A Testimony

A few years ago I heard this testimony from a local CEO , who is running a very successful software company for better transparency and security for the finance sector and legal sector. The company recently acquired a division of JP Morgan.
The CEO wearing a haircut making people thinking he is still in his early 30s, yet he is a father of two teenage children. He told us a story about his faith soft and gently .

He was first a professional skier and competes nationally. He grew up in a Christian family but was not very close to God, until he was 7 years ago. At that time he had already a couple companies, had a house in Los Gatos, both children in private school. But he wants to get close to God and he prayed sincerely, giving his life to him. Then series of things had happened.

September 11 came. At the time when he was in a building facing the twin towers. He, through the glass window, watched the devastating scene. Then he saw people came afterwards, weep and prayed together regardless race, cultural, etc. He, everyone else nearby, was hard to get not touched by it. This may be what God want us to be one day.

His company suffered from loss of business but managed to survive to the end of 2002, when there is offer to buy the company from a multinational firm. All transaction is planned to be on cash, all the employee are continue to work for the company. It is an offer everyone is happy about and nothing could go wrong.

February the following year, when he tried to pick up paper from copy machine, he suddenly had a very bad migration and was sent to emergency, was diagnosed with something in the brain (a birth defect). Doctors can only do a operation when the defect grows bigger but he could die instantly in the process because of the location.

The offer to buy the company backed out because he is supposed to run the company after it is bought. He had to take equity from his house to extend the life of the company but it still end of close down, leaving him with no income. But he commented that is the best period of his life as he lives everyday as it is the last day, every time he talks to his wife, it is his last conversation. For people he hates in the past, does not anymore.

The doctor told him if he has a problem of swallowing then gets in right way for the operation. The operation would be 50/50 life/death chance and with 100% certainty he is going to be paralyzed on his left side of the body for the rest of his life. There are only two persons in the whole United States can perform this operation and one is at Stanford University. To make the long story short, he was able to raise his left arm after the 5th time he was waken up in the ICU, doctors felt they won a lottery. But painful recovery process has started. He could choose not do the operation if he had known how painful the recovery process. It took him 6months to twig his left toe, took another sometime not drew through his mouth, took him about two years to walk…He suffers severe side effects from the operation, had to be sent to hospital twice a year….His children just started their teenage years.

When I saw listening to him, he is perfectly healthy man. Still today, his case was well studied by all neurosurgeon in residence at Stanford, nobody believes he could recovers this well because of the location of the operation.

God also provided them financially. He did not elaborate much, but I can image he is essentially with no income, no healthcare during the 2-3 year period. He mentioned there is one day he and his wife were going through the bills and there were 3xyz amount was lacking and door bell run, a check with exact that amount arrived. There are times there were 7000 cash in their mailbox appeared….He summarized that he and his family was constantly provided going through that process.

A few years ago, he put another business proposal together and people who had invested in him in the past, invested in him again. Now we see him as a successful CEO with a growing company in this economy.

He delivered the testimony with the purpose to everyone hope. Quoting from, he managed through it is not because his personal faithful, it is because God is faithful to us.

There are many elements in his story makes people reflecting upon.
He was CEO before he prayed and he is a CEO today. What I learned that God sometimes just want us to be his living testimony. Borrowing what our pastor, you and me are living youtube.

Linkedin profiles

I have acquired a habit from my previous life to look up people's linkedin profiles after introduction. I have grown out of the stage of judging people by their titles, jobs, but the education and job profiles help me to register new acquantainance in my database.

This year, I have encountered a few people in their 40-50s, yet they do not have a linkedin profile, not an account. But their introduction about themselves took my breath away. I heard Holy Spirit whispered to me:" How about a profile on the Book of Life?"

Yes.

Do you have an account and a profile on the book of life (lamb)?

What do you want to do when you grow up

In part of an effort giving my son back to God, I decided to let myself turn loose:

1. Do not become the person someone else want you to be, but be a person true to God

2. Do not choose a career that your parents think they are the best for you. Choose a career God gives you passion for.

3. Do not marry someone because your mom thinks she is good for you because your mom mostly likely would choose someone do most of house work for you...

A life had not lived

I vividly remember the first day we brought our son back home after he was born, my husband sat in the nursery room, looking at my son, gently said he would take my son to do mission someday. At the time my son was 4 lb 10 Oz.

"Are you crazy? How come he get sick?" I am not willing to get my son to somewhere not clean enough.

However, accidentally, I came across a post by a high schooler who visited extremely poor condition in China. http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/slides/2011-07/22/content_12963428.htm
His comment "After experiencing life in this village (very deprived situation), I felt like I had not really lived in San Marino (his life in CA).

I pray that my son can have a life that he had lived.

Expand the capacity

I recently get acquainted with a family who lives in a single family residential in saratoga ( a rich neighbourhood in silicon valley). They do not have any Children because the wife had two mis-carriages. "Then why not adopt?" "While the wife was not sure if she will love the child if it is adopted."

I recently get to know a family having all their children are adopted. (http://qbabel.blogspot.com/)
When my son was having play date with them, I honestly felt the mom could not love them more. And that love is contagious to me.

And here is some one, capable of having their own biological child but decide to adopt, and the third one is one with a medical condition, prompted by God. (http://maksters.blogspot.com/2011/03/her-heart-condition.html)

I had an old acquaintance, who have two houses, 4 cars including one sport, one luxury, weekly massage,...but children are too much work for her.

Father God, please build our capacities, to have our next generation having expanding capacities.

A life without limbs

I heard of Nick Vujicic when I was told by doctors and statics that my son has 1/9 risk of being a down syndrome baby (comparing 1/thousands for a risk of normal baby).

At the time, however, my fragile heart can not take anything like that and I can not even take a glimpse or imagine a person like Nick Vujicic.

Recently, when discussing the impossibles, people told me Nick, without limbs, can ski,...
www.lifewithoutlimbs.org/
I looked him up and surprisingly I did not find weakness and vulnerable but I find strength.

Be inspired. A life without limbs have demonstrated no limits.

Be courageous.

"For the Lord our God will be with you wherever you go."

Last night, late at night, my husband asked me if I heard of Christopher Yuan. I quickly run through my thin data base of Asian CEOs of start-ups, top litigators etc...Then he told me Christopher Yuan's live story.

Then he asked me if we would be able still to pray with other people, like Chris's parents did, if my son is unconventional like Chris. I first reaction was I would commit a suicide long before his mom.

My 9-month old was in deep sleep and I was in tears. I really do not know what his life contains. Teenage years, adulthood...Maybe I should fast and pray every Monday so that his life does not have any difficulty. But isn't that there is only one way to learn about the depth of life--in its difficulties, knowing the limits of our own strength? I wept. Father God, can you give me all the troubles he will have, all the pain he will bear, so that he can be trouble, pain free?

Today, accidentally, I saw a group of young girls, singing "Be courageous, for the Lord our God will be with you wherever you go". (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jjtJ4Bq3oY4&feature=related)
All of the sudden, I am released from the dark cloud from last night, not because of the lyrics, but because who sing-- a group of young people, pre-teens. Our next generation can be just like them, sing with freedom, dance with joy, regardless the circumstances, as THEIR heavenly father will be with them wherever they go.

Spend time with a device or a human being?

Sitting in the lobby of Company A waiting for my host to pick me up, a strong feeling came: I do not belong here, no matter how much is paid.

The building and environment is nice, people traveling from China wish to visit. What troubles me is that it felt a machine’s world and not a human being’s world. Everyone here, regardless where they are coming or going, wired on a device, busy txt messaging, reply emails, or surfing the web.

Directors show up, decent business people with some reasonable technical knowledge. Good friendly conversations. Industrial designers show up---they dress extremely unique…”Company A is built on each individual’s PRIDE”. “There is no consensus here”. “They do not care if they get along”. (a HR comment).

Company A’s products are worshipped all over the world. But why people want to spend their in that culture? NO Choice?