[A kernel fallen is an angel returning home]

Job 1:21 “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will depart. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised.”

When we were working at Dana-Farber in Boston more than ten years ago, it was Jingxuan’s colleague Mrs. Ping Gao who shared the gospel with us. Not only did we come to the Christian faith during our first church visit, our marriage and family life had also dramatically improved ever since. In particular, it was me who was greatly disciplined by the Lord on my manly and irritable personalities; the me who you know today is very different from the one I used to be.

It was around the Chinese New Year of 2004. Knowing the struggle between Jingxuan and me, Ping went out of her way to invite me out for lunch at the Longwood Galleria of Harvard Medical School that was just downstairs of our labs. She bought me a McDonald’s meal and, over the lunch, shared with me the hope that God may step in to help rescue my marriage. Thanks to this heartfelt conversation, I challenged myself to bring along Jingxuan to visit the church for the very first time, and with that, we entered the kingdom of God our heavenly Father. From then on, our lives were forever changed, for the good.

We were very grateful to Sister Ping and enjoyed the new fellowship with her in the Lord. Sadly, a few months later we had to hug each other goodbye due to family relocations. We went to Philadelphia, and they, Lafayette. Despite that our communications had decreased afterwards, we did learn from our communications once in a while that her career had been very smooth, that Zhaoqing's tenure at Purdue was flourishing, and that they loved and supported each other greatly while raising up their two adorable daughters. We were so happy for them. Thank God for His abundant blessings on them; God is good!

But yesterday, the news of Ping’s passing caught us unguarded. We could not believe this was true, but Brother Fu confirmed over the phone that our beloved sister Ping had gone to be with the Lord on Saturday, 2/20/2021.  Our beloved sister in Christ, a beautiful soul who loved so much of God and all people around her, had just left us like this? We were heartbroken. Our sadness was so unsettled not only because she was so young physically, but also because of her tremendous love for the Lord that feels everlasting in our hearts. Why would our Lord God not sustain her life so that she may continue to reach out to many more souls with the good news of salvation? Why had God called her back home to heaven when she was at the peak of her service in His kingdom? We found ourselves bewildered and weeping in this tragic loss of her life in our midst.

Tears over tears, we can only admit that God’s will is beyond our understanding. We could only trust that it is in God’s control that Sister Ping’s life had come to an end on earth, for His own glory. With tears in our eyes, we ought to look up to heaven and submit ourselves to His sovereignty, to trust and obey. We have to hold the faith that as we weep and heal, God will reassure us that He loves Ping so much that He had called her back into His arms; she is now safe and sound, with no pain. Moreover, we are strongly convicted that Ping’s “premature” departure like this is actually part of God's dedicated plan, that He wants to prepare the people around Ping for eternity, especially those who haven’t put their trust in Him yet. He will use this incident to open their eyes bright and shine, so that they may see the beauty of God’s salvation, and to live in darkness no more by embracing it.

We cherish the memory of Sister Ping, and we want to say thank-you for her being our angel, for loving us and sharing the gospel with us that has changed and given genuine meaning to our lives. Thank you, Sister Ping, we look forward to seeing you in heaven; wait for us!

For the two pictures that I shared here: The group photo to the left was taken in the DFCI lab together with Dr. Lizi Wu (shared with her permission). Sister Ping was the one in the lab coat. The photo was taken in 2004, in Mayer Building. The photo to the right was a group photo taken during the baptisms of mine and Jingxuan’s, on 02/29/2004, exactly 17 years ago, at CCCNE. You could see Sister Ping’s big smile in witness of our salvations; she was standing in the back row. Just one month ago (01/23/21’), during our most recent West Roxbury Community Fellowship monthly meeting, I shared these two pictures with the congregation recounting how God has intervened in our lives through Sister Ping’s love for us. We honored her with great admiration, without knowing that this would be the last time we thanked her while she was still on earth. Ping, we know that you are now in a much better place! It is so wonderful to have you in our lives. Thank you for loving us. Please rest in peace knowing how much we love you also! We could not wait for the day when we would see your smiles and hug you again, when our Lord would call us home to be with Him also.

Unless a kernel of wheat is willing
to fall to the ground and die,
Not matter how long it lasts,
it remains a single seed in sight [Matt 12:24].
But if it is willing to be consumed and buried,
Out of the ground it will produce a multitude,
recounting the miracle of life.
Lord, I’m willing (Sister Ping singing)
Lord, I’m willing (All believers singing along with Ping).

Are you willing also, my dear heart, to submit your life to God, so that a new life may emerge in His favor, and in Ping’s loving memory?

Yong Tang 2/23/2021 in His Boston Home
In Tribute to Sister Gao Ping who has returned to be with the Lord
(translated for Abby and Heather - we love you)