Staying in Touch 保持聯繫

I hope this email finds you well. Thanks for reading my "Parenting ABC" newsletters!

As you know, I am now a retired California marriage and family therapist who no longer provides counseling and therapy services. Lord willing, I shall continue to write articles and lead workshops; and you are still welcome to visit ParentingABCtoday.com for additional resources.

I understand not everyone is looking for referrals so I have added a CONNECT form on my website so that you can send me a message, ask questions and request prayers in Chinese or English.

As a new believer, I received what Jesus said, "Go home to your own people and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you." (Mark 5:19) and changed the direction of my life.

At this stage I'm still serving as a Pastor's wife being a child of God, a wife, mother, grandmother, sister and friend. There will be changes in the direction and website of Parenting ABC, so please stay tune and pray for me.

It has been wonderful to hear from my readers over the years, I still feel encouraged and supported each time I get a message. I'm so glad we have met each other, please tell me how I may pray for you.

In case somehow you're not receiving my emails in the future, you may use this CONNECT form to get in touch with me any time. To use it to update your change of email address, or request a prayer, simply visit https://parentingabctoday.com/ and select the CONNECT tab at the top. Please try it now.

Remember, you and I are never alone in Christ. May the Lord bless you and your family!

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收信平安。感謝你閱讀我的《美國孩子、中國爹娘》Parenting ABC 每月通訊！

如你所知，我現在是一名退休的加州婚姻和家庭治療師，不再從事專業諮詢、輔導和治療服務。但主若願意，我將會繼續寫文章和作陪訓講員。請為我禱告，也歡迎隨時到 ParentingABCtoday.com 網站尋求資源。

我知道不是每個人都需要專業心理諮詢和治療師的轉介，所以我在網站上添加了一個聯繫表格，這樣你就可以用中文或英文向我發送消息、問問題和請求代禱。

初信主，我領受了主耶穌所說的話：「你回家去，到你的親屬那裡，將主為你所做的是何等大的事，是怎樣憐憫你，都告訴他們。」(馬可福音 5:19) 並改變了我的人生方向。

在這個階段，我仍然是師母，是神的孩子、妻子、母親、祖母、姐妹和朋友。《美國孩子、中國爹娘》的方向和網站將會有變化，敬請期待，為我禱告。

多年來收到讀者的來信真是太棒了，每次收到消息時，我仍然感到鼓舞和支持。我很高興我們認識了彼此，請告訴我如何為你禱告。

以防你收不到我的電子郵件，你以後可以隨時使用此表格來與我聯繫。要使用它來更改電子郵件地址或請求代禱，只需訪問 https://parentingabctoday.com/ 並選擇頂部的 CONNECT 選項卡。請現在就試試看。

不要忘記，在基督裡，你我永遠不會孤單。願神賜福給你和你全家!

The Power of Resurrection

Ten-year-old Fanny moved from the East Coast to the San Francisco Bay Area with her parents. (Fanny was born in the United States and her parents were professionals from overseas.) It had been half-a-year and Fanny was still unhappy and out of tune with her classmates at school. Fanny was also depressed at home and talked less and less. Under the suggestion and recommendation of her teacher, her parents finally agreed to allow her to receive psychological therapy.

When I first met Fanny, she was very shy, not talkative, but still cooperative. I asked her to draw three separate pictures:  a house, a tree, and a person. The tree she drew was actually lying on the ground. There was no horizon line. Although the trees had leaves, but there was no root. When I asked about the tree, she said, "This tree has just been transplanted to a new garden. One day, the wind blew really hard. The leaves were very heavy. Nobody was there to help. And the tree fell down.”

In subsequent weekly sessions, Fanny drew the toppled tree a few times and repeated the story. But every time she shared a little bit more about what the tree thought and how it felt being uprooted. Suddenly one day, the tree she drew stood tall on the horizon with thick roots, healthy trunks, and green leaves. The girl smiled and said, "Someone helped to replant the tree in the garden. Now it has grown up and is no longer afraid of the strong wind."

The above is a true story of me helping a child in a public school almost 25 years ago, but the name and background have been changed to protect privacy. "Uprooting" had a great impact on body, mind and spirit. The girl didn't understand why her parents had to move and took her away from the stable home where she grew up, causing her to lose her familiar environment, classmates and friends all at once. Encountering new challenges and setbacks, she felt anxious and fearful. When she spoke out, no one seemed to understand. She only got different opinions, defenses, and advice, which made her feel even more lonely, helpless, and depressed. She was downcast and unmotivated, like the fallen tree with no one to help. Thank God that because of our one-on-one time, listening, and play therapy, she felt cared for and loved. In the course of time, unperceptibly, the root regrew and the tree was able to stand up once again, and Fanny was able to face tomorrow.

Immigrant parents often have strong personalities, try to find a way out on their own in everything. They want the best for their children, but they often forget that they are limited as human beings. I have also experienced such pressure of life, the different ideas between husband and wife, and the conflicts in parenting. Those challenges caused a lot of anxiety, frustration, anger, pain and disappointment in my heart. I even thought that life was meaningless. Thank God that in my desperation I met my Savior Jesus Christ who "came to seek and to save the lost." (Luke 19:10)

Everyone will experience difficulties and helplessness in life. What is the core Christians belief? The apostle Paul said, "For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures." (1 Corinthians 15:3-4)

Although the sky is not always blue after believing in Jesus Christ, but trusting that the Lord is with us, we can rely on Him who loves us to face the storms of life, just as the apostle Paul said: "We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers and sisters, about the troubles we experienced in the province of Asia. We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired of life itself. Indeed, we felt we had received the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead. He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us again. On him we have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us." (2 Corinthians 1:8-10)