人生不設(shè)限·上帝自有安排

幾年前，我跟看護搭飛機跑遍全美各地，在某個機場，班機延誤了(不意外)。當(dāng)我們終于登機，飛機在跑道上滑行時，我望向窗外，看見引擎在冒煙。

A few years ago I was flying with my caregiver across the country. At one airport our flight was delayed (no surprise), and when we finally were on the plane and taxiing from the departure gate, I looked out the window and saw smoke coming from the engine.

然后，消防車嗚嗚叫著過來了，消防人員跳出來，向飛機引擎噴灑泡沬，搶著滅火。而因為引擎失火，乘客被告知要緊急疏散。

A fire truck came roaring up. The firefighters jumped out and sprayed foam on the engine to put out the blaze. Due to a small fire in the engine, the passengers were told, we will be conducting an emergency evacuation of this plane.

好吧，我想，引擎失火是不太妙，不過引擎突然冒火時，我們是在地面上，這倒是件好事。當(dāng)航空公司廣播說我們的班機還要再延誤兩個鐘頭時，不少乘客氣得狂罵。我也覺得煩躁，但又很高興不必遭遇可能發(fā)生的空中驚魂——至少我是這樣告訴自己的。

Well, all right, I thought. Fire in the engine was not good, but being on the ground when the "small fire" broke out was a plus. When it was announced that our flight would be delayed another two hours, many of my fellow passengers complained loudly and bitterly. I was irritated but glad we had been spared a possible mid-flight emergency, or so I told myself.

不過，想到我們的行程安排真的很緊湊，我實在很難保持正面態(tài)度，但我告訴自己：“記住，上帝不會浪費時間。”然后，另一個廣播聲音響起了，原來航空公司已經(jīng)為我們安排了另一架飛機，可以立刻起飛。好消息!

Still, I struggled a bit to remain positive since we were on a tight schedule. Remember, God doesn't waste time, I told myself. Then came yet another announcement: They'd lined up another plane at another gate to take us immediately. Good news!

我們立刻去新的登機門排隊登上飛機，準(zhǔn)備起飛。我松了一口氣，直到發(fā)現(xiàn)坐我旁邊的女士正安靜地啜泣。

We hurried to the new departure gate, boarded yet another plane, and settled in for the flight. I was relieved until I noticed that the woman sitting next to me was quietly weeping.

“有什么我可以幫你的嗎?”我問道。

"Is there something I can do?" I asked.

她解釋說她要飛去看她15歲的女兒，因為一場例行手術(shù)出了嚴重差錯，讓她女兒危在旦夕。我竭盡所能地安慰那位母親，幾乎一整個航程都在跟她講話。我還說了一句話，把她逗笑了——當(dāng)她說搭飛機讓她很緊張時，我告訴她：“那你可以握住我的手。”

She explained that she was flying to visit her fi fteen-year-old daughter, who was in danger of dying after a routine surgery had gone terribly wrong. I did my best to comfort the mother. We talked for nearly the entire flight. I even drew a smile from her after she told me she was nervous about flying. "You can hold my hand if you like," I teased.

抵達目的地時，那位母親謝謝我安慰了她。我跟她說，在班機延誤了這么多次，又換了不同的登機門之后，最后可以坐在她旁邊，我心里也充滿感激。

When we landed at our destination, the mother thanked me for comforting her. I told her I was grateful that I'd ended up seated next to her on the plane after so many delays and gate changes.

那天上帝并沒有浪費我的時間，他知道他在做什么。上帝把我放在那位女士身旁，讓我?guī)退郎p輕恐懼和悲傷。對那天發(fā)生的事想得愈多，我就愈感謝能有機會以同情心傾聽那位女士心中的苦。

God had not wasted my time that day. He knew what He was doing. He put me next to that woman to help her with her fears and grief. The more I thought about that day, the more grateful I was for the chance to offer this woman a sympathetic ear.