March 29

"Consider the lilies, how they grow." (Matt. 6:28)

I need oil," said an ancient monk¹; so he planted an olive sapling. "Lord," he prayed, "it needs rain that its tender roots may drink and swell². Send gentle showers." And the Lord sent gentle showers. "Lord," prayed the monk, "my tree needs sun. Send sun, I pray Thee." And the sun shone, gilding³ the dripping clouds. "Now frost, my Lord, to brace⁴ its tissues," cried the monk. And behold⁵, the little tree stood sparkling with frost, but at evening it died.

Then the monk sought the cell of a brother monk, and told his strange experience. "I, too, planted a little tree," he said, "and see! it thrives well. But I entrust⁶ my tree to its God. He who made it knows better what it needs than a man like me. I laid no condition. I fixed⁷ not ways or means. 'Lord, send what it needs,' I prayed, 'storm or sunshine, wind, rain, or frost. Thou hast made it and Thou dost know.'"

Yes, leave it with Him,

The lilies all do,

And they grow--

They grow in the rain,

And they grow in the dew--

Yes, they grow:

They grow in the darkness, all hid in the night--

They grow in the sunshine, revealed by the light--

Still they grow.

Yes, leave it with Him

'Tis more dear to His heart,

You will know,

Than the lilies that bloom,

Or the flowers that start

'Neath the snow:

Whatever you need, if you seek it in prayer,

You can leave it with Him--for you are His care.

You, you know.

--Selected.

　 三月二十九日

　　“你想野地里的百合花，怎么长起来” (太六：28)。

　　古时有一个修道士，种了一棵橄榄树。他祷告说：“神啊，它需要水分，好叫它柔嫩的根得吸收而长发。求你降下滋润的甘霖来。”神就降雨下来。他又祷告说： “神啊，我的树需要日光，我求你给它日光”。于是云散雨止，神就给它日光。他再祷告说：“神啊，现在它需要霜来坚固它的组织。”看哪，那株幼小的植物上果然罩上了一层薄霜。但是到了傍晚，树却死了。

　　于是他就去见另一个修道士，告诉他自己奇异的经历。那修道士回答说：“我也种了一棵小树。看哪！现在长得多么茂盛。我没有为我的树操一点心，只把它交给它的神。造它的神知道它的需要，远胜过像我这样无知的人。所以我并不向神提出条件，建议，方法。我祷告说：‘神啊，你把它所需要的给它，无论是风，是雨，是霜，是雪，是日光，是什么…你既造它，你一定知道它，也一定会供给它。’”——选

是的，像百合花那样，

一切让神去安排，

它们自然生长成材，

在雨露阴晴之中，

照常发育，叶茂花盛，

无庸你顾虑喋喋。

是的，一切让神去安排，

他爱你，为你的设想周全，

更甚于百合花落花开；

在祷告中表示了愿望，

一切让神去安排，

靠他为你栽培。

1 monk   

n.和尚，僧侣，修道士

参考例句：

• The man was a monk from Emei Mountain.那人是峨眉山下来的和尚。
• Buddhist monk sat with folded palms.和尚合掌打坐。

2 swell   

vi.膨胀，肿胀；增长，增强

参考例句：

• The waves had taken on a deep swell.海浪汹涌。
• His injured wrist began to swell.他那受伤的手腕开始肿了。

3 gilding   

n.贴金箔，镀金

参考例句：

• The dress is perfect. Don't add anything to it at all. It would just be gilding the lily. 这条裙子已经很完美了，别再作任何修饰了，那只会画蛇添足。
• The gilding is extremely lavish. 这层镀金极为奢华。

4 brace   

n. 支柱,曲柄,大括号; v. 绷紧,顶住,(为困难或坏事)做准备

参考例句：

• My daughter has to wear a brace on her teeth. 我的女儿得戴牙套以矫正牙齿。
• You had better brace yourself for some bad news. 有些坏消息,你最好做好准备。

5 behold   

v.看，注视，看到

参考例句：

• The industry of these little ants is wonderful to behold.这些小蚂蚁辛勤劳动的样子看上去真令人惊叹。
• The sunrise at the seaside was quite a sight to behold.海滨日出真是个奇景。

6 entrust   

v.信赖，信托，交托

参考例句：

• I couldn't entrust my children to strangers.我不能把孩子交给陌生人照看。
• They can be entrusted to solve major national problems.可以委托他们解决重大国家问题。

7 fixed   

adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的

参考例句：

• Have you two fixed on a date for the wedding yet?你们俩选定婚期了吗？
• Once the aim is fixed,we should not change it arbitrarily.目标一旦确定，我们就不应该随意改变。