(Minghui.org) My mother is 98 years old. She was blessed to learn Falun Gong (Falun Dafa) before the persecution started on July 20, 1999, but was afraid and stopped practicing due to the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) brutal suppression and its widespread slander against the practice. She lived like an everyday person—watching TV, and playing cards and mahjong. Twenty-six years have passed quickly. My mother’s eyesight, hearing, and legs deteriorated. Confined to her home, she felt very depressed.

After my father and my husband passed away, my mother felt even more lonely and isolated, and always yearned for company. I never stopped practicing Falun Dafa and I’ve consistently done the three things practitioners should do. Regardless of holidays, extreme cold or heat, I never stopped clarifying the truth and helping Master save people. It was an integral part of my life and I went out to tell people about Falun Dafa every afternoon.

My mother always tried to stop me from going out because I was imprisoned twice for appealing for Dafa in Beijing, so she was worried. She was extremely anxious when I came home a bit late.

One afternoon, as I was about to go out, she said angrily, “You can’t go out. I’m not feeling well. I’m in pain [here and there]. I may die at home and no one would know.” Seeing her painful and unhappy face, I hesitated. I remembered a passage in Zhuan Falun:

“If you break free from this qing, nobody can affect you. An everyday person’s mind will be unable to sway you. What comes and replaces it is benevolence, which is a nobler thing.” (“Lecture four,” Zhuan Falun)

I told her, “I’m a Falun Dafa practitioner. We need to fulfill the promise we signed with Master. What we’re doing is the most sacred. Master can’t be here to save people. As practitioners it’s our responsibility to spread the truth about the persecution. Sincerely recite ‘Falun Dafa is good, Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good,’ and Master will protect you.” I resolutely went out to clarify the truth.

One day last year my mother said, “Your health is getting better and better. Your face is rosy and you’re full of energy. You don’t look like someone in their 70s. Your brothers and daughter aren’t as good as you. They’re in pain here and there, they take medicine, or go to the hospital. It would be wonderful if they could practice Falun Gong, but they don’t have such fortune. I should practice too. You teach me.” I was so happy to hear that.

She started practicing Falun Gong again. Her legs were stiff, and when she sat in the single lotus position she was in great pain. I advised her to meditate for a shorter amount of time, but she didn’t back down. She persisted in meditating for half an hour, sometimes several times a day. She can now sit upright, and she doesn’t look like someone who’s almost 100 years old.

Even more valuable was her persistence in memorizing Master’s poems. She memorized Hong Yin and Hong Yin II once. She recited them during the day, at night, and often late at night. She said she even recited them in her dreams. She used a flashlight to avoid disturbing me, as I slept in the same room as her. As she is old and her memory is bad, she kept reciting when she forgot. I’m inspired by her diligence.

In recent years, my mother’s greatest concern has been her eyesight. Her older sister became blind and bedridden at 95 years old. Her older brother went blind at 90. My mother can read, her skin is fair, and her hair is relatively dark. People say she looks like she’s only in her 80s. She fell three times at home last year, but was not injured.

She now recites “Falun Dafa is good, Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good” every day. Master has always protected her, and she has never been in any danger. She now encourages me to go out to clarify the truth, and reminds me to be careful. She stays at home, does the exercises, meditates, and reads Dafa books while I’m gone. She is very focused on her cultivation and no longer feels lonely.

Two brothers from out of town visited her. They both said that her health improved and her complexion looks better after she started cultivating. They were happy for her. They called relatives together and asked them to join a video call. One of them exclaimed, “Our mother’s health is good after practicing Falun Gong.”

I thank Master for protecting our whole family and bringing blessings to my mother.