In Jin Moon
(The opening minute or two are missing)
1. In Jin Nim (In Jin Nim) was sharing about her husband's bad health situation – he was diagnosed as a candidate for a heart attack in the next five years. He took it to heart, totally changed his diet, and started taking Vemma (a health drink containing a fruit called Mangosteen) religiously. And just a couple of weeks ago he received back all of his (medical) test results and he learned that his health is now that of a 17-year-old. To go from somebody who was looking towards a very short life to somebody who is now like a teenager, he feels as if he has literally gotten a new life. And so he has been talking and preaching and sharing with everybody about Vemma and the miracle of Mangosteen and what it does for the body. To actually see the fruit – In Jin Nim thought that it would be much bigger, but it is a very tiny fruit, exotic looking.
Mangosteen fruit
2. Our Heavenly Parent up in heaven has prepared so many wonderful fruits and products that have yet to be harvested and understood, that can cure a lot of the ailments that we suffer from day-to-day. As a part of the Lovin Life philosophy where we come together to enjoy and celebrate life, and celebrate each other, In Jin Nim very much wants to encourage holistic living, in the sense that we treat our bodies as temples of God, as an incredible gift that was given to us which allows us to experience true love, true life, and true lineage in our lifetime. Therefore, we need to take care of ourselves, not just emotionally and spiritually, but physically as well.
June 19, 2011, Kuala Lumpur, Malasia
3. When In Jin Nim was in Malaysia, the government, the Parliament of Malaysia, welcomed them all with open arms. They had just come back from a trip to Japan where they had been representing their country as people who are deeply concerned about religious freedom and some of the travesties that have been taking place in Japan in regard to the faith breaking issue.
4. As we know, we have been fighting this long battle with the government of Japan, which has failed to guarantee the dignity of our Japanese members, to be that citizen – who is able to exercise their religious freedom that is guaranteed by the Japanese Constitution, and really decide for themselves how they want to exercise their faith, who they want to believe in, and how they want to live the rest of their lives. And if they choose to be an Unificationist, members of our faith, then they should be able to do so without the fear of being abducted.
5. But over the last 30 years over 4300 of our Japanese brothers and sisters have been abducted and have been abused, not just physically but also sexually and emotionally. We as a movement have put our foot down saying that enough is enough. We want the government of Japan to respond to our pleas for our brothers and sisters to be able to exercise their faith, as that citizen of Japan who should be honored and under the protection of the Constitution to freely exercise their choice of religion.
6. We have been so thankful to the Malaysian government, because a large number of their parliamentary members traveled to Japan to pressure the Japanese government to end this religious persecution. And they will be coming to America shortly. We will be hosting 70 parliamentarians from Malaysia. They will be traveling with us to Capitol Hill to demand an audience with our representatives and senators there – to ask the question, "What is being done with the issue that is taking place in Japan?"
7. As a country that represents the Islamic tradition – their state religion is Islam – and for them to travel to Japan and to travel to America in defense of religious freedom – it is a wonderful, wonderful thing. In Jin Nim truly thanks the Malaysian government and all the parliamentary members who welcomed us with such loving hearts and a great embrace. To have them as our friends in this fight for religious freedom is incredibly inspiring. It spurs us to continue the good fight until we can truly see an end to the religious persecution that is taking place in Japan.
8. These Malaysian parliamentarians and the different Ambassadors for Peace and the VIPs we've known over the years, have truly been harvested by different leaders and continental directors who have been responsible for Malaysia – but in particular this man named Rev Eu, who was sent to Malaysia 15 years ago by our True Father, has really taken it to heart. He told In Jin Nim "I am Korean by birth, but in terms of my love for country I feel that I am Malaysian."
9. He has cultivated all these relationships over the years and he has represented our True Parents (True Parents) in the best way. He spoke and shared the breaking news of who our True Parents are – to all the politicians and ambassadors for peace whom we've come to know over the years. So when they went there to meet all these distinguished men and women, it felt to In Jin Nim that they were visiting a family whom they had not seen for a long time. They were so warm and enthusiastic and inspired about the work that our True Parents are doing and the work that our movement is doing.
10. In Jin Nim spoke to some of these good men and woman and she said, "When I hear the word 'Malaysia' the first thing that hits her ears, Mal-Ay-Sha, is Mal. Mal in Korean means speech. It is almost as though Malaysia has this incredible responsibility to speak the truth of what is taking place in Japan. But also to speak the truth about who our True Parents are and to really share the breaking news as to what an incredible time it is to be living, together with our True Parents, and encourage everyone around the world to really work together.
Petronas Twin Towers
11. The Malaysian people take great pride that they are the third largest economic power in Southeast Asia. They have a great deal of pride in their country, in their process of modernization, but In Jin Nim very much encouraged all the dignitaries and our dear friends that, in the process of modernization, Malaysia, with its God-given duty to speak the truth and share in the breaking news of our True Parents, must be sure that the internal, or spiritual growth of the country goes hand in hand with the rapid modernization process that is taking place there. They have great pride in the Petronas Twin Towers, one of the largest buildings in the world – the symbol of their great modernization – and the city is indeed incredibly beautiful. But again, if the external does not coincide with their growth of the internal, then sooner or later the rapid modernization process is going to leave the good man and woman of Malaysia in a spiritual vacuum, a spiritual void, and it will not be good for the future of the country.
12. To have an internal core, or internal understanding, as to why Malaysia is important, and why it can play an incredible and pivotal role in Southeast Asia is something that all the brothers and sisters of this country should think about.
13. They were very receptive and very much wanting to hear from the good friends of America – to see how we can really help each other to become that, "one family under God."
14. In Jin Nim was talking to some of its leaders – remarking on the geography of Malaysia – when you look at what the country actually looks like, it is divided between East and West. These two parts that make up the country of Malaysia really look like these hands that are cradling the South China Sea. It is almost as if this country is waiting to receive the good heavenly fortune that awaits them. It is almost as if they sit in the middle in this area, waiting to receive and to harvest and partake of the breaking news of our True Parents.
15. They were incredibly inspired to meet our brothers and sisters from America and they very much look forward to coming to America – to help us with our work and to end religious persecution in Japan.
16. When In Jin Nim was flying back, and it is a long flight from Kuala Lumpur to Seoul and from Seoul to JFK, she spent some time reflecting on the beauty and the significance of the trip – and about what an incredible time we are living in. And she was thinking about the different brothers and sisters that she met there – wondering what she could share with the brothers and sisters when she arrived back in the states.
17. So many incredible things are taking place all around the world and in every different country – and sometimes In Jin Nim thinks that we as a movement lose sight – because we are so close to all the exciting things that are taking place, that we don't really have a birds-eye viewpoint of who we are, what we are doing, and how we will be remembered – as those crucial men and woman who were there, making history together with our True Parents.
18. Sometimes we get bogged down in the difficulties of our daily life – and In Jin Nim is no exception. There is a whole lot of pressure at headquarters. There is a whole lot of pressure dealing with the family – trying to build an ideal family, dealing with all the issues that arise, vis-à-vis the spouse, the children, the in-laws, the relatives, her siblings in the larger True Family – and sometimes life becomes incredibly difficult. You wake up in the morning wondering if, "Can I go on another day? Is this day going to be worth it?" Sometimes things get so difficult and become so burdensome that you just don't want to get out of bed. You just don't want to take that first step to start a new day.
19. In Jin Nim knows that she is not alone in this. As someone who has five children and who is in the process of building that "ideal family" – "you know these wonderful munchkins, they are so cute and lovely, and you always wants to remember them as a bunch of angelic little souls when they are two or three, but they grow up, they have ideas and opinions, and these are all wonderful things, but trying to guide them in the proper way and trying to be there for them is not the most easy thing in the world. Sometimes it's much easier to be a teacher in the classroom than a mother or father in the home." A lot of parents feel this way.
20. Even though you are doing great work professionally in your particular job or career that you might have, if the family is not healthy – it is something that weighs in and around you, that has this incredible feeling of being slowly squashed to death.
21. In Jin Nim has prayed about this quite often and she has sought guidance from her Heavenly Parent and from our True Parents and from reading Cheon Seong Gyeong and all the different books that True Father has prepared for our families. But you know, you are never really quite prepared to be the parent until you have kids.
22. In Jin Nim shared about one sister who came up to her the other day. She has been going through an incredibly difficult family situation. She has been blessed and married for many years. She is blessed to a Japanese husband. She herself is Western. She said that ever since she was a little girl what she wanted the most was to be a great mom. She really wanted to be there for her kids. She came from a very abusive background. She was raised by her aunts and uncles. She did not know who her parents were until she was well into her teens. She thought that her aunt and uncle were her parents until she found out later in life that her biological parents were different people. Her aunt and uncle tried their best, but her uncle was a very abusive father for her. He was very much a taskmaster, a perfectionist, and she was never ever good enough. When she sought emotional support from her aunt she was nowhere to be found because she herself could not deal with her own problems, to be that kind of a supportive mother figure. When she came to hear the Divine Principle, and came to understand the importance of building an ideal family, of building the Four Position Foundation, she was totally transformed. She was on fire. She became a member, she looked forward to this beautiful blessing, and very much looked forward to building this ideal family. She shared that in the beginning things were not always easy. She always had hope and her husband was a wonderful Japanese brother. They seemed to be doing all right, but over the years they drifted apart. The husband became more engrossed in his work. He was never home for the children or for the wife. And the wife grew very distant, not knowing exactly what to do with all the pressure of raising all her kids. She said to In Jin Nim, "One of the most shocking things in life is that you are ready for most things to happen in this process of building an ideal family, but you are never quite ready for the things that are not so good happening to your kids." We as parents are never really prepared for anything bad happening to our kids. She was never prepared for her kids rebelling and going off and doing the things that are antithetical to our beliefs. She was not ready as a mother to deal with all these problems. But, on top of that, probably the most crushing thing in her life was to realize that her husband was sexually abusing their daughter.
23. And she said, that in a movement like this, where we are teaching about ideal families, we tend to put blinders around our faces – we want to think well of everybody. Sometimes even though we see the signs we are literally in denial. She felt that something was not quite right, but she was in denial that something like this could take place in our movement or to her, let alone to her daughter. She said that when she first found out, she wanted to die. She wanted to kill her husband and her daughter and everybody and herself. Then she realized that God did not put her on this earth so that she could end her life this way. "There must be a reason why I have been given this responsibility of tackling such an incredibly difficult situation. I don't know if I can quite make it through, but I need to talk to you, In Jin Nim, and I need to ask guidance, I need to seek your guidance."
24. In Jin Nim held this sister's hand and told her, "You are not alone in dealing with lots of the issues that we as parents never really thought we should prepare ourselves for. But you know, the world is ugly, and we are trying to build something beautiful out of a world that is still ugly. If you search back into your husband's past you are probably going to realize that not everything is beautiful. He probably has a lot of skeletons in his closet that he has yet to work out. You probably have a lot of skeletons in your closet that you have yet to work out.'
25. And so we are in this process of trying to build something beautiful together and while we are doing that, yes we are going to have bumps in the road, yes we're going to be faced with incredible difficulties and obstacles, but that is why we as a movement really need to realize that our dream and our desire to establish an ideal is an incredibly wonderful thing, but at the same time, we as a movement need to do that with our eyes open – in that we have to be cognizant of where we come from, first of all – what kind of families we came from. And so when we come together wanting to build ideal families we have to be honest with each other and the spouse – inwardly sharing the family history that is naturally going to affect the future of the family that we are building together with our spouse.
26. We have to keep our eyes open – in that things that we are not well prepared for, things like physical abuse, like sexual abuse, can take place in any setting. Just because we are a religious movement does not mean that things like this do not take place. They take place all the time. This is partly the reason why, when In Jin Nim started Lovin Life, a lot of parents asked her, "Where is the Sunday school? Why did we get rid of Sunday school?" It's because we as parents, in a movement like ours, have the tendency to basically trust whoever – and throw our kids at them expecting them to raise our kids. But we as parents must be responsible for our children.
27. And so when we go to church we need to go to church as a family. We need to worship together. We need to be cognizant of the fact that many times our children are being molested in Sunday schools. We need to be cognizant of the fact that we as parents need to be there to safeguard our children. We need to come together as a community and really talk about a lot of the ugly things that we don't want to talk about – and cleanse the air. Make everyone aware of the problems – and not be in denial.
28. And then as we move forward, build the kind of people that have the integrity to be great Sunday school teachers. Ideally they should be married. Not just young adults. Not just high school or college kids teaching our children. They should be a couple teaching. Step-by-step we need to build the kind of community that is safe for our children. And safe also means that we as a community must be cognizant of the fact that not all families in the process of building ideal families are ideal. We need to work on the relationship between husband and wife. Because, if it is not good, if it is not worked out, the difficulties will naturally be transferred to the children.
29. If the father is sexually abusing the daughter, it is usually because the father doesn't really have a relationship with the mother, does not have a good dynamic thriving relationship with the mother. And we as a movement need to talk about it, we need to address it.
30. As we move forward in building this ideal family, nation, world, and Cosmos – we take care of these problems, we stare them squarely in the face, we talk about it, people who need to seek help – to seek help, and they grow together, and we learn from our mistakes, and we start building and growing in wisdom, and we start to build a stronger and a more safe environment for our children.
31. When this poor sister was sharing her heart and the predicament of her family – she just wanted to give up on life. In Jin Nim shared with her a story that she heard a long time ago, a story that gave In Jin Nim a great source of strength when she had to deal with a lot of difficult things in her life. It is a very simple story, but if you really think about it and listen to it with your open heart and open ears and open mind, it is an incredibly profound story.
32. It goes something like this: there once lived a man who sold his wares at the market in his area. And he had a dear donkey that he loved. His donkey was the way that he would bring the different wares to the market and bring them back home. His beloved donkey stayed with him for many, many years. Although the donkey was an animal it was almost like a brother to this old man. And the old Man and the donkey grew older through the years and the donkey was always there as his faithful traveling companion. One day on the way to the market they stopped at the well. The donkey was extremely thirsty for water and the donkey, in his desire to satisfy his thirst, realize that he could not get a good look into the well just standing on his four legs. He realized that there was a plank leaning against the well – and so the donkey slowly walked up the plank thinking that he could look into the well and see the water that he would drink. But the donkey slipped and fell into the well. And so the man was faced with a dilemma, "How am I going to get my donkey out of the well?" But everything he tried was unsuccessful, and he finally gave up, because he was tired and old and the donkey was old. The old man thought to himself, "Perhaps this is what was meant to be. Perhaps my donkey was meant to fall into the well and die there." The man then thought, "Before I allow myself to come to that conclusion I will try one more thing." The old man then forced his weary body to go over to the market bazaar where together with his friends they discussed how to get the donkey out of the deep well. It was so deep they could not see the donkey when they looked inside. After much discussion and conversation they decided they could not do anything, they had no way to get the donkey out of the well. And so the old man and his friends decided that maybe this was meant to be. They should just let the donkey died. And then they decided to help the donkey die by throwing dirt into the well so that they would suffocate the donkey – "so he doesn't sit in the well for days before he dies." The old man thought, "Okay, that is a good way to do my donkey a favor, so that he can die faster." The gentleman, with shovels, one by one started to throw dirt into the well. And they could hear the donkey hissing and howling at the bottom of the well because he was being hit with all this dirt. The donkey did not know what was going on. This went on for quite some time, but after a while the men could not hear a thing. There was no sound and they thought that perhaps the donkey had died. To make sure that he was buried they kept on dumping shovels of dirt until they felt satisfied that the deed was done. Then they brought a fire and held it over the well to see if they could see anything. When they held the light over the well they saw something they did not expect to see. They realized that the dirt that they had been throwing, one shovel at a time, at the donkey, was something that the donkey did not allow to weigh him down. In fact they realized that every time they threw a shovel of dirt, what the donkey did was to simply shake it off. The donkey shook off the dirt and the dirt became the platform upon which he could stand, until the next shovel of dirt. This ingenious donkey used the shovels of dirt that were meant to bury him alive, as a means to get himself out of the well. When these gentlemen looked into the well they saw the happy face of the donkey looking up at them, having come out on the dirt that they threw at the donkey in order to kill him, in order to suffocate him.
33. And so the gentleman were incredibly amazed and they realize that this donkey had taught them and incredibly valuable lesson. It taught them this can-do attitude. They thought this was an impossibility. They thought, when the donkey fell into the well, he is going to die. But the donkey was not ready to die. He found a can-do method of getting himself out, using whatever he could, being creative with the very thing that was meant to suffocate him to death.
34. This story very much reminds In Jin Nim of a passage in the Bible, Philippians 4:13, where Paul is saying, "I can do anything. I can do all things through Jesus Christ. It is through Jesus Christ that I am strengthened." In other words, what the Bible is saying is that it doesn't matter what we are faced with in life, as long as we believe in Jesus Christ, as long as we believe in God and our True Parents, as long as we have this can-do attitude, this belief that I can do anything through Jesus Christ. It is the very thing that paves our path, it is the very difficult or obstacle that pave the s our path and that shall strengthen me.
35. If you think about the story of the donkey you realized a couple of things. You realize, number one, this donkey was not going to give up. It was not going to succumb to all these issues that arise from personal problems. This donkey had a major personal problem. He was stuck in a well with no friends to help him. His friends were actually helping him to die. If you don't call that a major personal problem, I don't know what is. In Jin Nim totally identifies with the donkey, many times in her life.
36. But also the donkey was not looking for an instant fix-it. We in our modern-day, in our modern-day world, where we are inundated with all these superficialities of commercialized living – we are so accustomed to instant Ramen, instant dinners, frozen dinners – instead of a nice home-cooked meal. Instant relief – if you are sick get an antibiotic, get yourself fixed – not realizing that if you take too much you will not be able to overcome some serious illness in the future. We are always looking for instant fixes. We have a family problem – throw your children at the Sunday school. Let the church fix our children, fix our problems. We want an instant solution to all our problems all the time.
37. The interesting thing about the donkey is that he was not looking for an instant fix it, for an instant solution – what the donkey was doing was taking things one at a time, one shovel at a time, using that shovel of dirt, one at a time, creating a foundation on which he or she can stand on in preparation for the next round – and so on and so forth.
38. We realize when we analyze this story of this ingenious donkey, we realize that this donkey was successful in terms of getting himself out of the well, getting himself out of this really horrible situation – turning his life around, being the master of his own universe, being that agent of change, taking something that is impossible, that is dire, that does not bode well, into an opportunity.
39. In a way the donkey was successful because he used the difficulty and the obstacle in his life as a steppingstone. He used each shovel as a steppingstone. Each shovel of dirt became another step on which he could rise and grow and he could literally pull himself up from the depths of the well to safety.
40. And if you think about it, another thing that this donkey did was to refuse to be buried. He absolutely refused to let his personal problems overtake him, to plague him so much so that he buried himself alive. What the donkey did was to simply shake it off. When we are confronted with incredible difficulties and odds and obstacles – to be that agent of change we have to make that crucial decision to do something about it. We need to decide, we need to tell ourselves we are going to shake off our problems – see our problems squarely in the face and deal with it. In our journey of dealing with, and building this thing called an ideal family. Ideal family implies that I have a lot of dealing to do – with all the different issues that are going to pop up every now and then.
41. And so, sooner or later, we're going to be hit with an incredible situation where we feel that it is a life-and-death situation, something as horrific as finding your husband as the sexual predator on your daughter – this is a life-and-death situation for most mothers and wives. But instead of letting that bury you alive, letting that totally crush you to the point where you are no longer good to anybody, we need to decide to be that agent of change regardless of what comes our way. And we start deciding to be that agent of change by making sure that we shake off that shovel of dirt that is meant to bury us each and every day. The donkey simply shook it off. Not only did he shake it off, he used the very thing that was meant to kill him as a firm foundation to rise above and to pull himself up and to learn and create new opportunities.
42. What the donkey did, which is incredibly important, not only did he use his difficulties as a steppingstone, not only did he refuse to let it bury him by shaking it off and deciding, and looking, and trying to figure out what he's going to do about it, but the donkey was incredibly creative. That is where this, tapping into our divinity, comes into play. We are not just walking and breathing cells. We are divine human beings, divine sons and daughters of God. We have within us an infinite reservoir of hope, of love, and of forgiveness. We need to tap into this once in a while, even at those times when the going gets incredibly difficult, and find the strength to be creative, to exercise this divinity – to transform our ugly world into something beautiful. The donkey was incredibly creative in taking an impossible and hopeless situation, a situation in which he was sentenced to die, and he used the very thing that was meant to suffocate him and turned it into something that was going to strengthen and bring him closer to survival, bringing him closer to seeing that light at the end of the tunnel, to bring him out of his predicament.
43. The donkey by tapping into his divinity, deciding to be creative, you feel like the whole world has just destroyed you and you have nothing left – finding that strength within to tap into that reservoir, our own divinity, deciding to be creative, to learn, to not die, and to continue to grow and thrive and find a way in which we can learn from our experience, to really share with others – perhaps help others who are dealing with the same fate. In Jin Nim is sure that once this ingenious donkey got out he shared with those other donkey friends. The next time you fall into the well this is what you need to do.
44. When we are stuck in these incredibly difficult situations, and In Jin Nim often asks herself, "Why do these things happen to me? Why am I put in these incredibly difficult situations? I had no desire to be senior pastor in my life. But as I grew through all of the difficulties that were thrown in my direction I realized that perhaps I had to go through that in order to be that kind of ears for lots of brothers and sisters who share similar fates and situations, and truly be that kind of a person who understands their suffering and who can still be in a position to say, 'if I can do it you can do it – we can do it together.'"
45. So this donkey story, as In Jin Nim told it to this sister, should be an example of great hope – in that, yes, what happened to this sister is unbelievably tragic in one sense, but perhaps God knows that she has the strength to take her family through this, to perhaps find the strength to help her husband seek help, seek therapy – perhaps have the strength to help her daughter through this incredibly difficult process and be the kind of mother that is going to change her daughter's life for the better.
46. When we think about our lives, and we think about all the things that we experience en route to building this thing called an ideal family, we realize that it is a process, it's a journey. There is a lot of good, but also there is a lot of bad. And there's a lot of happy, but there's also a lot of sad. There is a lot of laughter, but there are a lot of tears as well.
47. We as a community, respecting each other, in truly wanting to build this great community of ideal families that can be the cornerstone of a society in the world – sometimes we are thinking, so many things that we are dealing with, "I haven't found what I'm looking for." Perhaps we are so busy looking for things, we don't realize that maybe the solution lies within our hands, maybe the solution lies with me – like the way the donkey realized, "I can start looking and continue looking for ways to get myself out of this predicament or I can sit here and say I still haven't found what I'm looking for." But if the donkey didn't own his own circumstance, his own situation, and really take charge of his life and realize that he or she was the very thing that was going to get him or her out of that situation, then the donkey would have been a dead donkey. Likewise we have to realize that in every difficult situation, we can always be the kind of people who give or who receive, we can always be the kind of people who sit waiting to receive a solution, or we can be the kind of people who look into ourselves, realizing that we are divine creatures – deciding that we are going to change our lives and we are going to change our families, and instead of waiting for everyone else to solve our problems, we are going to solve our problems, one step at a time.
48. As a movement, In Jin Nim feels that it is incredibly important – that many times when we are dealing with our family problems, nobody likes to deal with family problems. It is one of the most painful and difficult things to deal with as human beings. And sometimes in a religious movement like ours it is wonderful having all these different workshops and places like Chung Pyung where we can go for 40 days and not have to think about our families, where we send our children off to camp and not have to think about them. We are constantly sending each other to all of these places that are supposed to solve our problems – running away from our problems, not really dealing with them.
49. When we are struggling and when we cannot be in denial, and actually talk about some of the things that have taken place and are taking place – we need to realize that part of the most difficult thing about being that ideal family is being a parent. Nobody gave us a manual on being a parent, but it is really an opportunity for all of us to do just that – so that we can fully understand what it means to experience the heart of God. Just as God experienced losing his children, just as God experienced his children, watching his children kill themselves, rape and pillage, hate each other, and speak badly of each other – so too, we as parents, in our desire to understand the heart of God, might be placed in these situations where difficulties such as the one that this sister is dealing with, might arise.
50. But when we find ourselves in that situation, think about the story of the donkey and think about who we are. We are not meant to be failures. God did not create us to be failures in life. God put us here for a reason. And if this sister can truly take herself out, and instead of wanting to run away from her family – because the first thing she said was that she wanted to go on a holiday, she wanted to run away from everybody. She said, "Either I kill my husband or I go on an indefinite holiday." We want to run away from our problems.
"Best of time and the worst of times" from Charles Dickens book "A Tale of Two Cities"
51. But when we have that feeling, we have to realize that what we are experiencing and dealing with are the "best of times and the worst of times," as Charles Dickens said. That is what makes us human. And if we can have the strength to learn, and to persevere, and overcome – what we can do is, believing in Jesus, going through the difficulties, going through the obstacles and impossibilities that life puts in our path – we will be that much strengthened. "The odds and the suffering and the obstacles will strengthen – me and will strengthen you"
52. "Brothers and sisters, as each family tackles their own problems and difficulties – we as a community should be cognizant that we are all a work in progress. We all need to be supportive of each other and give each family the space and the means to work out their problems. So instead of finger-pointing, instead of saying, 'why did this happen? It's because this person and this person – all the reasons why this happens' – we should be the kind of community that really tries to be there for people going through difficult times. Because sooner or later, you or me are going to go through difficult times to. And when we are going through difficult times, do we want our community pointing fingers at us, judging us? If we don't want that then we should not do that to our brothers and sisters."
53. As you move forward in building healthier and stronger families and communities, let us do so with this incredible feeling of inspiration in that we are working towards something incredibly beautiful. In the meantime, there might be situations where things might not be so beautiful. In fact, things might be downright ugly. But, we need to see it for what it is, we should not be in denial, we cannot swipe it under the rug as if nothing happened. We need to treat what has gone wrong, learn from it, and then, like that donkey – refusing to give up, refusing to allow personal problems to bury him, refusing quick fix solutions, instant solutions – understanding that life is a course, that every success always hinges on hard work, lots of sweat, blood, and tears, and a lot of prayer.
54. As In Jin Nim continues to say her prayers for this sister and her family, she is hoping that we and our movement can be the kind of movement that cares, that is supportive, and that can continue to be creative in this process of building one family under God.
Boeing 747
55. "Brothers and sisters, we have to understand that, as I took this long flight back home, I realized that God and our True Parents are like the control towers at the airport. They are the ones directing our flight in and out of the airport. We, as that great and majestic Boeing 747 or Airbus or whatever we are – we can be this incredible machine that can take ourselves through incredible journeys in life. In a way when we take off from the airport we have a clear destination. We know where we are taking off from and we know where we would like to go, but it is the control tower that guides us through the process and brings us home. So regardless of how great or how far we might fly, sooner or later we all need to come down. It doesn't matter how fast you go, how brilliantly you fly or how high you fly, it doesn't matter if you're a Concorde or a propeller plane, it doesn't matter if you are a shuttle, sooner or later we all must come down. In other words we all must come home."
56. "And what brings us home, brothers and sisters? It is God and our True Parents. They are our control tower and we have to understand very clearly that at every airport you cannot have two or three control towers. There must only be one. So we must understand that we, as the eternal sons and daughters wanting to build ideal families, we have to be absolutely united – with the signals and guidance that the control tower is sending us. And as a movement not be confused by the other static in the air. When you're coming home, when you are about to land and you are receiving two conflicting signals – that does not bode well for the coming home process. So we have to have a clear channel to God and to our True Parents. And when we are totally united, sooner or later, regardless of how far, how brilliant the flight, or how difficult and turbulent the flight, they will always see us home."
57. "So brothers and sisters, go knowing that you are in good hands. Regardless of how difficult life or every day might be, be inspired in the dream of one family under God and know that every difficulty and obstacle is in a way an invitation for us to be creative – seeing our difficulties as stepping stones, giving us the opportunity to shake it off, to not bury us alive, giving us a platform on which we can exercise the divinity within and find the strength within to change our lives and change our world.
Notes:
Philippians, chapter 4
1: Therefore, my brethren, whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, stand firm thus in the Lord, my beloved.
2: I entreat Eu-o'dia and I entreat Syn'tyche to agree in the Lord.
3: And I ask you also, true yokefellow, help these women, for they have labored side by side with me in the gospel together with Clement and the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in the book of life.
4: Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice.
5: Let all men know your forbearance. The Lord is at hand.
6: Have no anxiety about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.
7: And the peace of God, which passes all understanding, will keep your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
8: Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.
9: What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, do; and the God of peace will be with you.
10: I rejoice in the Lord greatly that now at length you have revived your concern for me; you were indeed concerned for me, but you had no opportunity.
11: Not that I complain of want; for I have learned, in whatever state I am, to be content.
12: I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound; in any and all circumstances I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and want.
13: I can do all things in him who strengthens me.
14: Yet it was kind of you to share my trouble.
15: And you Philippians yourselves know that in the beginning of the gospel, when I left Macedo'nia, no church entered into partnership with me in giving and receiving except you only;
16: for even in Thessaloni'ca you sent me help once and again.
17: Not that I seek the gift; but I seek the fruit which increases to your credit.
18: I have received full payment, and more; I am filled, having received from Epaphrodi'tus the gifts you sent, a fragrant offering, a sacrifice acceptable and pleasing to God.
19: And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.
20: To our God and Father be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
21: Greet every saint in Christ Jesus. The brethren who are with me greet you.
22: All the saints greet you, especially those of Caesar's household.
23: The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.
Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities
"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to heaven, we were all going direct the other way - in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only. "
