Lina describes her experience of coming to know and trust God as an experience of learning to love. Growing up in a boarding school, from ages six to eighteen, Lina’s childhood was very lonely, and lacked tangible demonstrations of love. “My parents weren’t paying much attention to my emotional or spiritual needs, I think their main focus was my physical needs,” Lina reflects. From a very young age, Lina started to wonder some questions like: where do I come from? Why do I exist ? What’s the purpose of my life?
As she got older, Lina became interested in spiritual things as a way to feel less alone and trying to find meaning in life as her experience of growing up in a boarding school left her with lots of emotional trauma. Therefore, she was eager to seek a solution for self-healing and inner growth. Her grandma, who she spent some holidays with during her childhood, practised traditional Chinese faith such as offering food to the ancestors at shrines. Lina also looked into Buddhist philosophy, and the Taoist philosophy. But none of these spiritual systems or beliefs offered the real power for healing and change, and the feelings of love or security Lina was looking for, and she ended up feeling more alone and depressed.
In her early twenties, Lina kept searching for solutions for healing and to become a better person. But she did not know what was really missing from her life. One day on the bus, she heard a voice clearly asking her “Do you want to learn about love?” She knew it was very powerful and meaningful, but she didn’t know where it was coming from. Years later, she would know it was coming from God.
A few months later, she met a Christian man. He would later become her husband. He took her to church, and after a year of attending, Lina realised her lifelong longing for love, to find her purpose in life, could only be found in God, the one who created her and loves her.
At the same time, Lina was applying for a place to study overseas. She was accepted at a university in Perth and made the move to Australia just two months after she was baptised. She and her then-boyfriend kept up a long distance relationship, but Lina felt a lot of pressure from her family, who weren’t happy with the relationship. “He didn’t have a good educational background and he didn’t come from a rich family,” Lina reflects.
The relationship challenges for both Lina and her husband were what they needed at that time, Lina reflects. Even though it was hard, it was a true blessing for their marriage when they both look back later on. “In the beginning, I did not know what I really wanted in a relationship, it can easily become an idol for me especially since I just began to know God at that time”. So God kept them at a distance for a period of time so that Lina could establish a real relationship with God first and learn to trust in God alone.
When Lina came to study in Perth alone, it was the most difficult time yet the most precious time for her. “I never travelled and lived overseas alone and I had no one to rely on.” But Lina experienced God’s faithfulness, goodness, and discovered that yes, he is real and alive! Whenever Lina was in great need or in a desperate situation, God listened and answered her prayer. She learned the most important lesson of her life: that God is trustworthy and he is powerful and able to save.
Lina went back to China for six months after studying in Perth alone for nearly three years, and she and her husband were able to marry, and then a year and a half later her husband came to Australia to join her so they both could live in Australia together. In 2019 Lina was able to get permanent residency, and began working as a registered nurse. They have since welcomed children into their family, and have settled into life and church in Perth.
The transforming grace and love Lina had experienced in her own life led her to wanting to learn more about God. Lina’s pastor encouraged her to consider studying at Bible college. She also knew two graduates of Trinity Theological College who highly recommended it to her. “I want to serve God and I want to know more about him. I think learning theology is probably the best way to do that,” Lina explains. Lina also liked that Trinity valued face-to-face interactions between the teacher and the students, and didn’t rely on online studies.
When Lina looked at the outline of the course and the requirements for assessment, she felt overwhelmed at first. But in one of the first sessions at Trinity, one of the lecturers gave a study skills seminar on ‘The Pitfalls of Theological Studies,’ which reassured Lina that she was still in the right place. “He said the teachers were there to equip us to serve God, not to fail us, that they will do their best to support us.”
Her favourite unit so far has been Foundational Christian Beliefs, sharing, “I found it so rich. This course provided a systematic way of understanding all different kinds of topics like God, creation, humanity, Jesus and salvation. It was so interesting.”
The community at Trinity and just getting to sit and chat with her classmates at morning tea has also been a highlight. Lina particularly values the chance to build relationships with other female students from different backgrounds.
To anyone considering theological study, Lina encourages them to take the opportunity to study if it arises. It may just be a short time where you have this opportunity, Lina points out, and it’s better to take it rather than risk wasting it. Lina is now expecting her third child which means she has to postpone her study for a period of time. Lina is very grateful that she took the opportunity last year to begin her theological study as she believes it already started a profound change in her life.
Lina is deeply grateful for the love of God and its work in her life, and studying at Trinity has equipped her to help more people hear about and experience that love as well. Please pray for Lina’s pregnancy, her family, and an opportunity for her to continue her studies as she raises her children and seeks to share God’s love with others.
