nancy 2007-7-13 23:59
A Perfect Mistake (完美的错误)
[b]A Perfect Mistake
[/b]By Cheryl Walterman Stewart from Chicken Soup for the Soul
My Grandpa Nybakken loved life -- especially when he could play a trick on somebody. At those times, his large Norwegian frame shook with laughter while he feigned innocent surprise, exclaiming, “Oh, forevermore!” But on a cold Saturday in downtown Chicago, Grandpa felt that God played a trick on him, and Grandpa wasn’t laughing.
Mother’s father worked as a carpenter. On this particular day, he was building some crates for the clothes his church was sending to an orphanage in China. On his way home, he reached into his shirt pocket to find his glasses, but they were gone. He remembered putting them there that morning, so he drove back to the church. His search proved fruitless.
When he mentally replayed his earlier actions, he realized what happened. The glasses had slipped out of his pocket unnoticed and fallen into one of the crates, which he had nailed shut. His brand new glasses were heading for China!
The Great Depression was at its height, and Grandpa had six children. He had spent twenty dollars for those glasses that very morning.
“It’s not fair,” he told God as he drove home in frustration. “I’ve been very faithful in giving of my time and money to the poor, and now this.”
Several months later, the director of the orphanage was on vacation in the United States. He wanted to visit all the churches that supported him in China, so he came to speak on Sunday night at my grandfather’s small church in Chicago. Grandpa and his family sat in their customary seats among the sparse congregation.
“But most of all,” he said, “I must thank you for the glasses you sent last year. You see, the Communists had just swept through the orphanage, destroying everything, including my glasses. I was desperate.”
“Even if I had the money, there was simply no way of replacing those glasses. Along with not being able to see well, I experienced headaches every day, so my coworkers and I were much in prayer about this. Then your crates arrived. When my staffed removed the covers, they found a pair of glasses lying on top.”
The orphanage director paused long enough to let his words sink in. Then, still gripped with the wonder of it all, he continued: “Folks, when I tried on the glasses, it was as thought they had been custom-made just for me! I want to thank you for being a part of that!”
The people listened, happy for the miraculous glasses. But the director surely must have confused their church with another, they thought. There were no glasses on their list of items to be sent overseas.
But sitting quietly in the back, with tears streaming down his face, my grandfather, an ordinary carpenter, realized that God had used him in an extra-ordinary way to help someone whose need was bigger than his!
nancy 2007-7-13 23:59
完美的错误
文/谢里尔•沃尔特曼•斯图尔德
译/何朝阳
外公尼拜肯达观、幽默，尤其是在他与人玩笑的时候，常一脸茫然无辜的惊讶状，那厚实宽大的挪威体魄，随着他的笑声抖动着，“哦，就是这样的！”可是，在芝加哥那一个寒冷的星期六的冬日，外公感到上帝在跟他开了一个玩笑，而且，上帝没有笑。
外公是个木匠，这天他正在给他所在的教堂赶制木箱，准备装上衣服送往中国的一家孤儿院。完工后回家的路上，他伸手摸衬衣胸袋时，发现眼镜不见了。他记得早晨将眼镜放进衣袋的，于是连忙开车回教堂寻找，可遍寻教堂的每一个角落也没有找到。
外公仔细回忆这一天的情景，意识到眼镜一定是在他干活时滑落，掉进其中的一只木箱了。他的崭新眼镜要跟着运往中国！
那正是经济大萧条最严重的时候，外公养有六个孩子，而这副眼镜是他那天早晨刚刚花20美元买来的！
“真不公平，”外公沮丧极了，驱车回家时一路向上帝抱怨，“我一直真诚地奉献我的时间和钱帮助穷人，现在又搭上了我的眼镜！”
几个月后，孤儿院的院长来美度假，希望参观帮助中国孤儿院的所有教堂，这个星期日，他来到了芝加哥我外公所在的这个小教堂作演讲。在这个人数不多的集会上，外公他们一家坐在他们常坐的座位上。
“我首先要感谢你们去年给我们捐赠的那副眼镜，”院长说，“当时我们孤儿院刚遭劫难，什么都被砸坏了，包括我的眼镜。我当时简直绝望到了极点。”
“要知道，即便有钱我也难买到眼镜呀。没有眼镜我不但看不清，还头疼。我和我的同事们天天祈祷，结果，你们捐赠的箱子到了，打开箱子，发现最顶层躺着一副眼镜。”
院长顿了一会儿，会场哑雀无声，大伙儿屏息静气。院长接着说，“伙计们，我带上眼镜试了试，嗬！简直就像与我定做的一般！真是太谢谢你们了！”
大家静静地听着，为那神奇的眼镜高兴，可心里都在想，院长一定是弄错了，去年，他们的捐赠物品单上并没有眼镜这一项。
此时，坐在教堂一角的外公正在静静流泪。我外公，这位普通的木匠，正在为上帝以一种超凡的方式，借他来帮助一位需求比他更大的人而欣喜呢！