✏️ A Letter to My Children (6) – This Morning, I Remembered Why I Began Reading the Bible Diligently

My beloved children,

Last night, I had dinner with Mrs. Yeo, who is like a younger cousin to me, and her husband, Elder Lee. As we were talking, the topic of reading the Bible came up, and I casually mentioned that I have read the Bible quite a lot. But this morning, suddenly, a precious promise I once made to God came to mind.

 This goes back 35 years, to 1991.

At that time, after finishing my studies in Oriental medicine in the United States and obtaining my license, I returned to Brazil and was living with my parents. Brazil was going through severe economic turmoil after President Collor’s monetary reform, and our family was facing one of the hardest times in our lives. There was a problem with the savings group (“gye”) my mother managed, and she had to take responsibility for a large unpaid amount. We sold everything, including our house and car, but it still wasn’t enough. For about 10 years, we had to keep working just to repay the debts.

We still needed a car for transportation, so we managed to get an old one that was over 10 years old. Looking back, that was probably the most difficult time of our life in Brazil. Even paying for your education was a heavy burden.

Then one day, something happened. It was my father’s birthday (your grandfather), around 5:30 PM, right in front of our house. He had parked the car and went inside for a short while. Less than 20 minutes later, when he came back out, the car had completely disappeared. Losing the car in the middle of such hardship made his heart sink deeply. No one said much, but the whole house was filled with a heavy silence.

At that time, I had been reading a Bible that my mother-in-law (your maternal grandmother) had given me, underlining passages as I read. Then I suddenly remembered that I had left that precious Bible inside the car. More than anything else, I just hoped that the thieves would not touch it. So right there, I made a vow to God:

“God, You know our situation. Please let us find the car. If I can recover the car and also my Bible, I will study Your Word diligently.”

Amazingly, the very next morning, the police contacted us. The car had been found abandoned with a dead battery in the Aclimação area. It truly felt like a miracle. And inside the car, my Bible was still there. I was filled with deep gratitude.

💡At that moment, I also remembered what my brother said back then. Right there, he mentioned that his car had been stolen twice, but he had never been able to recover it, and he was amazed that we managed to find ours. (haha)

Since that day, I continued reading the Bible faithfully, but I had completely forgotten the reason why. Only this morning did I realize it: I had been keeping this habit because of the promise I made in that desperate moment. How could I have forgotten something like that?

✔️ Through this experience, I learned something important.

→ Promises made to God are never light, and God remembers even our smallest prayers and commitments.

The reason I developed the lifelong habit of reading the Bible began with this very event. As I remembered it today, I wanted to leave this message for you as well. At first, it wasn’t so much because I loved the Word, but because I wanted to keep my promise. Yet as time passed, I forgot the promise and simply became someone who continues to read the Bible faithfully.

I hope today will also be a day filled with gratitude and joy in the Lord.

With love,
Dad (((^_________^)))