I have been Recovered, J.M.P.

I was born in 1945 to parents 33 years old and 18 years old after they had survived the 8 year old WWII in China. They each had 12 and 6 years of formal education without any knowledge of God or the Bible; in fact, they were atheists. We moved to Taiwan in 1949, and in 1957, my mother divorced my father, leaving him with three children. My life was a battleground between my parents, and my mind was bombarded with my mother's condemnation of my father and every one else. This resulted in my becoming clinically depressed. Higher education (MS in organic chemistry from Ohio State University) did not bring peace of mind and happiness. My nine year search of the Scriptures and of God in different denominations was to no avail.

When I met the local church in Philadelphia in 1972, I had a sense of belonging for the first time in my life. I started to understand the Scriptures for the first time, and to experience the Spirit in every word (John 1:1 “The Word was God”). I learned to use and to exercise my human spirit. I replaced all the condemnation and questions in my mind with God's Word. The ministry of Watchman Nee and Witness Lee helped me to come to the Bible with an objective attitude, dropping all preconceived notions, receiving revelation directly from God's Word. The same good attitude piloted me to heal my own 30 year depression with minimum professional help. When my mind is filled with God's Word and with surrendering to Him, I'm happy and healthy. When my mind was filled with earthly concerns, I was depressed.

The local church gave me a healthy community in which to interact with people: paying attention to people, loving the people and being concerned with people, etc. All the positive involvements with positive people took me out of my depression. This ministry filled my mind with enlightening stories about my forerunners in Christ. The cloud of witnesses referred to in Hebrews 12:1 is cheering me on in my Christian race. I am running a race everyday!