1 Run through the rain 雨中的记忆 She had been shopping with her Mom in Wal-Mart. She must have been 6 years old, this beautiful brown haired, freckle-faced image of innocence. It was pouring outside. The kind of rain that gushes over the top of rain gutters, so much in a hurry to hit the earth, it has no time to flow down the spout 她和妈妈刚在沃尔玛结束购物。这个天真的小女孩应该6岁大了,头发是美丽的棕色,脸 上有雀斑。外面下着倾盆大雨。雨水溢满了檐槽,来不及排走,就迫不及待地涌涨上地面。 We all stood there under the awning and just inside the door of the Wal-Mart. We all waited, some patiently, others irritated, because nature messed up their hurried day. I am always mesmerized by rainfall. I get lost in the sound and sight of the heavens washing away the dirt and dust of the world. Memories of running, splashing so carefree as a child come pouring in as a welcome reprieve from the worries of my day 我们都站在沃尔玛门口的遮篷下。大家都在等待,有人很耐心,有人很烦躁,因为老天在给 他们本已忙碌的一天添乱。雨天总引起我的遐思。我出神地听着、看着老天冲刷洗涤这世界 的污垢和尘埃,孩时无忧无虑地在雨中奔跑玩水的记忆汹涌而至,暂时缓解了我天的焦虑。 Her voice was so sweet as it broke the hypnotic trance we were all caught in, "Mom, let' s run through the rain "she said 小女孩甜美的声音打破了这令人昏昏欲睡的气氛,“妈妈,我们在雨里跑吧。”她说
1 Run through the rain 雨中的记忆 She had been shopping with her Mom in Wal-Mart. She must have been 6 years old, this beautiful brown haired, freckle-faced image of innocence. It was pouring outside. The kind of rain that gushes over the top of rain gutters, so much in a hurry to hit the Earth, it has no time to flow down the spout. 她和妈妈刚在沃尔玛结束购物。这个天真的小女孩应该 6 岁大了，头发是美丽的棕色，脸 上有雀斑。外面下着倾盆大雨。雨水溢满了檐槽，来不及排走，就迫不及待地涌涨上地面。 We all stood there under the awning and just inside the door of the Wal-Mart. We all waited, some patiently, others irritated, because nature messed up their hurried day. I am always mesmerized by rainfall. I get lost in the sound and sight of the heavens washing away the dirt and dust of the world. Memories of running, splashing so carefree as a child come pouring in as a welcome reprieve from the worries of my day. 我们都站在沃尔玛门口的遮篷下。大家都在等待，有人很耐心，有人很烦躁，因为老天在给 他们本已忙碌的一天添乱。雨天总引起我的遐思。我出神地听着、看着老天冲刷洗涤这世界 的污垢和尘埃，孩时无忧无虑地在雨中奔跑玩水的记忆汹涌而至，暂时缓解了我一天的焦虑。 Her voice was so sweet as it broke the hypnotic trance we were all caught in, “Mom, let's run through the rain." she said. 小女孩甜美的声音打破了这令人昏昏欲睡的气氛，“妈妈，我们在雨里跑吧。”她说
What? Mom asked “什么?”母亲问 Let's run through the rain! She repeated 我们在雨里跑吧,"她重复。 No, honey. We'll wait until it slows down a bit. Mom replied 不,亲爱的,我们等雨小一点再走。”母亲回答说 This young child waited about another minute and repeated: "Mom, let's run through the rain 过了一会小女孩又说:“妈妈,我们跑出去吧。 We'll get soaked if we do. Mom said “这样的话我们会湿透的。”母亲说。 No, we won't, Mom. That's not what you said this morning, the young girl said as she tugged at her Moms arm 不会的,妈妈。你今天早上不是这样说的。”小女孩一边说一边拉着母亲的手。 This morning? When did I say we could run through the rain and not get wet? 今天早上?我什么时候说过我们淋雨不会湿啊?
What? Mom asked. “什么？”母亲问。 Let's run through the rain! She repeated. “我们在雨里跑吧，”她重复。 No, honey. We'll wait until it slows down a bit. Mom replied. “不，亲爱的，我们等雨小一点再走。”母亲回答说。 This young child waited about another minute and repeated: "Mom, let's run through the rain." 过了一会小女孩又说：“妈妈，我们跑出去吧。” We'll get soaked if we do. Mom said. “这样的话我们会湿透的。”母亲说。 No, we won't, Mom. That's not what you said this morning, the young girl said as she tugged at her Mom's arm." “不会的，妈妈。你今天早上不是这样说的。”小女孩一边说一边拉着母亲的手。 This morning? When did I say we could run through the rain and not get wet? “今天早上？我什么时候说过我们淋雨不会湿啊？
Don't you remember? When you were talking to Daddy about his cancer, you said, If God can get us through this, he can get us through anything 你不记得了吗?你和爸爸谈他的癌症时,你不是说“如果上帝让我们闯过这一关,那我们 就没有什么过不去。 The entire crowd stopped dead silent. I swear you couldnt hear anything but the rain. We all stood silently. No one came or left in the next few minutes. Mom paused and thought for a moment about what she would say 人群一片寂静。我发誓,除了雨声,你什么都听不到。我们都静静地站着。接下来的几分钟 没有一个人走动。母亲停了一下,想着应该说些什么 Now some would laugh it off and scold her for being silly. Some might even ignore what was said. But this was a moment of affirmation in a young child's life. Time then innocent trust can be nurtured so that it will bloom into faith. "Honey, you are absolutely right. Let's run through the rain. If get wet, well maybe we just needed ashing Mom said. then off they ran 有人也许会对此一笑了之,或者责备这孩子的不懂事,有人甚至不把她的话放在心上。但这 却是一个小孩子一生中需要被肯定的时候。若受到鼓舞,此时孩子单纯的信任就会发展成为 坚定的信念。“亲爱的,你说得对,我们跑过去吧。如果淋湿了,那也许是因为我们的确需 要冲洗一下了。”母亲说。然后她们就冲出去了 We all stood watching, smiling and laughing as they darted past the cars and. They held their shopping bags over their heads just in case. They got soaked. But they
Don't you remember? When you were talking to Daddy about his cancer, you said, If God can get us through this, he can get us through anything! “你不记得了吗？你和爸爸谈他的癌症时，你不是说‘如果上帝让我们闯过这一关，那我们 就没有什么过不去。’” The entire crowd stopped dead silent. I swear you couldn't hear anything but the rain. We all stood silently. No one came or left in the next few minutes. Mom paused and thought for a moment about what she would say. 人群一片寂静。我发誓，除了雨声，你什么都听不到。我们都静静地站着。接下来的几分钟 没有一个人走动。母亲停了一下，想着应该说些什么。 Now some would laugh it off and scold her for being silly. Some might even ignore what was said. But this was a moment of affirmation in a young child's life. Time when innocent trust can be nurtured so that it will bloom into faith. "Honey, you are absolutely right. Let's run through the rain. If get wet, well maybe we just needed washing." Mom said. Then off they ran. 有人也许会对此一笑了之，或者责备这孩子的不懂事，有人甚至不把她的话放在心上。但这 却是一个小孩子一生中需要被肯定的时候。若受到鼓舞，此时孩子单纯的信任就会发展成为 坚定的信念。“亲爱的，你说得对，我们跑过去吧。如果淋湿了，那也许是因为我们的确需 要冲洗一下了。”母亲说。然后她们就冲出去了。 We all stood watching, smiling and laughing as they darted past the cars and. They held their shopping bags over their heads just in case. They got soaked. But they
were followed by a few who screamed and laughed like children all the way to their cars. And yes, I did. I ran. I got wet. I needed washing Circumstances or people can take away your material possessions, they can take away your money, and they can take away your health. But no one can ever take away your precious memories. So, don't forget to make time and take the opportunities to make memories every day! 我们站在那里,笑着看她们飞快地跑过停着的汽车。她们把购物袋髙举过头想挡挡雨,但还 是湿透了。好几个人像孩子般尖叫着,大笑着,也跟着冲了出去,奔向自己的车子。当然 我也这样做了,跑了出去,淋湿了。我也需要接受洗礼。环境或其他人可以夺去你的物质财 富,抢走你的金钱,带走你的健康,但没有人可以带走你珍贵的回忆。因此,记得要抓紧时 间,抓住机会每天都给自己留下一些回忆吧 To everything there is a season and a time to every purpose under heaven. I hope you still take the time to run through the rain 世间万物皆有自己的季节,做任何事情也有一个恰当的时机。希望你有机会在雨中狂奔一回
were followed by a few who screamed and laughed like children all the way to their cars. And yes, I did. I ran. I got wet. I needed washing.Circumstances or people can take away your material possessions, they can take away your money, and they can take away your health. But no one can ever take away your precious memories. So, don't forget to make time and take the opportunities to make memories every day! 我们站在那里，笑着看她们飞快地跑过停着的汽车。她们把购物袋高举过头想挡挡雨，但还 是湿透了。好几个人像孩子般尖叫着，大笑着，也跟着冲了出去，奔向自己的车子。当然， 我也这样做了，跑了出去，淋湿了。我也需要接受洗礼。环境或其他人可以夺去你的物质财 富，抢走你的金钱，带走你的健康，但没有人可以带走你珍贵的回忆。因此，记得要抓紧时 间，抓住机会每天都给自己留下一些回忆吧 To everything there is a season and a time to every purpose under heaven. I hope you still take the time to run through the rain. 世间万物皆有自己的季节，做任何事情也有一个恰当的时机。希望你有机会在雨中狂奔一回
2 The Key of a Car 一把车钥匙 A young man was getting ready to graduate from college. For many months he had admired a beautiful sports car in a dealer's showroom, and knowing his father could well afford it, he told him that was all he wanted 从前,有位年轻人即将大学生毕业。数月来,他一直渴望得到某汽车商产品陈列室中的一辆 跑车。他知道,他那富有的父亲肯定买得起这辆车,于是,他便跟父亲说他很想得到那辆漂 亮的跑车。 As Graduation Day approached, the young man awaited signs that his father had purchased the car. Finally, on the morning of his graduation, his father called him into his private study. His father told him how proud he was to have such a fine son, and told him how much he loved him. He handed his son a beautiful wrapped gift box. Curiously, but somewhat disappointed, the young man opened the box and found a lovely, leather-bound Bible, with the young man's name embossed in gold Angrily, he raised his voice to his father and said, "With all your money you give me a Bible? "Then stormed out of the house, leaving the bible 在毕业典礼即将来临的日子里,年轻人等待着父亲买下跑车的消息。终于,在毕业典礼那天 上午,父亲将他叫到自己的书房,并告诉他,有他这么出色的儿子自己感到非常自豪而且非 常爱他这个儿子。接着,父亲递给儿子一个包装精美的礼品盒。年轻人感到好奇,但带着些 许失望地打开礼品盒,却发现里面是一本精美的精装本《圣经》,上面以金子凸印着年轻人
2 The Key of a Car 一把车钥匙 A young man was getting ready to graduate from college. For many months he had admired a beautiful sports car in a dealer's showroom, and knowing his father could well afford it, he told him that was all he wanted. 从前，有位年轻人即将大学生毕业。数月来，他一直渴望得到某汽车商产品陈列室中的一辆 跑车。他知道，他那富有的父亲肯定买得起这辆车，于是，他便跟父亲说他很想得到那辆漂 亮的跑车。 As Graduation Day approached, the young man awaited signs that his father had purchased the car. Finally, on the morning of his graduation, his father called him into his private study. His father told him how proud he was to have such a fine son, and told him how much he loved him. He handed his son a beautiful wrapped gift box. Curiously, but somewhat disappointed, the young man opened the box and found a lovely, leather-bound Bible, with the young man's name embossed in gold. Angrily, he raised his voice to his father and said, "With all your money you give me a Bible?" Then stormed out of the house, leaving the Bible. 在毕业典礼即将来临的日子里，年轻人等待着父亲买下跑车的消息。终于，在毕业典礼那天 上午，父亲将他叫到自己的书房，并告诉他，有他这么出色的儿子自己感到非常自豪而且非 常爱他这个儿子。接着，父亲递给儿子一个包装精美的礼品盒。年轻人感到好奇，但带着些 许失望地打开礼品盒，却发现里面是一本精美的精装本《圣经》，上面以金子凸印着年轻人
的名字。看罢,年轻人怒气冲冲地向父亲大喊道:“你有那么多钱,却只给我一本《圣经》? 说完,便丢下《圣经》,愤怒地冲出房子。 Many years passed and the young man was very successful in business. He had beautiful home and a wonderful family, but realizing his father was very old, he thought perhaps he should go to see him. He had not seen him since that graduation day. Before he could make the arrangements, he received a telegram telling him his father had passed away, and willed all of his possessions to his son He needed to come home immediately and take care of things 多年以后,年轻人已事业有成。他拥有一所漂亮的房子,一个温馨的家庭。但当得知父亲年 事已高,他想,或许应该去看看他。自从毕业那天起他就一直不见父亲。就在起程时,他收 到一封电报--父亲已逝世,并已立下遗嘱将其所有财产转给儿子。他要立即回父亲家处理 后事 When he arrived at his father's house, sudden sadness and regret filled his heart. He began to search through his father's important papers and saw the still new Bible, just as he had left it years ago. With tears, he opened the bible and began to turn the pages. As he was reading, a car key dropped from the back of the Bible. It had a tag with the dealer's name, the same dealer who had the sports car he had desired. On the tag was the date of his graduation, and the words."PAID IN FULL 在父亲的房子里,他突然内心感到一阵悲伤与懊悔。他开始仔细搜寻父亲的重要文件,突然 发现了那本《圣经》--还跟几年前一样崭新。他噙着泪水打开《圣经》并一页一页地阅读
的名字。看罢，年轻人怒气冲冲地向父亲大喊道：“你有那么多钱，却只给我一本《圣经》？” 说完，便丢下《圣经》，愤怒地冲出房子。 Many years passed and the young man was very successful in business. He had a beautiful home and a wonderful family, but realizing his father was very old, he thought perhaps he should go to see him. He had not seen him since that graduation day. Before he could make the arrangements, he received a telegram telling him his father had passed away, and willed all of his possessions to his son. He needed to come home immediately and take care of things. 多年以后，年轻人已事业有成。他拥有一所漂亮的房子，一个温馨的家庭。但当得知父亲年 事已高，他想，或许应该去看看他。自从毕业那天起他就一直不见父亲。就在起程时，他收 到一封电报－－父亲已逝世，并已立下遗嘱将其所有财产转给儿子。他要立即回父亲家处理 后事。 When he arrived at his father's house, sudden sadness and regret filled his heart. He began to search through his father's important papers and saw the still new Bible, just as he had left it years ago. With tears, he opened the Bible and began to turn the pages. As he was reading, a car key dropped from the back of the Bible. It had a tag with the dealer's name, the same dealer who had the sports car he had desired. On the tag was the date of his graduation, and the words... "PAID IN FULL". 在父亲的房子里，他突然内心感到一阵悲伤与懊悔。他开始仔细搜寻父亲的重要文件，突然 发现了那本《圣经》－－还跟几年前一样崭新。他噙着泪水打开《圣经》并一页一页地阅读
着。忽然,从书的背面掉岀一把钥匙。钥匙上挂着一个标签,上面写着一个汽车经销商的名 字--正是他曾渴望的那辆跑车的经销商。标签上还有他的毕业日期及“款已付清"的字样。 How many times do we miss blessings because they are not packaged as we expected? I trust you enjoyed this. Do not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not; but remember that what you now have was once among the things you only hoped for 我们多少次地与祝福擦肩而过,仅仅因为他们没有按我们想象中的样子包装好?我相信你也 有这样的经历。不要在渴望得到没有的东西时损坏你已经拥有的东西,但要记住一点:你现 在所拥有的恰恰正是你曾经一心渴望得到的。 Sometimes we don' t realize the good fortune we have or we could have because we expect"the packaging"to be different. What may appear as bad fortune may in fact be the door that is just waiting to be opened 有时,我们并没有意识到我们已经拥有或本该拥有的好运,仅仅因为它的外表与我们想象中 的有所不同。其实,表面上看起来像是坏运气的东西或许正是等待开启的幸运之门
着。忽然，从书的背面掉出一把钥匙。钥匙上挂着一个标签，上面写着一个汽车经销商的名 字－－正是他曾渴望的那辆跑车的经销商。标签上还有他的毕业日期及“款已付清”的字样。 How many times do we miss blessings because they are not packaged as we expected? I trust you enjoyed this. Do not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not; but remember that what you now have was once among the things you only hoped for. 我们多少次地与祝福擦肩而过，仅仅因为他们没有按我们想象中的样子包装好？我相信你也 有这样的经历。不要在渴望得到没有的东西时损坏你已经拥有的东西，但要记住一点：你现 在所拥有的恰恰正是你曾经一心渴望得到的。 Sometimes we don't realize the good fortune we have or we could have because we expect "the packaging" to be different. What may appear as bad fortune may in fact be the door that is just waiting to be opened. 有时，我们并没有意识到我们已经拥有或本该拥有的好运，仅仅因为它的外表与我们想象中 的有所不同。其实，表面上看起来像是坏运气的东西或许正是等待开启的幸运之门
3 A carpenter's story 木匠的故事 An elderly carpenter was ready to retire. He told his employer of his plans to leave the house-building business to live a more leisure life with his wife and enjoy his extended family. He would miss the paycheck each week, but he needed to retire They could get by 有个老木匠准备退休,他告诉老板,说要离开建造行业,回家与妻子儿女享受天伦之乐。虽 然老板给他的工资很高,可是,他更想享受退休生活。生活总能维持下去。 The employer was sorry to see his good worker go and asked if he could build just one more house as a personal favor. The carpenter said yes, but in time it was easy to see that his heart was not in work. he resorted to shoddy workmanship and used inferior materials. It was an unfortunate way to end his career 老板很不舍得他的好工人离开,问他是否能帮忙再建一座房子。老木匠答应了。但是大家后 来都看得出来,他的心已不在工作上,他使用的是次料,做工也很粗糙。这真是一种令人遗 憾的结束自己事业的方式 When the carpenter finished his work his employer came to inspect the house Then he handed the front-door key to the carpenter "This is your house. he said my gift to you 房子建好的时候,老板前来视察,然后把大门的钥匙递给他,说道:“这是你的房子……,是 我送给你的礼物
3 A carpenter's story 木匠的故事 An elderly carpenter was ready to retire. He told his employer of his plans to leave the house-building business to live a more leisure life with his wife and enjoy his extended family. He would miss the paycheck each week ,but he needed to retire. They could get by. 有个老木匠准备退休，他告诉老板，说要离开建造行业，回家与妻子儿女享受天伦之乐。虽 然老板给他的工资很高，可是，他更想享受退休生活。生活总能维持下去。 The employer was sorry to see his good worker go and asked if he could build just one more house as a personal favor. The carpenter said yes, but in time it was easy to see that his heart was not in work. He resorted to shoddy workmanship and used inferior materials. It was an unfortunate way to end his career. 老板很不舍得他的好工人离开，问他是否能帮忙再建一座房子。老木匠答应了。但是大家后 来都看得出来，他的心已不在工作上，他使用的是次料，做工也很粗糙。这真是一种令人遗 憾的结束自己事业的方式。 When the carpenter finished his work ,his employer came to inspect the house. Then he handed the front-door key to the carpenter "This is your house..." he said " my gift to you. " 房子建好的时候，老板前来视察，然后把大门的钥匙递给他，说道：“这是你的房子……是 我送给你的礼物
What a shocked! 老木匠惊呆了 What a shame! If he had only known he was building his own house, he would have done it all so differently. Now he had to live in the home he had built none too well 真是丢脸啊!如果他早知道是在给自己建房子,他一定不会这么应付了事的。现在他得自己 住自己修得很凑合得房子了。 So it is with us. We build our lives in a destructive way, reacting rather than acting illing to put up less than the best. At important points we do not give the job our best effort. then with a shock we look at the situation we have created and find that ye are now living in the house we have built. If we had realized, we would have done it differentl 我们又何尝不是这样。我们漫不经心地“建造”自己的生活,不是积极行动,而是消极应付, 凡事不肯精益求精,在关键时刻不能尽最大努力。在生命的关键时刻,我们没有付出自己最 大的努力。等我们惊觉自己的处境,早已深困在自己建造的“房子”里了。如果能够重新来 过,我们定不会这么做。 Think of yourself as the carpenter. Think about your house. Each day you hammer a nail, place a board, or erect a wall. Build wisely. It is the only life you will ever build Even if you live it for only one day more, that day deserves to be lived graciously and with dignity. The plaque on the wall says, "Life is a do-it-yourself project. Who
What a shocked! 老木匠惊呆了! What a shame! If he had only known he was building his own house, he would have done it all so differently. Now he had to live in the home he had built none too well. 真是丢脸啊!如果他早知道是在给自己建房子，他一定不会这么应付了事的。现在他得自己 住自己修得很凑合得房子了。 So it is with us .We build our lives in a destructive way, reacting rather than acting, willing to put up less than the best. At important points we do not give the job our best effort. Then with a shock we look at the situation we have created and find that we are now living in the house we have built. If we had realized, we would have done it differently. 我们又何尝不是这样。我们漫不经心地“建造”自己的生活，不是积极行动，而是消极应付， 凡事不肯精益求精，在关键时刻不能尽最大努力。在生命的关键时刻，我们没有付出自己最 大的努力。等我们惊觉自己的处境，早已深困在自己建造的“房子”里了。如果能够重新来 过，我们一定不会这么做。 Think of yourself as the carpenter. Think about your house. Each day you hammer a nail, place a board, or erect a wall. Build wisely. It is the only life you will ever build. Even if you live it for only one day more, that day deserves to be lived graciously and with dignity. The plaque on the wall says, "Life is a do-it-yourself project." Who
could say it more clearly? Your life tomorrow will be the result of your attitudes and the choices you make today 就当你自己就是那位木工吧。在建造“生活″这所房子。每天要钉钉、铺板、砌墙。那么 你就该用心地去建。你的生活只能这样建造。哪怕你只在房子里住一天,这一天也应该活得 优雅、有尊严。墙上的铭言写道:“生活正如一项DY的工程。”谁能比这个说得更明白? 你今天的态度与选择决定了你明天会住在什么样的“房子”里
could say it more clearly? Your life tomorrow will be the result of your attitudes and the choices you make today. 就当你自己就是那位木工吧。在建造“生活”这所房子。每天要钉钉、铺板、砌墙。那么, 你就该用心地去建。你的生活只能这样建造。哪怕你只在房子里住一天，这一天也应该活得 优雅、有尊严。墙上的铭言写道：“生活正如一项 DIY 的工程。”谁能比这个说得更明白？ 你今天的态度与选择决定了你明天会住在什么样的“房子”里