God’s Covenant — My Father 上帝的約 — 我的父親

After my dad retired and he and my mum separated, I worried about him constantly. He was paying expensive rent for a very small place. He was on his own in Hong Kong, getting himself in and out safely, and all the rest of it. As his daughter, there was no way I could be beside him and provide for him the way he needed. Thank God for my second sister, who stayed near him and took him travelling.

自從爹哋退休、和媽咪分開之後，我就一直很擔心他。住的地方很小，租金卻很貴。一個人在香港，出入平安不平安，全都是掛心的事。身為女兒，我沒辦法周全地在他身邊照顧他、供應他。感謝二家姐一直陪在爹哋身邊，還帶他到各處旅行。

It hurt to think that my father gave most of his life to his family and came to retirement with so little to show for it. For all those years I prayed for him — that he would have peace from God, and be provided for by God. God granted everything I asked. He fulfilled His promises in the verses further down this page. Every one of those verses was given to me directly, about my dad.

經常覺得爸爸為家庭付出了大半生，退休時卻沒得到什麼，很心痛。那麼多年，我一直為爸爸禱告，希望他能擁有從神而來的平安和富足。神應許了我所有的祈求，也成全了下面那幾節經文裡的應許。這些經文，都是神直接給我、關於爹哋的承諾。

Some people think you should keep family trouble behind the door. Our family looked broken. But my father’s life was rich, and honourable, and a blessing to other people. Every one of his former staff, his friends at the bank, his customers — they all thought highly of him. That is why I want to share what God’s grace and God’s care looked like over my dad.

有些人會覺得家醜不外揚。我們這個家看起來是破碎的。但爸爸的一生是豐盛的、有尊榮的，也是祝福別人的。他所有的舊員工、銀行的朋友、客戶，對他的評價都很高。所以我很想分享，神在我爸爸身上的恩典和看顧。

What God did, in order

神所作的，一件一件

1. April 2016

   二〇一六年四月

   God prepared a home for my father: an unbeatable sea view, transport right on the doorstep, good air, and you did not even need an umbrella in the rain — you could walk from the flat through the mall straight into the MTR station.

   神在二〇一六年四月為爸爸預備了一個家：無敵海景、交通超方便、空氣好，連下雨都不用撐傘 —— 從家裡經商場就可以直接通到地鐵站。

   

2. After his surgery

   手術之後

   He needed somewhere to convalesce. My second sister and I looked everywhere, and within our budget it was very hard to find what he wanted — his own room, his own bathroom, somewhere easy to get to. The day before I flew back to the States, the two of us got him settled into a Christian nursing home that God had prepared for him: the Au Shue Hung Baptist Care Home.

   爸爸做完手術之後，要找一個康復療養中心。我和二姐到處去找，但在有限的預算裡，很難找到爸爸想要的 —— 獨立房間、自己的洗手間、地點方便。結果在我回美國的前一天，我和二姐把爸爸安頓在神為他預備的一間基督教療養院 —— 歐樹洪浸信療養院。

   It met everything he wanted, and more: a view of the hills, clean air, a Bible verse by the lift on every floor, and a big room. The medical team adored Daddy. And by then God had already, through my brother-in-law, introduced us to a friend at church who told us about a hospice that does end-of-life care beautifully — the Jockey Club Home for Hospice.

   爸爸想要的都有了，還多了些：看得見山景、空氣清新、每一層電梯口都貼著聖經經文，房間也很大。醫護團隊都很錫 daddy。而且那個時候，神已經透過姐夫在教會的一位朋友，介紹了一間善終療癒服務做得很好的院舍 —— 賽馬會善寧之家。

   

3. His last illness

   最後一次發病

   When my father took ill for the last time, my sister applied for a subsidised place at the hospice and got it. The full rate is HK$1,700.00 to HK$2,300.00 a day. We paid around HK$600.00. The one condition was that a family member had to stay with him twenty-four hours a day. By God’s provision and God’s grace, my husband and my child and I were able to go back to Hong Kong and be with my father to the end.

   爸爸最後一次發病的時候，家姐申請到以資助價入住善寧之家。正價是每天 HK$1,700.00 至 HK$2,300.00，我們只需要大概 HK$600.00。唯一的條件，是要有親人二十四小時陪同入住。在神的供應和恩典之下，我和老公、細路可以回港陪爸爸走最後一程。

   

4. 8 March 2019

   二〇一九年三月八日

   I had been back to Hong Kong so many times between last year and this one that I had already agreed with my boss I would return to work on 12 March. God let me be there instead — with my sister and my father, right to the end. Dad went on the eighth. The memorial was on the tenth, the funeral on the eleventh.

   因為去年到今年回了香港很多次，本來已經和老闆說好三月十二日就要回美國繼續工作項目。神卻讓我留下來，和家姐一起陪爸爸走到最後。爸爸三月八日走了，三月十日追思會，三月十一日出殯禮。

   Plenty of friends who do not believe said that God’s grace was plain to see on our family. When we went to the government office, they told us the usual waiting list would not get us a slot before 20 March — and then, because of our situation, they opened extra ones for us. The memorial was peaceful and warm. We said goodbye to Dad with tears and with laughter. Everyone in our family was there, including my mum, and so was the daughter of the factory manager, whom my father thought so much of, and his staff — all of them able to see him one last time.

   很多不信主的朋友也說，神的恩典明明白白顯在我們一家身上。我們去政府部門辦手續的時候，他們說一般排期最快也要三月二十號之後，但因為我們的情況，額外給了我們期。追思禮很安祥、很溫暖，我們用眼淚和歡笑送別爸爸。我們一家所有人，包括媽咪，還有爸爸很重視的廠長的女兒、爸爸的員工，都送了他最後一程。

   He was at peace. Daddy, I will see you in the kingdom.

   他很安祥。爹哋，到時天國見！

   

The promises He gave me about Dad

神給我關於爹哋的應許

The eye of the LORD is on those who fear Him, on those who hope in His mercy.Psalm 33:18

耶和華的眼目看顧敬畏他的人和仰望他慈愛的人。詩篇 33:18

In You, O LORD, I put my trust; let me never be put to shame.Psalm 71:1

耶和華啊，我投靠你；求你叫我永不羞愧！詩篇 71:1

Cast your burden on the LORD, and He shall sustain you; He shall never permit the righteous to be moved.Psalm 55:22

你要把你的重擔卸給耶和華，他必撫養你；他永不叫義人動搖。詩篇 55:22

26The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground, 27and should sleep by night and rise by day, and the seed should sprout and grow, he himself does not know how. 28For the earth yields crops by itself: first the blade, then the head, after that the full grain in the head. 29But when the grain ripens, immediately he puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come.Mark 4:26–29

26又說：「神的國如同人把種撒在地上。27黑夜睡覺，白日起來，這種就發芽漸長，那人卻不曉得如何這樣。28地生五穀是出於自然的：先發苗，後長穗，再後穗上結成飽滿的子粒；29穀既熟了，就用鐮刀去割，因為收成的時候到了。」馬可福音 4:26–29

3Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know. 6Behold, I will bring it health and healing; I will heal them and reveal to them the abundance of peace and truth. 7And I will cause the captives of Judah and the captives of Israel to return, and will rebuild those places as at the first. 14Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, that I will perform that good thing which I have promised to the house of Israel and to the house of Judah.Jeremiah 33:3, 6–7, 14

3你求告我，我就應允你，並將你所不知道、又大又難的事指示你。6看哪，我要使這城得以痊癒安舒，使城中的人得醫治，又將豐盛的平安和誠實顯明與他們。7我也要使猶大被擄的和以色列被擄的歸回，並建立他們和起初一樣。14耶和華說：「日子將到，我應許以色列家和猶大家的恩言必然成就。」耶利米書 33:3、6–7、14

1Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. 2In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. 3And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.John 14:1–3

1你們心裏不要憂愁；你們信神，也當信我。2在我父的家裏有許多住處；若是沒有，我就早已告訴你們了。我去原是為你們預備地方去。3我若去為你們預備了地方，就必再來接你們到我那裏去，我在哪裏，叫你們也在那裏。約翰福音 14:1–3