Umbrellas

by Michelle Chai Song

It was another day in Uijeongbu, Korea. The forecast had predicted heavy thundershowers—but I hoped the meteorologists were wrong. My cousin and I needed to take a trip on the subway.

I looked out the window and then turned to my cousin. “No rain yet. Maybe we can get to Chamshil village without getting wet.”

A few minutes later, we opened the door to leave. “Oh, no,” I groaned. “It’s pouring—and it looks like it’s getting worse! We’re going to be soaked from head to foot.”

“Well, you could always take these.” My mother held out a couple of umbrellas.



Of course! “Thanks, Mom!” We grabbed the umbrellas, said a hurried goodbye, and started off.

We walked until we were able to flag down a taxi that took us to the Uijeongbu subway station. We dashed into the station to buy tickets. Then we hurried down the outdoor stairs toward the boarding area. Meanwhile, the rain continued to pour.

Below us, a large group of people had crowded underneath the stairs, trying to get a little shelter from the rain. The subway was scheduled to leave soon, and they were quite a distance from the boarding area. But they didn’t have umbrellas—so they huddled in the driest place they could find.

I noticed that the people with umbrellas didn’t seem to mind the rain. Instead, they calmly made their way to the boarding area. Feeling very thankful for our umbrellas, we joined them on the platform. I glanced back at the crowd under the stairs. Too bad they don’t have umbrellas, I thought. I’m hardly wet at all!

Suddenly I thought of another kind of rainstorm we will soon face—a much more dangerous one. We all want to make it through the time of trouble at the end of the world, but very few of us are willing to prepare. To be ready, we each need to keep our umbrella on hand.

That umbrella is the Word of God. As we cover ourselves with its beautiful truths, God sends us His power and His Spirit. Sadly, too many of us will neglect to do this. Then, when the storm comes, we will not have the Word of truth in our minds, hearts, and actions.

Right there on that subway platform, I made up my mind to always have my “umbrella” ready. As long as I still have the Bible, I want to study it diligently. Jesus said, “Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life” (John 5:39). I want to be ready for His coming!

When Michelle wrote this story, she was helping her parents open an English language school in South Korea. She was 14. Today she is married and is involved in children’s media ministry and is filming and producing children’s programs to teach character-building lessons and encourage children to make wise choices. She loves singing, music, books, and nature, and especially loves being a wife and a mother to two little boys.