A Better Life

I had met Michiko just once through mutual friends and of course we spoke only in Japanese.  Then about a year later, the phone rang one day and I heard, "Hi!  This is Michiko!"  I was stunned.  Her English pronunciation was flawless and I blurted out, "Michiko, have you been in America?"  "Yes," she admitted, "I went to school there for a year and just returned."  She had previously graduated from a prestigious Tokyo college.

Michiko didn't want to live out in the country with her parents, so ended up living with us as she worked downtown.

A couple of months passed and one morning she and I were having an early breakfast before she took off for work.  Suddenly, as though she was talking about going on a picnic, Michiko said, "Well, today I think I'll commit suicide!"

Talk about dropping your cup of tea....I could have dropped the whole pot!

Needless to say, I canceled my normal schedule and spent the day with her.  Her inner feelings, so well guarded up until now, came tumbling out.  I'll never forget some things she said, like "As soon as I got off that plane back in Japan, something came over me.  Darkness.  I never felt that once in America.  There's  a heavy cloud hanging over Japan."  As we talked, when it seemed she simply couldn't continue living here, I chided her a little:  "Who do you want to do the Christian work in Japan if it's so hard, the missionaries?"

She sulked, "Your son asked me the same thing!"

Well, Michiko was marvelously spared that day and restored by the Lord.  She does live in the States and is in ministry for the Lord, serving him, and  taking care of her husband and family.