Tunnel Vision

Tunnel vision – limited vision, as in seeing only your own point of view.

LinLi’s parents were both in the hospital with pneumonia and double pneumonia. Shane and Shelly and James of JiuLian group went to visit and pray for them. The Hardin family went to visit and pray for them.

After the hospital and during Spring Festival LinLi’s parents came to visit our house. LinLi’s Dad is a stock broker, so a lot of the conversation in the past was about the news, American and Chinese culture, and active ways to approach life. GaoYan sees him as her tea teacher. Just as GaoYan was pouring the first tiny cup of tea, LinLi’s parents both got out their iphones and began an extravaganza talking about their new found faith in Jesus Christ. “Check out this jesusvideo.org. My daughter loaded a Bible on my phone. It has large print so I can see it. Before I would read the Bible and the print was so small the lines would run together. I can just enter the verse so I don’t have to turn pages of a thick Bible. I can search words like Eagle Isaiah 40:31. Each morning I listen to this short devotion and pray.” We passed iphones and tiny tea cups around the table for two hours. They are so excited. Jesus is all they can talk about now.

GaoYan and I both said, “We are really encouraged you came to visit and talk. Shane had invited us to go to his hometown, BUT our kids were tired of Spring Festival visiting. AND we did not want to be an inconvenience for Shane’s family. AND it’s a two hour drive in Spring Festival traffic. AND it is cold and rainy. …”

For certain, I spend most of my days seeing with tunnel vision. I get so focused on my own little worries, complaints, excuses, and doubts. I have lived with tunnel vision so long I can even put a big silly grin on my face standing in the tunnel.



I am surprised and amazed when God shows us just a little bit of His big picture. God’s designs and plans are so great, so powerful I don’t really believe it until I see it.

LinLi’s Dad announced, “Tomorrow your family will go to Shane’s home. We would go ourselves but LinLi’s mom still has one more day of IV at the hospital.”

Valentine’s Day. Just as we drove out of a mountain tunnel with views of a new valley, LinLi’s parents called. “Mom is finished getting the IV. We are on the way and will also eat supper with Shane’s family tonight.”

Shane’s family was hosting a large gathering of relatives for the Spring Festival.

Shane’s Dad said, “We are so happy for the friends Shane has met in Hangzhou. We are so proud of Shane.”
LinLi’s Dad confirmed, “They are all good people and Shane is a good person for one reason. They believe in Jesus. You must also believe in Jesus.”

Shane’s parents and LinLi’s parents have a lot in common. They are almost the same age. They both have children that attend our church family. They were both probably wondering, “What do they do meeting together every Sunday?” Their parents talked about LinLi moving to America and Shane’s plans to move to America and study. We got Caleb and Joy up to bed. LinLi’s parents and Shane’s parents talked and talked until midnight mostly about Jesus living in people’s lives.



"By God’s grace I pray to encourage Shane to share Jesus with his large family.” "Little by little they will believe. We will pray.” Prayers and tunnel pictures from visiting Shane’s family two years ago February 2011.