It was in the 1950s; Xia Lin was then a high school student. She and Qin Feng who was a poor boy in the village were in love with each other. Xia Lin wanted to marry Qin Feng after her graduation from senior high school, but in that age when marriage was arranged by parents, she knew she couldn’t possibly be with Qin Feng without her parents’ agreement. Hence, Xia Lin told her father that she loved Qin Feng and had decided to marry him in the future. Failing to resist her repeated request, her father reluctantly agreed in the end though he had a dislike for Qin Feng. However, after she graduated from high school, her father suddenly regretted his permission. He said, “Qin Feng’s family is too poor. You will suffer in the future if you marry him. I have arranged a marriage for you. The fellow’s name is Liu Yi, and he is a quite honest person who works in a mine and can get regular salary every month. Marry him and you will not suffer wrong. I will arrange a meeting for you two in a couple of days.” Although Xia Lin hated such an arranged marriage, she was unwilling to go against the will of her father. It was thus that Xia Lin and Liu Yi met each other, and then got married after half a year.
After their marriage, Liu Yi often spent all night playing cards and mahjong with his friends. Even after Xia Lin gave birth, he still did that, without any change. Sometimes Xia Lin had to wash and cook, so she asked Liu Yi to look after their baby for a while. Liu Yi agreed readily. Yet, a few minutes later, there came the cry and scream of the baby. When Xia Lin turned around, she saw her baby was placed on the cooking bench alone and Liu Yi was not there. And there was once when Xia Lin was very angry that it was already midnight but Liu Yi still didn’t yet return home. She took her baby to his friend’s house in which he was playing mahjong, and then put her at the mahjong table. Liu Yi picked her up in one arm while he continued playing with the other hand. Seeing this scene, Xia Lin simply reached the limit of her patience and went back to her mother’s house angrily though it was in the middle of the night. Afterward, she encountered Qin Feng, whom she hadn’t seen for quite a long time. Qin Feng said, “Since he doesn’t treat you well, you could divorce him. I will take care of your daughter and you later on.” Xia Lin nodded and Qin Feng was only too happy. Several days passed, Liu Yi came with their daughter and asked Xia Lin for her forgiveness. When Xia Lin saw the sincerity of Liu Yi and the pitifulness of her daughter, her heart melted. Just like that, their family of three didn’t break up on account of this turmoil. Qin Feng didn’t have his wish fulfilled ultimately, because Xia Lin still chose her own family. Afterward, Qin Feng had his own family as well.
When Xia Lin was 30 years old, a friend, whom she hadn’t seen for ages, said to her, “Do you know? Qin Feng has died.” Xia Lin was astonished, immediately showing sorrow on her face, and then asked, “How did he die?” Her friend answered, “He was killed in a pit explosion.” One day many years later, Xia Lin told her daughter the story about Qin Feng and herself. At this time, both of them have accepted Almighty God’s work of the last days. Her daughter said, “We men have no choice about marriage; instead, it is in God’s hands. Furthermore, everything that God arranges for you is the best. Fortunately, you weren’t with Qin Feng at that time, otherwise it was you who would be a widow now. See! You haven’t endured any suffering with my father in all your life and have never worked. He is out laboring to provide for our family, while you are here living in comfort and ease and can go out to spread the gospel. This is God’s grace for you.” Xia Lin smiled and said, “Yeah! Such is the grace of God. Let’s read a passage of Almighty God’s words together.” “Fine.” said her daughter. After opening the book of God’s words, Xia Lin handed it to her daughter. She took it and began to read, “One encounters many people in one’s life, but no one knows who will become one’s partner in marriage. Though everyone has their own ideas and personal stances on the subject of marriage, no one can foresee who will truly, finally become their other half, and one’s own ideas on the matter count for little. After meeting someone you like, you can pursue that person; but whether they are interested in you, whether they are able to become your partner—that is not yours to decide. The object of your affections is not necessarily the person with whom you will be able to share your life; and meanwhile, someone you never expected may quietly enter your life and become your partner, the most important element in your fate, your other half, to whom your fate is inextricably bound. And so, though there are millions of marriages in the world, each and every one is different: So many marriages are unsatisfactory, so many are happy; so many span East and West, so many North and South; so many are perfect matches, so many are of equal social rank; so many are happy and harmonious, so many painful and sorrowful; so many arouse the envy of others, so many are misunderstood and frowned upon; so many are full of joy, so many are awash with tears and bring despair…. In these myriad types of marriage, humans reveal loyalty and lifelong commitment toward marriage; they reveal love, attachment, and inseparability, or resignation and incomprehension. Some betray their marriage, or even feel hatred toward it. Whether marriage itself brings happiness or pain, everyone’s mission in marriage is predestined by the Creator and will not change; this mission is something that everyone must complete. The fate of each person that lies behind every marriage is unchanging, determined long in advance by the Creator” (“God Himself, the Unique III”). After her daughter finished reading God’s words, Xia Lin said, “Right! Man’s marriage is in God’s hand. In my marriage age, Qin Feng was the one I loved; however, we were not a couple in the end due to the obstruction of various factors. Contrarily, your father who neither has the slightest sense of romance nor shows any consideration for or takes care of others, he is not my type. But pushed by all sorts of factors, we became partners and will live together for a lifetime. Marriage is not up to individual choice, it is all ordained and orchestrated by God. However, just as what you said a moment ago, my marriage contains God’s care and mercy for me. Despite the lack of some romance in life, I am living a quite steady and peaceful life, and besides, I am able to believe in God properly. All arrangements of God for man are the best.” Her daughter said, “Amen!”