(Minghui.org) Around the end of my son's first year of high school, in 2015, he came home from school and handed me a certificate, beaming with pride.
He had been voted “model student” by 31 of his 36 classmates.
Looking at my son’s bright and innocent face, I was filled with emotion. My memory raced back to the past and a scene appeared as if on a movie screen before my mind’s eye. It was when I first introduced him to Falun Dafa.
When my son was two years old, he had a sudden onslaught of asthma, accompanied by high fever. His throat would make a loud wheezing sound as he breathed in and out.
He was too weak to walk so he cried to be held all day long. He had no appetite. He would only take a couple of bites of whatever we fed him and wouldn’t eat anymore.
He couldn’t sleep at night because he couldn’t breathe, so he ended up fussing and crying.
We took him to the local women and children's hospital. We found the best pediatrician to examine him.
The doctor said, “He has childhood asthma, caused by having caught a cold during his first month of life. He may grow out of it when he turns ten. Childhood asthma has no permanent cure. The most I can do is prescribe the best anti-inflammatory drug for him.”
There was no sign of improvement after taking the drug for half a month, so the doctor increased the dosage. Another month went by, but there was still no change for the better.
My son’s grandmother was worried, “My grandson is so young. To just keep increasing the dosage is a bad idea!”
It pained my heart to witness my son’s suffering.
When I was at the lowest point, feeling helpless and hopeless, Falun Dafa came to mind.
I recalled how I had entered into Dafa when I was at my wit’s end with my body riddled with incurable diseases, how Dafa had restored my health, how I left Dafa after having been persecuted and put through re-education in the forced labor camp, and how I had regretfully given up on Falun Dafa practice out of fear and self-preservation.
Now, watching my son’s suffering, I broke through my psychological barriers and stealthily took out Master Li Hongzhi’s lectures on videotape and played them for my son.
My son listened to the lectures and began to improve. His wheezing stopped, and he could sleep peacefully and soundly.
After my son had listened to Master Li’s lectures for the third time, the symptoms of his asthma disappeared and soon he was thoroughly cured.
Words could not express my gratitude. I could only let my tears fall silently.
I started to openly resume my Falun Dafa practice at home.
My husband objected vehemently and threatened me with divorce. Time and time again, he would go so far as to push me down on the bed, put his hands around my neck to choke me, and beat me up severely.
My husband’s family was afraid my Falun Dafa practice would adversely affect the career future of my father-in-law who was the manager of a state-owned enterprise. They reported me to the police.
I was well aware that my safety was at stake, but I had to choose righteousness and my conscience. I used spousal violence as the reason to obtain my divorce and custody of my son.
From infancy to toddlerhood on, my son was full of energy and mischief. He had no sense of danger. He would crawl about and climb up and down all day.
During the winter vacation when he was in second grade, he went outside to play and returned dripping wet from his knit cap down to his shoes.
I was surprised, since it wasn’t raining outside. He told me sheepishly, “Mom, I fell into the water.”
He said, “I was out playing near the pond in the small garden in our district. Someone threw a firebomb into the water. The loud sound shocked me and I fell into the pond. The water was up past my shoulders. I was so scared I couldn’t even cry out for help. Suddenly, I felt a pair of big hands holding me up, and I succeeded to climb out of the pond.”
I said to him, “Last year, a young child was drowned in the same pond. It happened in the middle of the day when nobody was around to save him. For that, the pond had been closed for a year. If Master was not there for you, your life would have been no more. So, be careful.”
He nodded and said, “I won't forget!”
He changed into some dry clothes and went out to play again with a smile on his face as if nothing had happened.
One evening during summer vacation when my son was in the third grade, he was playing a “blind man’s buff” game with his friends when someone suggested, “Let’s climb up to the roof so nobody can reach us.”
My son climbed to the roof with the others, but was knocked off. When he fell, his armpit came into direct contact with the sharp tip of one of the iron poles that supported some clotheslines. Blood squirted out immediately.
My son had the presence of mind to stay calm. He called out in his heart, “Master! Save me!”
A miracle happened. The bleeding almost completely stopped.
My son’s playmates started screaming and calling for me, “Help! Something terrible happened! Help!”
I ran downstairs. I was in shock when I saw my son. I ran back upstairs to grab 1,000 yuan and called a cab to take us to the hospital.
When we got there, my son said, “Mom, I am a Dafa cultivator. Do I still need to see a doctor?”
My son’s words woke me up.
My son continued, “I know it’s my fault. I spend too much time playing and having fun. But, I trust Master. I trust Dafa. I am okay.”
I was touched by my son’s firm faith and aborted the trip to the hospital.
That evening, I changed my son’s blood-soaked bandages eight or nine times.
My son was laid up in bed for a week. Then, he was able to be up and about. In a little over a month, he completely recovered.
My son was in junior high school. One afternoon, it was almost 1 p.m., but he hadn’t come home. I went around looking for him, but there was no trace of him. I went home feeling dejected.
When I was approaching my apartment building, he was there and about to climb the stairs to our place.
He looked terrible. He was covered with dust and dirt. His face was all smeared up. Even his nostrils were full of mud.
When he saw me, he burst out crying. I hurried to comfort him, and asked if he was injured.
He told me, “Mom, I’m okay.”
I rushed to take him home.
Still crying, he explained, “I was riding my bike on my way home during afternoon lunch recess. A speeding motorcycle hit me and sent my bike flying. I was flung over to the grass by the side of the road. The driver didn’t stop. He sped off. I was hurt all over and couldn’t get up. I lay there for a long time. Finally, I pulled myself up and limped home.”
I made a calculation. The whole thing must have happened about 40 minutes ago.
I checked my son’s body and found no injury, just a small scratch and a little bruise on one arm.
I said to my son, “If you didn’t have Master to protect you, I bet you would at least have some broken bones.”
We were both filled with gratitude. My son took a short nap and returned to school.
Ever since he was very young, my son never looked straight ahead when walking. He would always look here and there and everywhere. So, he constantly brought home nails and screw caps and such small items. I jokingly called him, “My little scrap metal collector.”
Because of this habit, he could always find a yuan here and five yuan there in his elementary school.
Of course there was no way to know who dropped the money. So, my son always turned his find over to his classroom teacher for classroom expenses.
During one of the class meetings, the classroom teacher said to the whole class, “There is one student among you who always turns over money he finds to me for classroom use while others will keep the money for their own use...”
From then on, many of his classmates would follow his example and give up their find to the class.
When my son was in junior high, he would find 10 yuan and 20 yuan and would turn over the money to the classroom teachers.
This year, my son is in high school. One day, he found 50 yuan on the school athletic field. He turned the money in to the school office.
He told me the story when he came home, and that soon after the office broadcasted the find, several students went to claim the money.
We shared our amazement and amusement.
I said to my son, “I’m sure there is one among those students who honestly lost the money. I’m also sure the school will figure out who is telling the truth. You don’t have to worry. Just keep on doing what you are doing. Stay true to Dafa and follow Dafa’s principles of truthfulness, compassion, and forbearance and you will be just fine.”
My son is a good person, warm, kind, and empathetic.
One evening, he was home an hour late after study hall. I was not happy.
He explained, “When we left the study hall, a classmate sprained his ankle and had difficulty riding his bike. I was concerned for his safety. So, I rode along with him to make sure he got home safe before I came home.”
There were also several times my son not only came home late but also with hands all filthy and greasy.
He explained, “The chain of my classmate’s bike fell out and I helped him get it back on.”
My son has to be at school by 6:30 every morning. So that he can sleep a little longer, I usually get his breakfast ready before waking him and he will generally get up with some prompting.
One morning, he was up early and went straight to the kitchen to boil some water.
I was wondering why he would boil water because we only drink mineral water by the bottle so we never boil water for drinking.
My son explained, “A classmate has a cold and needs hot water. The school does not provide hot water. So, I want to make sure he has hot water to drink.”
These types of things happen a lot. I have stopped being surprised or concerned.
I bought my son a watch. Not long after that, my son came home one day and said to me, “Mom, my classmate asked to have a look at my watch. I handed it to him. He dropped it to the ground and it broke. Should I ask him to pay for it?”
I asked him, “Where’s the broken watch?”
My son said, “I threw it away in the trash.”
I asked him, “What did you say to your classmate?”
He said, “I didn’t say anything. Nothing at all.”
Hearing distress in his voice, I said, “It’s okay. Don’t worry about it. He’s your classmate and it was an accident. I’ll buy you another watch.”
So, I bought him another watch. He was happy about it.
My son’s foreign language teacher was leaving and gifted my son his personal basketball. My son brought the basketball home to show me. I could tell it was of good quality. I could also tell my son liked the ball, but he didn’t treat it as his personal property. He took it to school and shared it with his classmates.
One day after school, my son told me his teacher gave him some money set aside for classroom use so he could buy a basketball.
I was curious, “What happened to the basketball you got from your foreign language teacher?”
My son told me without any rancor, “Another class asked to borrow it and somehow lost it.”
I have a wonderful son who is growing up with the protection and guidance of Falun Dafa. I feel very blessed.