(Minghui.org) My husband was sentenced to six years for practicing Falun Dafa. I cried until I could barely see.
Some people praised me for not leaving him, others found it hard to understand that I didn't. During those six years, I suffered many hardships, but I never once thought of divorcing him. I knew more than anyone that he could never, and should never, give up Falun Dafa.
A Broken Life
Soon after we got married, my husband had an accident at work. His arm was caught in a machine, his hand was crushed, and his arm was broken in several places. Doctors suggested amputation. He was only 21 years old.
I pleaded with the doctor, “Please keep his arm, even if it is not functional. He is so young!” The doctor explained the possible festering and infections if the arm was kept. My in-laws thought I would leave him because of it. I told them in tears, “I will take care of him for the rest of his life, even if he is crippled.”
I knelt down and begged the doctor to keep his arm. The doctor was moved and performed a six-hour surgery on my husband's arm and hand. Thankfully, my husband recovered from the surgery and his arm was saved.
However, his temper grew worse after the accident. He yelled at everyone and everything. He became addicted to smoking and drinking, and often got drunk. One time, he got drunk at work and broke 42 panels of glass with his bare hands. Three people could not hold him down. Nobody dared to provoke him at work and everyone avoided him.
He also started gambling and soon became addicted to it too. He kept losing money. I made a living selling vegetables, but all the money I made was used to pay his debt. One time, when I went to a gambling parlor looking for him, he came home, locked the door and beat me until my whole body was black and blue.
I lived in fear each day from that point until an unexpected miracle changed everything.
“Falun Dafa Really Changed You”
One evening in 1998, my husband happened to watch a video recording of a lecture by Falun Dafa's Master in someone's home. Miraculously, he became a different person the next day.
He had little education and did not like to read before, but he started to read Zhuan Falun every day. He would look up unfamiliar characters in the dictionary. He said, “I finally found my master. No matter whether Mr. Li Hongzhi is a person or a god, I will cultivate [this Dafa].”
He knew he had made many bad choices. He quit drinking, smoking, and gambling. He began to help out at home and our relationship improved. I am so grateful to Falun Dafa and Master Li for saving my husband. I cannot imagine what my husband would have become without Falun Dafa.
One time, he worked a night shift. But the next day a supervisor accused of him not being at his post and was going to penalize him. Incensed, my husband went up to the supervisor and rebuked him in front of everyone. The supervisor was embarrassed and slapped him in the face. Knowing what kind of person my husband was, everyone thought he would surely start a fight. But he didn't. Instead, he said to the supervisor, “I am sorry. I should not have talked to you that way. I was wrong.” Jaws dropped.
Later he told me that he remembered the teaching in Falun Dafa, “As practitioners, you won't fight back when you're beaten or sworn at.” (Zhuan Falun) Afterward his coworker said, “We didn't think you would tolerate that, let alone apologize! Falun Dafa really changed you!”
Persecuted for Staying True to His Faith
When the Chinese Communist government banned Falun Dafa in 1999, my husband was locked up at work for over 20 days, with people watching him day and night, because he refused to renounce his faith.
Then he was arrested for posting “Falun Dafa is good” banners in 2000. Police used several electric batons to shock him all at once. They beat him until he passed out. He was detained for over three months that time. I was frightened by the police brutality and dared not stay at home. For a while, I stayed with a relative.
In 2008, my husband was sentenced to seven years in prison for his faith. At first, villagers thought I would divorce him for sure. But I knew it was Falun Dafa that had changed my husband for the better. I worked odd jobs to make a living and visited him in prison. Eventually, people around me were touched. They understood, sympathized, and helped me. When I didn't get rightful compensation from village officials, my fellow villagers risked their personal safety to sign a petition seeking justice for me.
Since my husband returned from prison, he has jumped in to help with the laundry, cooking, and cleaning, etc. Neighbors commented, “Look at him! He looks so healthy--not like someone who has spent six years in prison!” And he is. He has not taken any medicine for 20 years now.
Falun Dafa changed my husband into a thoughtful, kind, and virtuous man. I'm truly grateful for this and proud of him for standing up for what is right.
