March 16

"For our profit." (Heb. 12:10)

In one of Ralph Connor's books he tells a story of Gwen. Gwen was a wild, wilful¹ lassie and one who had always been accustomed to having her own way. Then one day she met with a terrible accident which crippled her for life. She became very rebellious² and in the murmuring state she was visited by the Sky Pilot, as the missionary³ among the mountaineers was termed.

He told her the parable⁴ of the canyon⁵. "At first there were no canyons⁶, but only the broad, open prairie. One day the Master of the Prairie, walking over his great lawns, where were only grasses, asked the Prairie, 'Where are your flowers?' and the Prairie said, 'Master I have no seeds.'

"Then he spoke⁷ to the birds, and they carried seeds of every kind of flower and strewed⁸ them far and wide, and soon the prairie bloomed with crocuses and roses and buffalo⁹ beans and the yellow crowfoot and the wild sunflowers and the red lilies all summer long. Then the Master came and was well pleased; but he missed the flowers he loved best of all, and he said to the Prairie: 'Where are the clematis and the columbine, the sweet violets and wind-flowers, and all the ferns and flowering shrubs¹⁰?'

"And again he spoke to the birds, and again they carried all the seeds and scattered¹¹ them far and wide. But, again, when the Master came he could not find the flowers he loved best of all, and he said:

"'Where are those my sweetest flowers?' and the Prairie cried sorrowfully:

"'Oh, Master, I cannot keep the flowers, for the winds sweep fiercely, and the sun beats upon my breast, and they wither¹² up and fly away.'

"Then the Master spoke to the Lightning, and with one swift blow the Lightning cleft¹³ the Prairie to the heart. And the Prairie rocked and groaned¹⁴ in agony, and for many a day moaned bitterly over the black, jagged, gaping¹⁵ wound.

"But the river poured its waters through the cleft, and carried down deep black mould, and once more the birds carried seeds and strewed them in the canyon. And after a long time the rough rocks were decked out with soft mosses¹⁶ and trailing vines, and all the nooks were hung with clematis and columbine, and great elms lifted their huge tops high up into the sunlight, and down about their feet clustered the low cedars¹⁷ and balsams, and everywhere the violets and wind-flower and maiden-hair grew and bloomed, till the canyon became the Master's favorite place for rest and peace and joy."

Then the Sky Pilot read to her: "The fruit--I'll read 'flowers'--of the Spirit are love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness--and some of these grow only in the canyon."

"Which are the canyon flowers?" asked Gwen softly, and the Pilot answered: "Gentleness, meekness¹⁸, longsuffering; but though the others, love, joy, peace, bloom in the open, yet never with so rich a bloom and so sweet a perfume as in the canyon."

For a long time Gwen lay quite still, and then said wistfully, while her lips trembled: "There are no flowers in my canyon, but only ragged¹⁹ rocks."

"Some day they will bloom, Gwen dear; the Master will find them, and we, too, shall see them."

Beloved, when you come to your canyon, remember!

　 三月十六日

“生身的父都是暂随己意管教我们，惟有万灵的父管教我们,是要我们得益处，使我们在他的圣洁上有分”(来十二：10)。

　　康诺氏所写的书中，说有一个山野少女葛文的故事。葛文顽皮任性，她在某一日不幸遇到了意外，成了残废。卧病在床第中，性情更加暴躁，当她在怨天尤人的时候,“天的响导”来看她，所谓“天的响导”，是山中居民对传教士的尊敬称呼。

　　传教士给她讲了一个峡谷的寓言，他说：地球最初的时候，只有一望无际的原野，并没有峡谷。原野的主人，有一天出外散步，看见大地上只长着青草，就问原野道:“你的花在哪里? ”，原野回答说：“主人，我没有种子”。

　　于是主人吩咐禽鸟把各类花的种子带来，四处播种。不久原野上就开出了番红玫瑰，水豆花，毛莨花，向日葵，红钤兰，以及一些耐热的夏季花卉。主人看了很高兴，但他找不到他最心爱的几种花，于是他对原野说：“还有铁线莲,缕斗菜，紫罗兰，白头翁，各种凤尾草和开花的灌木在哪里呢?”

　　他又吩咐禽鸟把所有的种子带来，四处播种。但主人再来的时候，还是找不到他最心爱的几种花，于是他说：“那些最可爱的花在哪里?”

　　原野悲哀地说：“主人，我无法保存这些花，因为狂风拼命的吹刮，烈阳炙烤着我的胸膛，这些花忍不住原野的气候，它们都零落凋萎了。”

　　于是主人吩咐闪电劈开原野的胸怀.原野在剧痛中颤抖哀号,为那黝黑而凹凸不平的裂口，悲痛呻吟了许多日子。

　　由于河水涌进了裂口，把深黑色的泥土带了进来，禽鸟再把种子带来，在那峡谷中播种。过了很长一段的时间之后，粗糙的岩石上，铺满了柔软的青苔和绵延的藤蔓，各处角落，都垂挂着铁线莲和缕斗菜，硕壮的榆树，仰起粗大枝干，升向高空的阳光，树根附近盘屈着矮杉和凤仙花，到处都有紫罗兰，白头翁和孔雀草在生长开花，峡谷终于成了主人所寻求的安息，平安和快乐的心爱之地了。

　　传教士讲完了故事之后，就对她说：“圣灵所结的果子，也可以称之谓圣灵之花，包括爱，喜乐，平安，坚忍，温和等等，其中有些只能在峡谷中生长”。

　　“只能在峡谷里生长的是什么花呢?”葛文轻声问。传教士答道：“温和，谦卑，忍耐，其他如爱，喜乐，和平安，虽能在原野开放，但若生长在峡谷里，它们将更美丽，更芬芳。”

　　葛文默默地躺了好一会，然后嘴唇颤抖地自言自语道：“在我的峡谷里没有花，只有粗陋的岩石”。

　　“亲爱的葛文，总有一天它们会开出花来，主会发现，我们也会看到”。

　　亲爱的，当你沦入你的峡谷时，请记着这句话！

1 wilful   

adj.任性的，故意的

参考例句：

• A wilful fault has no excuse and deserves no pardon.不能宽恕故意犯下的错误。
• He later accused reporters of wilful distortion and bias.他后来指责记者有意歪曲事实并带有偏见。

2 rebellious   

adj.造反的，反抗的，难控制的

参考例句：

• They will be in danger if they are rebellious.如果他们造反，他们就要发生危险。
• Her reply was mild enough,but her thoughts were rebellious.她的回答虽然很温和，但她的心里十分反感。

3 missionary   

adj.教会的，传教(士)的；n.传教士

参考例句：

• She taught in a missionary school for a couple of years.她在一所教会学校教了两年书。
• I hope every member understands the value of missionary work. 我希望教友都了解传教工作的价值。

4 parable   

n.寓言，比喻

参考例句：

• This is an ancient parable.这是一个古老的寓言。
• The minister preached a sermon on the parable of the lost sheep.牧师讲道时用了亡羊的比喻。

5 canyon   

n.峡谷，溪谷

参考例句：

• The Grand Canyon in the USA is 1900 metres deep.美国的大峡谷1900米深。
• The canyon is famous for producing echoes.这个峡谷以回声而闻名。

6 canyons   

n.峡谷( canyon的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This mountain range has many high peaks and deep canyons. 这条山脉有许多高峰和深谷。 来自辞典例句
• Do you use canyons or do we preserve them all? 是使用峡谷呢还是全封闭保存？ 来自互联网

7 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

8 strewed   

v.撒在…上( strew的过去式和过去分词 )；散落于；点缀；撒满

参考例句：

• Papers strewed the floor. 文件扔了一地。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Autumn leaves strewed the lawn. 草地上撒满了秋叶。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

9 buffalo   

n.(北美)野牛；(亚洲)水牛

参考例句：

• Asian buffalo isn't as wild as that of America's. 亚洲水牛比美洲水牛温顺些。
• The boots are made of buffalo hide. 这双靴子是由水牛皮制成的。

10 shrubs   

灌木( shrub的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The gardener spent a complete morning in trimming those two shrubs. 园丁花了整个上午的时间修剪那两处灌木林。
• These shrubs will need more light to produce flowering shoots. 这些灌木需要更多的光照才能抽出开花的新枝。

11 scattered   

adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的

参考例句：

• Gathering up his scattered papers,he pushed them into his case.他把散乱的文件收拾起来，塞进文件夹里。

12 wither   

vt.使凋谢，使衰退，(用眼神气势等)使畏缩；vi.枯萎，衰退，消亡

参考例句：

• She grows as a flower does-she will wither without sun.她象鲜花一样成长--没有太阳就会凋谢。
• In autumn the leaves wither and fall off the trees.秋天，树叶枯萎并从树上落下来。

13 cleft   

n.裂缝；adj.裂开的

参考例句：

• I hid the message in a cleft in the rock.我把情报藏在石块的裂缝里。
• He was cleft from his brother during the war.在战争期间，他与他的哥哥分离。

14 groaned   

v.呻吟( groan的过去式和过去分词 )；发牢骚；抱怨；受苦

参考例句：

• He groaned in anguish. 他痛苦地呻吟。
• The cart groaned under the weight of the piano. 大车在钢琴的重压下嘎吱作响。 来自《简明英汉词典》

15 gaping   

adj.口的；张口的；敞口的；多洞穴的v.目瞪口呆地凝视( gape的现在分词 )；张开，张大

参考例句：

• Ahead of them was a gaping abyss. 他们前面是一个巨大的深渊。
• The antelope could not escape the crocodile's gaping jaws. 那只羚羊无法从鱷鱼张开的大口中逃脱。 来自《简明英汉词典》

16 mosses   

n. 藓类, 苔藓植物 名词moss的复数形式

参考例句：

• Ferns, mosses and fungi spread by means of spores. 蕨类植物、苔藓和真菌通过孢子传播蔓生。
• The only plants to be found in Antarctica are algae, mosses, and lichens. 在南极洲所发现的植物只有藻类、苔藓和地衣。

17 cedars   

雪松，西洋杉( cedar的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The old cedars were badly damaged in the storm. 风暴严重损害了古老的雪松。
• Open thy doors, O Lebanon, that the fire may devour thy cedars. 1黎巴嫩哪，开开你的门，任火烧灭你的香柏树。

18 meekness   

n.温顺，柔和

参考例句：

• Amy sewed with outward meekness and inward rebellion till dusk. 阿密阳奉阴违地一直缝到黄昏。 来自辞典例句
• 'I am pretty well, I thank you,' answered Mr. Lorry, with meekness; 'how are you?' “很好，谢谢，”罗瑞先生回答，态度温驯，“你好么？” 来自英汉文学 - 双城记

19 ragged   

adj.衣衫褴褛的，粗糙的，刺耳的

参考例句：

• A ragged shout went up from the small crowd.这一小群人发出了刺耳的喊叫。
• Ragged clothing infers poverty.破衣烂衫意味着贫穷。