Universe). I saw that Almighty God whom I believe in is God Himself who dominates and controls everything. All things, living or dead are all in His orchestration. This is God’s unique authority and only He possesses this power. I saw His wonderful deeds, His almightiness and domination, and His majestic and wrathful disposition. In the disasters of the last days, only if we rely on God can we pull through difficult times and avoid suffering disasters. Meanwhile, I saw we humans so easily collapse in the face of calamities. Without God’s grace and mercy, we humans cannot survive at all. When in the face of the disaster, I, a lowly person, received God’s such great love, of which I felt unworthy. Hence, I made up my mind: I’ll do my best to perform my duty, submit to God’s orchestration and arrangements, and repay His love for me.
