人生不設(shè)限·打開眼界，知道我的人生充滿可能性

小時候，我的眼界非常有限。我很自我，從來沒想過會有人狀況比我還糟，例如克里斯蒂·布朗。后來大概13歲時，我在報上讀到一個澳大利亞男人的故事，他遇上一場可怕的意外。我記得他是整個人癱瘓，不能動也不能講話，余生只能躺在床上。我無法想象那是多么可怕的生活。

At times in my childhood I had a limited perspective. My vision of my life was so self-centered that I never dreamed there were other people in worse circumstances than mine, people like Christy Brown. Then, around age thirteen, I read a newspaper story about an Australian man who'd been involved in a horrible accident. As I recall, he was paralyzed, unable to move or talk, and confined to a bed for the rest of his life. I couldn't imagine how horrible that would be.

那個男人的故事打開了我的眼界。我這才了解，盡管缺少四肢為我的生命帶來挑戰(zhàn)，我仍有許多值得感謝之處，我的人生還有那么多可能性。

His story helped to open my eyes and expand my vision. I realized that while my lack of limbs posed many challenges, I still had so much to be thankful for, so many possibilities in my life.

相信命運會帶來巨大的力量，你能因此移動高山。我是逐漸醒悟到人生充滿豐富可能性的。15歲時，我聽說了《約翰福音》里那個盲人的故事。他生來眼盲，耶穌的門徒看到他時問耶穌：“他天生看不見，到底是因為他犯了罪，還是他父母犯了罪?”

There is great power in believing in your destiny. You can move mountains. My awakening to the fullness of possibilities was a gradual process. At age fifteen I heard the story of the blind man in the Gospel of John. He'd been blind since birth, and when the followers of Jesus saw him, they asked their leader, "Who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?"

同樣的問題，我也問過自己：“我父母做了什么不對的事嗎?我做錯了什么嗎?為什么偏偏是我生來沒手沒腳?”

It was the same question I had asked myself. Did my parents do something wrong? Did I do something wrong? Why else would I have been born without arms and legs?

耶穌回答：“不是這人犯了罪，也不是他父母犯了罪，是要在他身上顯出上帝的作為來。”[11]

Jesus replied, "Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents." Rather, he was born blind "but that the works of God should be made manifest in him."

當這個盲人聽到這個解釋后，他人生的憧憬和可能性頓時發(fā)生劇烈變化。你可以想象青少年時期的我對這個故事產(chǎn)生了多大的共鳴，那時我很清楚地意識到自己跟別人不一樣，知道自己身體有障礙，生活處處得靠別人。

When the blind man heard that explanation, it changed dramatically his vision of his life and the possibilities for it. You can imagine how this parable resonated with me as a teenager, so aware of being different, of being disabled, of being reliant on others.

但突然間，我看到一種可能性——我不是別人的包袱，不是有缺陷的，也沒有受懲罰。我是上帝的特制品，用以顯明他的作為。

Suddenly I saw a new possibility. I was not a burden. I was not deficient. I was not being punished. I was custom-made for God's works to be made manifest in me!

15歲讀到那節(jié)經(jīng)文時，一陣我從未體驗過的平靜掃過心頭。我一直在問為什么我生來就沒有四肢，但現(xiàn)在我了解到，除了上帝，沒有人知道答案。我只要接受這件事，然后相信他為我預(yù)備了種種可能性。

When I read that Bible verse at age fifteen, a wave of peace swept over me as I'd never known before. I'd been questioning why I was born without limbs, but now I realized that the answer was unknowable to anyone but God. I simply had to accept that and believe in the possibilities that He would present for me.

沒有人知道我為何天生肢障，就像沒人知道為什么那個人會生來眼盲。耶穌說，這是為了顯明上帝的作為。

No one knows why I was born with my disability, just as no one knew why that blind man was born with his. Jesus said it had been done so that the works of God might be revealed.

《圣經(jīng)》里的那些話帶給我喜樂和巨大的力量。我第一次知道，我無法理解為什么我沒有四肢，不代表造物者遺棄了我。盲人得到醫(yī)治，以完成上帝的目的;我沒有被治愈，但我相信上帝對我的目的總有一天會顯現(xiàn)出來。

Those words gave me a sense of joy and a feeling of great strength. For the first time I realized that the fact that I couldn't understand why I have no limbs didn't mean that my Creator had abandoned me. The blind man was healed to serve His purpose. I wasn't healed, but my purpose would be revealed in time.

你要知道，有時你并不會馬上得到你所尋求的答案，但請憑借著信心往前行。我必須學著相信人生有種種可能性，而如果我能擁有這樣的信心，你也可以。

You must understand that sometimes in life you won't get the answers you seek right away. You have to walk by faith. I had to learn to trust in the possibilities for my life. If I can have that trust, you can too.

想想看，當我還是個孩子時，根本不可能知道，我竟然會因為沒有四肢，而有機會到那么多國家?guī)Ыo許多人充滿希望的訊息。艱困的時光與種種沮喪并不好玩，你不必假裝很享受，但請你相信前方可能會有更美好的日子，有一個圓滿而充滿意義的人生。

Think about it: I had no way of knowing, as a boy, that my lack of limbs would help me offer my message of hope in so many nations and to so many diverse people. The hard times and the discouragements are not fun. You don't have to pretend to enjoy them. But believe in the possibilities for better days ahead, for a fulfilling and purposeful life.