From Rough Stone to Smooth Stone · Part 5

Reconciling with God: Prayer Drawn by Love

Appleye
Oct 23, 2026 · 2 min

Translated from Chinese by AI ·

Part 5 · From Rough Stone to Smooth Stone

Drawn by Love, Not Driven by Fear

Reconciling with God on day one was only the start of knowing him, and yourself

We're all still on the way

Two kinds of prayer

Driven by fearOut of the lawNo prayer, no blessing?

Drawn by loveLonging to be close to himWaiting on him dailyGod's beauty in everyone

Dobany · dobany.comAppleye

Only after walking through the first three reconciliations did I understand that "being reconciled with God" on the day I came to faith was just the beginning. Real reconciliation is getting to know God more and more, and getting to know myself more and more.

Now every day I have a time of drawing near to God and quietly waiting on him. This kind of prayer doesn't come from the law, or from fear that "if I don't pray today, God won't bless me." It comes from being drawn by his love and longing to be close to him.

God has changed the way I see too. I know I'm the apple of God's eye, and I've started to see God's beauty in every person and God's good purpose in every situation.

Honouring My Husband, Listening to My Son

Once I'd accepted myself, I could honour my husband too. I used to keep expecting him to become like this or like that; now what I see is that, rational as he is, he's already doing his best to love me. When I'm out walking alongside people and praying, he's the one behind the scenes looking after the kids, cooking, and driving them around. The more I honour him, the better he gets. While our son was back in our home country, it was his dad who kept in touch with him, and it was enough for me to send a few emojis on the side. My son teased me for "only ever sending emojis," and I said: seeing you and your dad talk like this makes me so happy.

With my son, I'm learning to be his listener and to accept him unconditionally. Changing a child is God's responsibility, and the child also has to want it from the heart. I love him, play with him, care about how he feels, and he'll say on his own, "Mom, I'm planning to sign up for this."

A Good Companion

Pastor He Zhiyong said something at the end of the New Life course that has spurred me on a great deal:

A good companion isn't a spiritual giant who can do everything, but someone who honestly shows their true self: strengths and weaknesses, successes and failures, pain and joy, struggles and victories. What we bring to the other person isn't a set of materials and theories, but our own journey of growth.
Pastor He Zhiyong

That's why I'm willing to tell my story. From caterpillar to butterfly, from rough stone to smooth stone, we're all still on the way. Let's walk alongside each other and grow up together.

My Sister's Response: The Ministry of Reconciliation

"Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation." (2 Corinthians 5:17–18) All the things we've learned about family of origin and about people aren't there to give us excuses not to change. They're there to help us understand that everyone has been hurt. Once we understand that, we're willing to go the extra mile and bring people to the point of being reconciled with God. The key is forgiveness and repentance.

Today's question

The last time you prayed, was it out of fear, out of duty, or because you were drawn by God's love?

#From Rough Stone to Smooth Stone #Companionship #Reconciliation