March 4, 2020
"Would you like to read this testimony booklet?" When Reverend Tsai picked up the book from the coffee table, I was attracted by the bold words on its cover. I recognized the title, "A Bruised Reed He Will Not Break," as an allusion to Isaiah 42:1-4. That passage prophesied Jesus' work in the world, including the healing of those in sorrow. God's plan to save the world through Jesus was predicted 700 years before Jesus’ birth in the book of Isaiah from the Old Testament.
When I took the book and looked at it carefully, I noticed the author's Chinese brush painting on the cover. The picture depicts light green reeds beside a stream. Two birds are flying in the same direction over the reeds. Three little birds swim in the stream with ease. After I arrived home, I sat down to read and soon finished the book. "What an extraordinary life!" was my sentiment after reading it. I planned to find time to visit the author of the story, Mrs. Madeline Lee Tan (or “
Auntie Madeline”).
On a foggy afternoon, I drove up on the highway to meet Auntie Madeline. Upon arrival at Auntie Madeline’s residence, the door opened with an amiable face to welcome me. When Auntie Madeline asked me to sit down, I noticed the desserts which she had prepared on the table. With curiosity, I sat and listened to her story.
In 1951, Auntie Madeline graduated from University of California, Berkeley. She met her future husband, Gilbert W Tan, at her graduation party. Gilbert was studying at Loma Linda University School of Medicine.The two fell in love at first sight, like a love story in a novel. Since both came from conservative Christian families and they had made personal commitments to serve God throughout their lives, they quickly realized that it was God who brought them together. They got married after more than a year of courtship. When the spring of life was blossoming, they worked towards the same goals as Gilbert pursued medicine as a tool for missions. Who would have thought that God had paved a difficulty journey ahead of them?
On July 1, 1958, Gilbert’s first day in his medical residency, he went for a physical examination and found that he had Leukemia. At that time, Auntie Madeline was pregnant, besides having a four-year old son and a ten-month old baby. After hearing about the incurable disease, Auntie Madeline fell into desperation and wanted to die to escape from this cruel reality. She said that she did not understand why God would break up their happy family. Why did God take away the most precious thing in her life? Why would He shatter their dream of serving together?
Amazingly, Gilbert was not afraid to die. He knew that death had no authority over him. He believed that Jesus had risen from the dead and had overcome death for him (1 Corinthians 15: 55-57). He knew that his sins had been forgiven by Jesus' substitutionary death. He had assurance of the eternal life he’d received through faith in Jesus, and understood that this new life starts here on earth and would continue on when he met the Lord. After death, the Lord would be with him forever (Philippians 1:23).
When Auntie Madeline experienced helplessness, God's love was abundantly displayed through Gilbert. Gilbert calmly instructed his wife, "Please do not keep asking God why. This is the will of God. How can we comprehend God ’s transcendent wisdom and plans? Now we only need to believe in faith, to endure, and the rest can wait until you see the Lord before Him! ''
Gilbert continued, "Our situation may seem very tragic in the eyes of the world. I have worked hard to equip myself throughout my life to serve God and people. I have just completed my training and received the Doctor of Medicine degree. This is supposed to be the beginning of my service.However, God is calling me to my heavenly home now. I have elderly parents, a nursing baby, and an unborn child. Even though we don’t understand God’s wonderful plans or why he choose to call me to heaven at this moment, he has other plans for you and those who remain in the world. In the future, you will have the opportunity to write our extraordinary story and to be a witness to the glory of our Lord. You must be strong, stand firm, and act as a child of God, so that our non-believing relatives and friends can see the glory of God through our suffering and endurance. God will take care of you and our children. Don’t be afraid, just believe (Mark 5:36). Let’s entrust our future to God’s plans."
While Gilbert was hospitalized to receive blood transfusions for his anemia, he continually preached the gospel to the patient next to him and eventually led him to the Lord. Gilbert did not let disease stop him from serving God. He said, "As long as I have one day of life, I will do one day's work for God. My parents raised me to become a vessel to treat the sick. I must use what I have learned to fight my final battle with death.”After his discharge from the hospital, Gilbert served as a medical doctor at a high school and opened a medical clinic in Sacramento. He also opened his own medical practice by renting a part of a clinic from Dr. Leslie Lee.
Praise the Lord! Although God had brought suffering to Gilbert, He also brought many relatives to visit. During this time, they enjoyed family fellowship every night after dinner. In order to build a family thathonored God, the children learned to pray as soon as they could speak, and they learned to say, "Thank you, Lord." During their family fellowship time, Gilbert accompanied the children in praise songs and he also taught the children Bible stories. Five months later, Gilbert could no longer delay the destruction of cancer. He battled with death in the hospital for four days before reaching his final rest in God’s embrace. At Gilbert’s death, Auntie Madeline’s heart was also buried in the grave.
Praise the Lord that Auntie Madeline began taking steps towards a better outlook on life. As she wrestled with feelings of desperation, she started to see Gilbert’s image in her children. She said, "I found Gilbert in the little hands of our oldest son, the cheeks of our second son, and the face of our newborn daughter." This made her realize that Gilbert was not dead; his legacy lived on in her three lovely children. On top of her new responsibilities as a single mom, Auntie Madeline found a teaching job where she developed a bilingual Chinese/English education program.
In 1968, it seemed that Auntie Madeline was enthusiastic to serve God, but she felt very empty in spirit. Due to spiritual emptiness and self-disappointment, Auntie Madeline stepped out of her traditional conservative church circles and began to seek God more earnestly in a gathering of Charismatic Christians. Previously, she had opposed charismatic movement, but as she saw many people being healed and set-free, she was not afraid. Praise the Lord for giving Auntie Madeline the ability to discern. She knew that the fruits of the Holy Spirit are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Galatians 5:22). She recognized the fruits she had seen in the gathering came from the Holy Spirit.
At ten o'clock one evening in 1971, Auntie Madeline knelt alone beside her bed and prayed. Suddenly she was filled with the Holy Spirit, and she could not help repenting before God. As she repented of her sin, self-righteousness, and judgment, she was cleansed by the blood of Jesus, and her tears kept streaming down. She was set free from her sin and was enabled to forgive those whom for years she had been unable to forgive. Without anyone laying hands on her, she miraculously began to speak in tongues. After Auntie Madeline was filled with God's love, joy, and peace, she came out of the bedroom, speaking in tongues, and raising her hands to praise God. Unexpectedly, her mother (who happened to be visiting at the time) also came out of her bedroom and raised her hands to speak in tongues, praising God. Seeing this unusual sight, Auntie Madeline immediately woke up her three children, and the family received the filling of the Holy Spirit together, cheering and praising God together!
After being filled with the Holy Spirit, Auntie Madeline was gifted with the power of prayer and was enabled to obey God's commands. She would not allow any separation between herself and God. As she dealt strictly with herself, the Holy Spirit empowered her to live out her identity in Christ. Through her union with Christ, she experienced the crucifixion of the sinful nature with its passions and desires (Galatians 5:24). Now Auntie Madeline was no longer spiritually thirsty, because she found the source of living water. Now Auntie Madeline became a person full of God's love, because she found the source of love. In the same year her oldest son also experienced a great spiritual renewal. He led classmates to preach the gospel in schools and churches. Her second son and daughter also worked alongside their older brother by leading praise songs and preaching the Word. At that time, Auntie Madeline often prayed, sang, and worshiped together with her three children.
Since the publication of the booklet, "The Bruised Reed," Auntie Madeline’s family has often been invited to speak at various churches, fellowships, women's groups, small groups, and class reunions. Gradually, God expanded the reach of Auntie Madeline’s ministry. The family ministry brought them to Alaska, Texas, and Georgia – as well as the Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, Mexico, Colombia, China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Singapore. Educational tools which Auntie Madeline learned during her time in Berkeley were fully utilized to teach middle school, elementary school, and bilingual education all over the world.
God is the craftsman of life. Misery became a blessing for Auntie Madeline. God healed Auntie Madeline’s heart and transformed her from a bruised reed into a useful vessel. Gilbert surrendered to God's sovereignty and displayed trust in God when he developed leukemia.Just as Gilbert expected, God was glorified through the raising of their three children, and many friends and relatives witnessed God’s glory through their suffering and perseverance. Every God-given desire was fulfilled one by one. Today, all three of their children have built their own Christian families, and each has served God faithfully. Auntie Madeline’s grandchildren are also serving the Lord in different ways.
Today, Auntie Madeline entrusted herself to the Lord and completed the journey in this world. She trusted the Lord to fulfill the wills from Gilbert. I know she can meet the Lord calmly and meet Gilbert with the intermingling of joy and tears. To God be all the glory!