⑫My Faith Journey: The Choir (En)

(How I came to join the choir, and my service in it)

I like singing. I hate giving speeches in front of people so much that it feels unbearable, but when it comes to singing, I can sing as much as I like.

When I was in my first year of junior high school, I wanted to become a it’s no oneesan(a singer on a children’s TV program), and I often watched NHK’s Okaasan to Issho. When I reached my third year of junior high school, I even said to my homeroom teacher, without any embarrassment, “I want to become a singer.”

There was no way that someone like me would not become interested in the church choir.

I secretly thought in my heart that I would like to sing as well, but I could not say on my own, “Please let me join the choir.” The reason was that I could not read musical notation.

But one day—I think it was during a prayer meeting—the pastor was giving his greeting when suddenly Sister T, who was sitting next to me, said, “Sister S is very good at singing, Pastor.”

I was surprised and denied it, saying, “Not at all. Not at all…”

Then the pastor, as if my lack of musical knowledge did not matter at all, said very simply, “Is that so? Then, Sister, please join the choir.”

In my mind, many thoughts were spinning around: What? I’m happy, but I can’t read music. What should I do? But I answered, “Yes. Thank you very much.”

I always think this: Jesus truly gives opportunities at just the right time. I had only thought about it in my heart and had not even prayed about it. Yet He always leads us in ways that we ourselves would never imagine.

God gives each person talents. Even someone like me—however small my talent may be—I wish to serve Jesus by using the talent that I have now. Therefore, being allowed to sing in the choir is truly a great joy.

At one time, when I saw people who were always doing inconspicuous services such as pulling weeds or cleaning toilets, I felt somewhat uneasy. Although choir practice can be hard, it seemed to me that I was always doing a bright, noticeable, and easy kind of service.

However, through one sister, Jesus taught me something. That was that talents are given to each person, and that each person simply needs to fulfill their own duty in the place and position they have been given, and that all kinds of service are equally important. When Sister I said to me, “You really can sing very high notes. That is a great blessing,” I was startled.

It was true that when I first came to church, I could not sing even slightly high notes. Although I was trained through vocal exercises, before I knew it, I had become able to sing high notes. I had never once thought of this as a blessing.

From that time on, I prayed to Jesus and offered my voice to God. I am convinced that God is protecting my throat and blessing it. Even if I catch a mild cold once or twice a year, my throat no longer suffers damage. I believe that my true work is to be a singer who praises God.

------ to be continued -----

p.s.

These testimonies are written in chronological order. Testimonies ①–④ tell how I came to faith in Christ, and the testimonies that follow describe my walk with Him. Please see the link below.

https://heidisstudyroom.blogspot.com/search/label/My%20Faith%20Journey%28%E8%A8%BC%29

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にほんブログ村　　　　　

多言語学習ランキング

Melody and Memory — Two Songs Found by Humming（En/It）

Have you ever had a melody in your head but couldn’t remember its title or lyrics? Recently, a hymn tune kept repeating in my mind. I couldn’t recall the words, so I tried Google’s humming search feature. 

To my surprise, it identified the melody as “Aki no Yowa,” a song from my junior high school music textbook.

I then discovered that the same melody appears in Japanese hymnals. 

Further research showed that the tune comes from the overture to Weber’s opera Der Freischütz, later adapted for hymn use under the tune name JEWETT.

This reminded me of another melody from several decades ago. A classmate once sang a mysterious song with a guitar. I didn’t know the language or the title, but the melody stayed with me.

When I hummed it into the Google app, I finally found it: “Gone the Rainbow” by Peter, Paul and Mary.

After decades, learning the name of that song filled me with quiet joy. Sometimes a simple melody connects different seasons of our lives.

                             ＊ ＊＊ ＊ ＊ ＊ ＊ ＊ ＊ ＊

Melodia e memoria — Due canzoni ritrovate grazie al canticchiare

A volte ho una melodia nella testa, ma non ricordo il titolo né le parole.

Recentemente una melodia di un inno cristiano si ripeteva nella mia mente. Ho usato la funzione di Google che riconosce le canzoni quando si canta o si fa “humming”.

Il risultato mi ha sorpresa. La melodia era anche una canzone del mio libro di musica delle scuole medie in Giappone. Si chiama “Aki no Yowa.”

Ho scoperto che la stessa melodia si trova anche nei libri di inni cristiani. L’origine è nell’ouverture dell’opera tedesca Der Freischütz di Weber. Più tardi la melodia è stata adattata come inno.

Inoltre, ho ricordato un’altra canzone di diversi decenni fa. Una mia compagna di classe la cantava con la chitarra. Non conoscevo il titolo né la lingua.

Quando ho fatto humming con Google, ho finalmente trovato la canzone: “Gone the Rainbow” di Peter, Paul and Mary.

Dopo tanti anni, sapere il titolo mi ha riempito di gioia e nostalgia.

A volte una semplice melodia collega diversi momenti della nostra vita.

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にほんブログ村　　　　　

多言語学習ランキング

「bad」と「wicked」から考える ― 英語の「悪」の違い

前の記事、11番目の証の日本語タイトルは「悪女と呼ばれた同僚」です。私の大昔の信仰体験の話ですが、まだ信仰的にも人間的にも未熟でしたが、自分でも理解出来ない方法で祈りが聞かれる体験をしました。それは今でも変わることはありません。

前の記事に出て来た「悪」を訳す際に、最初はそのまま「bad」を使おうかと思いましたが、最終的には「wicked」にしました。badとwickedは重なりつつも、重さと質が全然違う為、ここにまとめたいと思います。

①badの感覚（一番広くて日常的）

bad = 良くない／望ましくない／問題があるとても幅が広い言葉です。

使われ方の例

• a bad habit（悪い癖）
• a bad person（感じの悪い人／問題のある人）
• bad behavior（良くない行い）
• He did a bad thing（彼は良くない事をした）

👉 道徳的に軽い～中程度

👉 子どもにも普通に使える

👉 「嫌われ者」「性格が悪い」くらいにも使える。日本語だと「悪い」「良くない」「困った」 あたり。

日常的で、道徳的な重さは比較的軽めです。

反意語は good / right です。

②wickedの感覚（道徳・罪・意図が重い）

wicked = 意図的に悪い／道徳的に堕落した／邪悪な

重要ポイント

わざと悪を選んでいる

道徳・宗教・良心の文脈で使われる

感情的にも強い

使われ方の例

• a wicked man（邪悪な男）
• a wicked act（悪意ある行為）
• wickedness（邪悪さ）
• the wicked（悪しき者達←聖書的）

👉 罪・霊的・倫理的な「悪」

👉 軽々しく人に使う言葉ではない

👉 聖書・説教・文学で多い

日本語だと「邪悪な」「悪しき」「悪意ある」。

聖書や信仰の文脈でよく使われ、軽々しく人に使う言葉ではありません。

反意語は righteous / virtuous / upright です。

🔳badとwickedの決定的な違い

• bad: 直せば良いもの、改善の余地がある
• wicked: 裁かれる対象、排除されやすい存在

人は、知らず知らずのうちに「bad」ではなく「wicked」というラベルを貼ってしまうことがあります。しかし、11番目の証から、若い頃の私は正義感が強すぎると言うか、怖いもの知らずでしたね。😅

一つ説明が必要な言葉があります。

③「intercession」について

これは「とりなしの祈り」を表す英語です。日本語でも一般的な言葉ではないかも知れませんね。具体的に説明すると、「intercession」は、「自分のためではなく、他者のために神様の前に立つ祈り」を意味します。

文脈に応じて、次のように言い換えられます。

• prayers of intercession
• to pray for someone
• to pray on someone’s behalf
• to lift someone up in prayer

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多言語学習ランキング

⑪ My Faith Journey: Colleague Who Was Labeled a “Wicked Woman”(En)

(I was moved to tears by the Holy Spirit, learned a hidden truth, and prayed for a colleague. Through this experience, I realized that prayers of intercession are surely heard.)

At the very first company where I worked, there was a woman named K. She had a very straightforward personality, which was rather unusual for a woman at that time, and because of that, some people disliked her. Personally, I thought that such a person was far better than someone who was two-faced.

One day during lunch break, I was chatting with some coworkers when one of them said, “Hey, do you know who the three ‘most wicked women’ in our company are?” I could more or less guess who they meant, but since it was not a pleasant topic, I replied, “Aren’t the people who talk about others behind their backs far more wicked?” The coworker answered, “You’re right,” and the conversation stopped.

K herself knew that she was disliked, and so she kept her distance from the other women even more. I felt she always looked gloomy and somewhat difficult to approach, but I never disliked her. On the contrary, I was interested in her strong individuality, which was rare among ordinary women. 

One day, the two of us ended up having lunch together. She was much older than I was, and I sensed a deep darkness about her. When I invited her to lunch, she even said, “Are you sure someone like me is okay?” During the meal we talked about ordinary things, but I strongly felt that she was carrying a very deep suffering that she could not tell anyone about, though I had no idea what it was. 

When lunch ended and we were waiting for the elevator, I patted her on the shoulder and encouraged her, saying, “K-san, please stay strong. You’ll be all right. Do your best.”

After we parted, I went into the restroom. Suddenly, an overwhelming sadness came over me. Large tears began to fall without any clear reason, and I could not stop crying. I did not understand why I was crying, but I felt that the Holy Spirit must have been showing me something. 

Shortly afterward, a male coworker told me that she was having an affair with her supervisor, and that everyone in the company knew about it. That was why she had never been able to make female friends at work. I then understood what she had meant when she asked me during lunch, “Doesn’t it bother you to eat with me?”

In Christianity, adultery is considered a very serious and frightening sin. It was understandable that she was looked down upon. Even though it would have been natural for someone like me, who is rather strict about such matters, to think that way, for some reason I found myself thinking, “Apart from whether she goes to hell or not, human beings are truly weak creatures.”

The reason I had cried in the restroom was probably because the Holy Spirit had allowed me to feel her suffering. So I prayed to the Lord quietly: “Lord, I do not know all the circumstances, but I believe this is something that goes against the proper way of life. Please help her.” I prayed for her in secret. She had given all of her youth to that supervisor. They worked at the same department and had known each other for many years, so from a human point of view, it seemed impossible for them to part ways. 

Yet before long, she refused to go along with the situation any further and suddenly decided to quit her job and move away. The supervisor apparently did not want to let her go and desperately tried to find where she was, but she firmly refused to give him her phone number. She made a clean break from him.

Later, she left her next job as well and opened a pub, since she enjoyed drinking. There, a regular customer—a man sixteen years younger than she was—proposed to her, saying, “Close the bar and marry me.” I heard from a former coworker that although she struggled with the decision, she eventually married him and is now living happily. 

Through this experience, I learned that Jesus listens more readily to prayers of intercession for others than to prayers for oneself. That is because our personal prayers can easily become self-centered without our realizing it.

------ to be continued -----

p.s.

These testimonies are written in chronological order. Testimonies ①–④ tell how I came to faith in Christ, and the testimonies that follow describe my walk with Him. Please see the link below.

https://heidisstudyroom.blogspot.com/search/label/My%20Faith%20Journey%28%E8%A8%BC%29

にほんブログ村

にほんブログ村　　　　　

多言語学習ランキング

⑩My Faith Journey: My Grandfather’s Funeral(En)

(An astonishing miracle in which God completely protected us from idolatry and even guarded the weather through prayer without doubt)

One of the situations that Japanese Christians must approach with the greatest care is when they are required to attend Buddhist or Shinto ceremonies.

We worship God alone. Therefore, we cannot bow down at places where the dead, animals, or objects are enshrined, nor can we worship man-made idols. As written in the Old Testament in the Ten Commandments, idolatry is something God strongly detests.

Because I had been learning about the error and seriousness of idolatry, I was extremely cautious when my grandfather passed away and his funeral approached. As a result, my prayers at that time were urgent and heartfelt.

There were two main points in my prayer: first, that I would be completely protected from idolatry, and second, that we would be given good weather.

When people grow more “mature,” their prayers often include the thought, “if it is God’s will.” However, when I was still a beginner in faith, that hesitation did not exist at all.

Children’s prayers are often answered because they believe in God without any doubt. At that time, I believed just as simply: to pray meant that the request would surely be answered.

The night before the funeral, both the television and telephone weather forecast said that it would rain the next day—heavy rain, in fact. My mother was already exhausted just thinking about it, because the weather had been terrible at my paternal grandfather’s funeral, causing many difficulties.

I said to her,

“It’s all right, Mom. Tomorrow will be fine.”

She looked at me in disbelief and replied,

“That can’t be true. The weather forecast says otherwise.”

Of course, from a human perspective, there was no guarantee at all that it would clear up. But I firmly believed that it was God’s will for the weather to be good so that everyone could attend the funeral without hardship.

So I said confidently,

“Jesus will make the weather fine. It will definitely be all right, so don’t worry.”

The next morning, I woke up around five o’clock. It was drizzling outside.

Still, I believed the words of Jesus:

“Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.”

(Mark 11:24 NIV)

So I prayed in advance with thanksgiving:

“Jesus, I asked You to give us good weather. Even though it is lightly raining now, I thank You because You have already made it sunny for the time of the funeral.”

By six o’clock, nothing had changed, but I prayed the same prayer again.

(In our church, many people pray in this way—thanking God as if the prayer has already been answered, which corresponds to what English expresses with the present perfect.

In the afternoon, we went to my mother’s family home. During the morning, the sky remained cloudy, looking as if it might rain at any moment, but no rain fell.

My greatest concern was idolatry. Because my younger niece had just been born, I stayed with my sister instead of attending the funeral ceremony itself. We waited upstairs in a separate building of the house. Strangely enough, no one told us to attend the service or to offer incense.

When we returned to the main house, the funeral had already ended. All that remained was for the relatives to walk together in a line toward the grave.

As we walked, I looked up at the sky, realizing that it had not rained at all. Although the sky was cloudy everywhere else, a soft, circular light shone gently only above us.

I was amazed and thought, “How perfect. Normally, at the grave, people offer incense or flowers. Yet, for some reason, I was never placed in a situation where I had to do so.

Being completely protected from idolatry and having the weather preserved brought me immense joy. I said to my mother,

“See? I told you. Jesus is the One who listens to our prayers.”

The very next day, a storm came with strong winds and heavy rain. I was deeply impressed that shifting the weather by just one day was such an easy thing for the Creator to do.

------ to be continued -----

p.s.

These testimonies are written in chronological order. Testimonies ①–④ tell how I came to faith in Christ, and the testimonies that follow describe my walk with Him. Please see the link below.

https://heidisstudyroom.blogspot.com/search/label/My%20Faith%20Journey%28%E8%A8%BC%29

にほんブログ村

にほんブログ村　　　　　

多言語学習ランキング