💌 486. My children, growing like flowers by the grace of God, even in the midst of the adult entertainment district

Before opening my Jeong Hair Parlor, I had visited Cosmos Hair Salon, known to be the best in Naju, to see what other beauty parlors were like. Looking around it, I was sitting for a little while when the owner’s child came in and began to pester her, “Mom, give me money.” But his eyes were focused on me.

The owner was the hairdresser for whom I did bridal makeup when she got married and she was also a niece of one of my maternal relatives’ wives. At that time, I only had 1,500 Won with me meant for both my haircut and blow-dry. But I gave 500 Won to him, practicing Semchigo as if I had given it to my child and only got my hair cut. Despite my having little money, I had been there to gain experience to help run my own parlor.

The child’s behavior asking for money looked very ungracious. Later on, when I was running my parlor, one of my customers shared the same experience. “When I was in that salon to have my hair done, her child came in and said, ‘Mom, give me money.’ It did not look very good but I gave the child money with a heart of tipping for hairdo.”

After hearing her story, since I combined the parlor with our private home area, I sternly reminded my children against coming into my beauty parlor. With regard to my witnessing such a scene at Cosmos Hair Salon, I thought of it as the will of Jesus. So, how grateful I was! Then, my children began to enter home via an alley next to the building, not via my beauty salon.

As a result, despite my having as many as four children, none of them had ever come out to my beauty salon. This frequently led me to be misunderstood. My four children were very docile, playing without even making noises, (which made my customers unaware of the presence of my children.) Furthermore, in the eyes of the customers, a man advanced in age of the salon was commuting on a motorbike everyday, while the owner of the salon was looking like a 19-year-old girl. So, they would often talk in whispers, “Could she be his second?”

At that time, I had no idea what ‘second’ meant, only brushing off such comments without giving much importance to them. In reality, after I moved in, many bars began to open suddenly in the nearby area which I hated so much, for I was worried about my children’s education. But I thought that the Lord permitted it to show me how the world was going. So, I offered it up with Semchigo as if I received God’s love. And I turned all of my life into prayers, entrusting everything to God.

Even in the midst of the adult entertainment district, I was able to manage my beauty parlor steadfastly. Very thankfully, my beloved children, after returning from school, would stay in the room, study diligently and the older ones would take care of the younger ones, loving each other and playing together harmoniously. My children, growing up like beautiful flowers just as always by the immense grace of God, became a great source of strength and joy for me.

My personal reflection note with Mama Julia🌹💗 

Link 👉🏻

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScMn-IyINZ8oGN8Jv4M0-pozcdF67tEqzlPkk4s0EZKdnOdEw/viewform?usp=sf_link