But how then can one attain significance in life? It seems that Ayi would encourage M to find significance through her career, working up to management one day and being needed by the company. “M shouldn’t get married too early. She needs to find a stable job first, become financially independent, get settled on her own, and then think about marriage.” If you are financially independent, you can also send money to your family and fulfill your filial duty, gaining significance in that way. My speculation is that to Ayi, a big part of a person’s significance is found through career accomplishments and being a loyal daughter.
Read MoreAt the beginning of April, a cosmetics advertisement by SK-II went viral in China. The video emotionally addresses the issue of “leftover women,” a social problem for women over the age of twenty-seven who are still single.
Read MoreBoth A. and I were pregnant at the same time, due about six weeks apart. She arrived in Dallas already at the end of her second trimester and in need of finding a doctor and learning the American medical system. I had opportunities to accompany A. to doctor's appointments, help connect her with pediatricians, learn how to install a carseat, etc. We wrestled through insurance, countless medical forms, figuring out what baby supplies she needed, and how to prepare for delivery. Like any first time parent, the process was a bit overwhelming to A.
Read MoreMy wife is an Anglo woman from Champaign, Illinois. I am a Chinese-American immigrant who came to the U.S. at the age of twelve. We realized that somehow, it seemed more likely to our host that a prospective pastor would have a romantic getaway with "his friend" than that we were married to each other.
Read MoreProactively prepare for marriage and parenting while you are still single. It takes years of learning and training to take secular jobs, let alone the roles of husband, wife, father, and mother of a family with godly values! One does not naturally become husband or wife after getting married, and one does not naturally become father or mother after having kids. These should be assessed according to God’s standards. Of course, it is not too late to learn for parents, as long as the Lord has not come yet; his “slowness” is the opportunity to repent.
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