人生不設(shè)限·一個(gè)同樣沒手沒腳的小男孩

15歲那年，我與上帝和好，懇求他的寬恕與帶領(lǐng)，請(qǐng)他為我照亮通往人生目標(biāo)的路。受洗4年之后，我開始演講，與許多人分享我的信仰，這時(shí)我知道，我已經(jīng)找到自己的天職。我的演講和傳福音工作逐漸國際化，就在幾年前，發(fā)生了一件令我意想不到的事，振奮了我的心，也讓我更確信自己選擇了正確的路。

At fifteen years old I made my life right with God, asking Him for forgiveness and for direction. I asked Him to light my path of purpose. After being baptized four years later, I began speaking about my faith to others and knew I had found my calling. My career as a speaker and evangelist grew into a global ministry, and just a few years ago, quite unexpectedly, something happened that lifted my heart even higher and confirmed for me that I'd chosen the right path.

某個(gè)尋常的星期天上午，我走進(jìn)加州一家教會(huì)準(zhǔn)備演講。我常在世界許多遙遠(yuǎn)的角落演講，但這次很靠近家，諾特街教會(huì)就在我家那條路上。

Nothing felt out of the ordinary on that Sunday morning when I rolled into a California church for a speaking engagement. Unlike most of my appearances, which happened in far-off corners of the world, this one was close to home. The Knott Avenue Christian Church in Anaheim is just down the road from my house.

聚會(huì)開始了，我坐上輪椅，詩班開始獻(xiàn)詩，而我往前頭坐，準(zhǔn)備開始演講。會(huì)眾陸續(xù)涌入這個(gè)大教堂，這是我第一次對(duì)諾特街的人演講，我想他們應(yīng)該也不太認(rèn)識(shí)我，但我很驚訝地在詩班的歌聲中聽到有人喊著我的名字：“力克，力克!”

As I entered in my wheelchair, the choir was beginning its opening song, and the service was starting. I took a seat on a bench at the front as the congregation filled the large church, and I began to mentally prepare for my speech. This would be my first time talking to the people at Knott Avenue, and I didn't expect they knew much about me, so I was surprised to hear someone calling, "Nick! Nick!" over the singing voices.

我認(rèn)不出那個(gè)聲音，甚至不確定我就是那個(gè)“力克”。當(dāng)我轉(zhuǎn)身時(shí)，看見一位年老的男士對(duì)我揮手。

I didn't recognize the voice and was not even sure that I was the "Nick" being summoned. But when I turned around, I saw an older gentleman waving directly at me.

“力克，這里了!”他再次喊著。

"Nick! Over here!" he shouted again.

在擠滿人的教堂里引起我的注意之后，他指向身旁一位較年輕的男子，那名男子手上抱著一個(gè)小孩。因?yàn)槿巳簱頂D，起初我只看到那個(gè)學(xué)步中的孩子明亮的雙眼、濃密閃亮的棕發(fā)，以及笑臉上露出的大牙縫。

Now that he had my attention, he pointed to a younger man standing next to him in the packed church who appeared to be holding a child. There were so many people crowded together that at first I could see only a flash of the toddler's bright eyes, a thatch of shiny brown hair, and a big gap-toothed baby smile.

然后年輕男子把孩子舉高，好讓我看得更清楚。完整地看到那孩子之后，一陣強(qiáng)烈的感覺流過我，讓我兩條腿幾乎站不住(如果我有腿的話)。

Then the man held the little boy higher above the crowd so I could see him more clearly. The full view sent a wave of feeling through me so intense that (if I'd had them) it would have made my knees buckle.

那個(gè)雙眼明亮的男孩跟我一樣，沒有手，沒有腳，只有一只小小的左腳掌——這也跟我一樣。雖然只有19個(gè)月大，但他完全就像我，于是我明白為什么那兩個(gè)男人急著找我。稍后我得知那個(gè)男孩叫丹尼爾·馬丁尼茲，是克里斯和派蒂的兒子。

The bright-eyed boy was just like me. No arms. No legs. He even had a little left foot like mine. Though he was only nineteen months old, he was exactly like me. I understood why the two men were so eager for me to see him. As I later learned, this boy's name is Daniel Martinez, the son of Chris and Patty.

那時(shí)我本來應(yīng)該在準(zhǔn)備演講，但是看到丹尼爾——看到那孩子身上的我——觸動(dòng)了令人眩暈的感受，讓我難以思考。一開始，我對(duì)他和他的家人心生憐憫，但尖銳的記憶與痛苦的情緒接著向我襲來，仿佛我又被帶回自己在那個(gè)年紀(jì)所感受到的一切。我知道丹尼爾一定也經(jīng)歷過同樣的事。

I was supposed to be preparing for my speech, but seeing Daniel—seeing myself in that child—triggered such a swirl of feelings that I couldn't think straight. I first felt compassion for him and his family. But then sharp memories and anguished emotions bombarded me as I was vividly brought back to how I had felt at about that age, and I realized that he must have been going through the same things.

“我知道他的感覺，”我想著，“我已經(jīng)體驗(yàn)過他即將經(jīng)歷的。”

I know how he feels, I thought. I've already been through what he will experience.

看著丹尼爾，我感受到一股奇妙的聯(lián)結(jié)，涌起了同理心。

Looking at Daniel, I felt this incredible connection and a surge of empathy for him.

不安、挫折、孤獨(dú)等等過往的感受淹沒了我，讓我窒息，我覺得自己快被講臺(tái)上的燈光烤焦了，頭昏眼花。那并不是恐慌，而是眼前這個(gè)男孩觸動(dòng)了我那顆孩子的心。

Old feelings of insecurity, frustration, and loneliness flooded back, pulling the air out of my lungs. I felt like I was baking under the stage lights. I felt woozy. It wasn't a panic attack exactly; the vision of this boy in front of me touched the boy inside me.

然后我突然靈光乍現(xiàn)，并感受到平靜安穩(wěn)。我心想：“在成長過程中，我從來沒有遇見過跟我有同樣處境的人好給我指引，但現(xiàn)在有了丹尼爾。我可以幫助他，而我的父母可以幫助他的父母。他不必經(jīng)歷我所經(jīng)歷的，或許我可以讓他少受一些我受過的苦。”沒有四肢的人生有多辛苦，我當(dāng)然清楚，但我的生命仍然具有可以與人分享的價(jià)值。我所缺失的無法阻止我在這個(gè)世界引起一些改變。我喜歡激勵(lì)別人、給人勇氣，或許我無法如愿改變這個(gè)世界太多，但我依然確定自己的生命沒有被浪費(fèi)。我下定決心要有所貢獻(xiàn)，你也應(yīng)該相信自己有這樣的力量。

Then I had a revelation that brought a sense of calm. When I was growing up, I had no one who shared my situation who could help guide me, but now Daniel has someone. I can help him. My parents can help his parents. He doesn't have to go through what I went through. Perhaps I can spare him some of the pain that I had to endure. Here I could clearly see that as difficult as it might be to live without limbs, my life still had value to be shared. There was nothing I lacked that would prevent me from making a difference in the world. My joy would be to encourage and inspire others. Even if I didn't change this planet as much as I would like, I'd still know with certainty that my life was not wasted. I was and am determined to make a contribution. You should believe in your power to do the same.

人生沒有意義就沒有希望，沒有希望就沒有信心。如果你找到貢獻(xiàn)一己之力的方式，就能找到生命的意義，接著希望與信心自然來到，并陪伴你走向未來。

Life without meaning has no hope. Life without hope has no faith. If you find a way to contribute, you will find your meaning, and hope and faith will naturally follow and accompany you into your future.

我到諾特街教會(huì)本來是為了鼓舞別人，雖然一開始見到一個(gè)跟我如此相像的小男孩出現(xiàn)在人群中，讓我心神大亂，但他讓我再次確認(rèn)我可以改變?cè)S多人的生命，特別是那些遭遇巨大挑戰(zhàn)的人，例如丹尼爾與他的父母。

My visit to the Knott Avenue church was intended to inspire and encourage others. Though seeing a boy so much like me fl oating over the crowd initially threw me off, he was a powerful confirmation of the difference I could make in the lives of many people, especially those facing major challenges, such as Daniel and his parents.

這次的碰面實(shí)在太讓我震撼了，我必須和那天的會(huì)眾分享我的所見所思，因此我請(qǐng)丹尼爾的父母將他帶上臺(tái)來。

This encounter was so compelling that I had to share what I was seeing and feeling with the congregation, so I invited Daniel's parents to bring him up to the podium.

“生命沒有巧合，”我說道，“每次呼吸、每個(gè)步伐，都是上帝的旨意。這個(gè)房間里有另一個(gè)男孩同樣沒手沒腳，這并不是巧合。”

"There are no coincidences in life," I said. "Every breath, every step is ordained by God. It was no coincidence that another boy with no arms and no legs is in this room."

丹尼爾在我說話時(shí)開心地笑了起來，吸引住教堂里每個(gè)人的目光。當(dāng)?shù)つ釥柕母赣H扶著他，讓他直立地和我并排在一起時(shí)，會(huì)眾陷入沉默。有著共同困境的年輕男子和小嬰孩，他們正彼此微笑相對(duì)，此情此景讓教堂里出現(xiàn)了啜泣和吸鼻水的聲音。

As I said that, Daniel flashed a radiant smile, captivating everyone in the church. The congregation fell silent as his father held him upright and alongside me. The sight of us together, a young man and an infant with shared challenges, beaming at each other, set off weeping and sniffling in the pews around us.

我不是很容易哭，但是當(dāng)周圍的人都涕泗縱橫時(shí)，我也忍不住流下淚來。記得那晚回到家，我不發(fā)一語，一直想著那個(gè)小男孩，想著他一定也體會(huì)到了我在那個(gè)年紀(jì)曾有過的感受。我還想到，當(dāng)他慢慢意識(shí)到自己的狀況，當(dāng)他遇到我經(jīng)歷過的殘酷行為和排斥時(shí)，會(huì)有什么感覺?我為他可能會(huì)承受的痛苦感到難過，但后來想到我和我的父母可以幫助他減輕負(fù)擔(dān)，甚至為他帶來希望，就覺得很振奮。

I don't cry easily, but as everyone around me unleashed a flood of tears, I couldn't help but get swept up too. At home that night, I remember saying not a single word. I kept thinking of this child and how he must be feeling just what I'd felt at his age. I thought also of how he would feel as his awareness grew, as he encountered the cruelties and rejection I'd experienced. I was sad for him and the suffering he likely would endure, but then I was heartened because I knew my parents and I could ease his burden and even light hope in his heart.

我等不及要告訴父母這件事，因?yàn)槲抑浪麄円欢ㄒ埠芟胝J(rèn)識(shí)這個(gè)男孩，為他和他的父母帶來希望。爸爸和媽媽在沒有任何指引的狀況下經(jīng)歷了許多事，我知道他們會(huì)非常感謝能有機(jī)會(huì)幫助這個(gè)家庭。

I couldn't wait to tell my parents because I knew they would be eager to meet this boy and to give him and his parents hope. My mum and dad had been through so much and they'd had no one to guide them. I knew they would be grateful for the opportunity to help this family.