On Sunday, October 25, Taiwanese flutist Jennie Lin shared her testimony at New York Harvest Bread of Life Church. She recounted her journey from a demanding career through the hardships of cancer, and how faith renewed her understanding of life, marriage, and music. When illness brought familiar melodies to a halt, she learned to entrust her life to God through treatment and waiting, composing a new song for her life.
Lin holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree and has devoted years to performing, university teaching, and broadcasting. However, a diagnosis of nasopharyngeal cancer disrupted the rhythm of her life. The pain of treatment, hearing loss, and inability to perform as usual brought profound loss to a musician whose career centered on music. The expertise and accomplishments she had built through years of hard work could not give her control over her health or future.
In her public testimony, Lin described how faith sustained her through those difficult years. Amid the ordeal of chemotherapy, she learned to rely on God in circumstances beyond her control. She came to see her treatment and gradual return to performing as a journey marked by God's grace and presence. Playing the flute again took on renewed meaning as a way to express gratitude and share hope.
The illness also helped Lin and her husband, Liu Zhangqun, rediscover one another. Appearing together on GOOD TV's “True Love Blog,” they shared how they had once been absorbed in their respective careers, but adversity gradually brought them closer. Through friends, they encountered the Christian faith, began reflecting on what makes life meaningful, and renewed their appreciation for their marriage. Their journey through cancer also became a process of renewal in their relationship.
From a musical rest to a new song, Lin's experience shows that even when life's rhythm suddenly stops, faith can provide strength to move forward. The life story she brought to New York Harvest Bread of Life Church also offers hope to those facing illness, setbacks, and family struggles: as people learn to trust God in weakness and love one another anew through adversity, life can still unfold into a new melody.
