(Minghui.org) Ms. Zhao was my neighbor. We grew up together. Her father passed away when she was very young, and she was raised by her mother and aunt.
She was a trouble-maker even when she was very small. Everyone in my subdivision knew that her caregivers worried about her. She was totally out of control during her teenage years. She drank, gambled, went to bars until late at night, and hung out with the bad crowds. Her mother and aunt could not control her.
I clearly remember one of her worst deeds. Her mother had late-stage cancer. She asked her dying mother for money to gamble. The cancer treatment already exhausted the mother's finances, so there was no cash at home. That young lady stole her mother's vegetables and sold them at the local farmer's market.
When her mother told me of this incidence, her extremely despaired face and tone could touch any coldhearted person to tears.
Gambling and Drinking Most Important
Ms. Zhao had two failed marriages and one daughter. The daughter could not live with Ms. Zhao when she grew up. The daughter later gave Ms. Zhao 70,000 yuan (about $10,000), and wanted nothing further to do with her.
Ms. Zhao's daughter a few years later, moved to a different city, got married, and had two children. She needed someone at home to take care of her children, so she asked Ms. Zhao.
Ms. Zhao moved in with her daughter, but instead of taking care of the children, she looked for excuses to gamble. She also needed to drink alcohol at both meals daily. Her daughter complained that the children could not fall asleep because of Ms. Zhao's alcoholic breath. This did not matter to Ms. Zhao.
Ms. Zhao also often cursed and had physical conflicts with her daughter's parents-in-law.
I thought that I should tell Ms. Zhao about Falun Dafa and the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance, but I did not believe that she would be interested.
Turn Around of an Almost Lost Life
Ms. Zhao came to my mother's house after the Chinese New Year in 2014 and asked for me. She had just returned from a trip to Hong Kong.
She saw Falun Dafa events, and read the informational materials about Falun Dafa. The wonderful power of cultivation impressed her deeply. Therefore, she wanted to practice Falun Dafa.
It was a surprise, but she quit drinking and gambling, as well as cursing at her relatives. In her daily life, Ms. Zhao tried to follow the principles of Truthfulness- Compassion-Forbearance, and conducted herself as a decent citizen.
She looked for me because she wanted to borrow more Falun Dafa books. I was deeply amazed by the power of Falun Dafa and was touched by the dramatic changes in Ms. Zhao. I regretted that I did not have the confidence to introduce Falun Dafa to her earlier.
Ms. Zhao recently visited me again. She told me that she played Master Li Hongzhi's (the founder of Falun Dafa) lecture videos and other Falun Dafa videos to her gambling and drinking friends, and now several of her friends also started to practice it.
Moreover, her daughter's father-in-law was impressed by the changes in Ms. Zhao, so he started to practice Falun Dafa too. Her daughter was very happy about all of this, and the family enjoys the harmony brought about by the practice.
