Which languages do you speak and how did that impact your life?
Languages bridge the gaps between peoples across the five continents. Yet language is not merely spoken; it is also expressed through the body, and sometimes these two dialects do not align. Who can truly fathom such complexity?
I speak English and Chinese—both Cantonese and Putonghua. In the 1980s, when I left school, English was the prerequisite for securing an office job or any position of stature. At that time, English was the sole official language, and without fluency, you became almost invisible—overlooked and underestimated. Today, both English and Chinese hold official status, though English remains the preferred tongue for international affairs.
Driven by my dream of visiting France, I also picked up a smattering of French—a journey far tougher than I had anticipated.
My first visit to France, however, was a painful experience. Most services—including public transportation and museum visits (the Louvre being my most longed-for destination)—were brought to a halt by a workers’ strike. You can imagine my frustration; it was not simply painful, but deeply vexing. Who could remain joyful amidst such serious disruptions? Nevertheless, I still hold deep appreciation for the country—its people, its scenery, its châteaux, and its cuisine, both in taste and in artistry.
I am not alone in learning a foreign language simply for easier travel. I have a friend who took years to learn to speak and read Japanese solely because he enjoys holidaying in Japan—it is the only country he visits.
But language is not just for maps and menus—it impacts life, one way or another. As for me, beyond human speech, I commune with the triune God in His language—the Word (Hebrews 4:12). The wisdom of God, which no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor mind conceived, has been revealed by the Spirit to those who love Him (1 Corinthians 2:9-10). A spiritual person learns to read people and discern their hearts—not only through spoken words, but through the language of the body as well.
Living is a lifelong learning journey. I devote my learning not only to reading people, but to reading the heart of God. That is how languages—both human and spiritual—shape my life, and hopefully, through me, touch the lives of others.
My travel experience in France was painful, even frustrating. But over the years, I have grown in the grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ, turning frustration into understanding, disappointment into empathy, and even hate into love. That transformation gave birth to the following poem. May it inspire you as well.
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✨ “Love, Not Hate”
Hate can plunge one into endless night,
Love can cover every wrong.
Hate keeps man dwelling in darkness,
Love draws him from shadow into light.
The seven passions, the six desires—easily caught in sin’s snare,
Yet love releases from the snares of lust.
Man’s joy, woman’s love—not free from envy’s grip,
But to lay down one’s life for a friend—this alone is selfless.
Lust comes and goes in haste,
Love alone will never cease.✨
en yan hua fang 