I\u2019m fascinated with how people are people no matter what culture they are from. Yet there are significant differences in how people raised in different cultures view and experience their world. What\u2019s the same? What\u2019s different? How does the God of all work in lives around the world? Here is the story of Mr. F., who was recently baptized and joined our church. (Shared with permission, translated by me.)<\/p>\n
When I consider my life so far, it has been pretty unstable, marked by anxiety and lack of trust. At the base of it all has been a desire to be loved but a lack of certainty that I am loved. In addition, I get really interested in things and then soon lose interest, so it is hard for me to stick with things for the long haul. One reason has to do with my parents. My dad was a stubborn, selfish man, and I have hardly any memories of feeling loved or cared for by him. My mother tried her best to make up for that. She was very kind and I remember feeling surrounded by her love. However, when I was in first grade my mom met someone else and ran off with him. I didn\u2019t really understand what was happening, but without her warmth and care, the pain and loss made me lose trust in people. This showed up in bullying other kids at school, skipping classes, and just generally doing whatever I wanted. These effects of my father\u2019s personality and my mother\u2019s impulsive act played out in my poor relationships with friends, and I become more and more selfish in my thoughts and behavior. At one point, because of my home situation, the school even suggested that I be placed in a child welfare facility, but somehow my father and other relatives talked with the school and were able to avoid this.<\/em><\/p>\n <\/em><\/p>\n From a young age, I had problems with keeping good relationships with people, and as I chased after my own happiness and what I wanted, I caused a lot of problems for and hurt many people. This also left me with many scars. In junior and senior high I changed club membership four times, withdrew from university twice, and finally graduated from a vocational school. After that, I changed jobs six times. This was all because of my selfishness and distrust of people which got in the way of making and keeping good relationships. <\/em><\/p>\n <\/em><\/p>\n At the second\u00a0of my six jobs, I met a woman two years my senior, and we eventually married. There have been difficulties in our marriage, but through our two wonderful children, I was able to taste a happiness I never had before. Sadly, as the children have grown up, they\u2019ve gotten closer to their mother and I have increasingly felt like an outsider in my own home. It has been hard for me to know where I fit. This loneliness is like a hole in my heart which needed to be filled. By chance, one of my co-workers is a Christian. I asked if it would be OK to go to church to study the Bible, and so began attending a church from the second Sunday in June, 2009. <\/em><\/p>\n