November 27

"For with God nothing shall be impossible" (Luke 1:37)

Far up in the Alpine¹ hollows, year by year God works one of His marvels². The snow-patches lie there, frozen with ice at their edge from the strife³ of sunny days and frosty nights; and through that ice-crust come, unscathed, flowers that bloom.

Back in the days of the by-gone summer, the little soldanelle plant spread its leaves wide and flat on the ground, to drink in the sun-rays, and it kept them stored in the root through the winter. Then spring came, and stirred the pulses even below the snow-shroud, and as it sprouted⁴, warmth was given out in such strange measure that it thawed⁵ a little dome⁶ in the snow above its head.

Higher and higher it grew and always above it rose the bell of air, till the flower-bud formed safely within it: and at last the icy covering of the air-bell gave way and let the blossom through into the sunshine, the crystalline texture⁷ of its mauve petals⁸ sparkling like snow itself as if it bore the traces of the flight through which it had come.

And the fragile thing rings an echo in our hearts that none of the jewel-like flowers nestled in the warm turf on the slopes below could waken. We love to see the impossible done. And so does God.

Face it out to the end, cast away every shadow of hope on the human side as an absolute hindrance⁹ to the Divine, heap up all the difficulties together recklessly, and pile as many more on as you can find; you cannot get beyond the blessed climax¹⁰ of impossibility. Let faith swing out to Him. He is the God of the impossible. ━Selected

十一月二十七日

「因为出于神话，没有一句不带能力的。」（路一:37）

在阿尔卑斯山的顶巅，神年年创造祂的奇迹，山上覆盖着厚雪，被白天的阳光和寒夜的严霜交相作用之下，积雪的边缘结成了冰，可是在这一层冰壳之下，却有花朵，正在完整无恙在开放出来。

这种花属樱花科，只长在高山之上，在夏季里，它舒展叶子，平躺在地，畅饮阳光，吸收了大自然阳光的热量，能贮藏在根里过冬。然后春天来了，一切植物都在苏醒过来，积雪下的生命也不例外，这种樱草科发出了芽，它放出暖气，那奇妙的热度，恰好把顶上的积雪溶成一钟形的小汽罩。

它继续长高，头上总是戴着那个钟形的小汽罩，直到里面长好了花苞。最后，钟形小汽罩的外壳脱落，花就直接与阳光接触，紫红色的花瓣，莹净剔透，络脉有似雪花，好像还保留着它生长斗争中所历经的痕迹。

这种织柔的植物，它在我们心中所引起的反响，决非那些长在山坡下面，从温暖泥土中孕育的花卉所能比拟。我们喜欢不可能的事，成为事实，神亦如此。

对不可能的事，要坚持到底，把所有的困难，毫无顾忌地堆在一起，并且把你所能找到的更多困难加上去，让信心倾向祂，祂是对付一切不可能的神。━选

1 alpine   

adj.高山的；n.高山植物

参考例句：

• Alpine flowers are abundant there.那里有很多高山地带的花。
• Its main attractions are alpine lakes and waterfalls .它以高山湖泊和瀑布群为主要特色。

2 marvels   

n.奇迹( marvel的名词复数 )；令人惊奇的事物（或事例）；不平凡的成果；成就v.惊奇，对…感到惊奇( marvel的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The doctor's treatment has worked marvels : the patient has recovered completely. 该医生妙手回春，病人已完全康复。 来自辞典例句
• Nevertheless he revels in a catalogue of marvels. 可他还是兴致勃勃地罗列了一堆怪诞不经的事物。 来自辞典例句

3 strife   

n.争吵，冲突，倾轧，竞争

参考例句：

• We do not intend to be drawn into the internal strife.我们不想卷入内乱之中。
• Money is a major cause of strife in many marriages.金钱是造成很多婚姻不和的一个主要原因。

4 sprouted   

v.发芽( sprout的过去式和过去分词 )；抽芽；出现；（使）涌现出

参考例句：

• We can't use these potatoes; they've all sprouted. 这些土豆儿不能吃了，都出芽了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The rice seeds have sprouted. 稻种已经出芽了。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

5 thawed   

解冻

参考例句：

• The little girl's smile thawed the angry old man. 小姑娘的微笑使发怒的老头缓和下来。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He thawed after sitting at a fire for a while. 在火堆旁坐了一会儿，他觉得暖和起来了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 dome   

n.圆屋顶，拱顶

参考例句：

• The dome was supported by white marble columns.圆顶由白色大理石柱支撑着。
• They formed the dome with the tree's branches.他们用树枝搭成圆屋顶。

7 texture   

n.(织物)质地；(材料)构造；结构；肌理

参考例句：

• We could feel the smooth texture of silk.我们能感觉出丝绸的光滑质地。
• Her skin has a fine texture.她的皮肤细腻。

8 petals   

n.花瓣( petal的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• white petals tinged with blue 略带蓝色的白花瓣
• The petals of many flowers expand in the sunshine. 许多花瓣在阳光下开放。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

9 hindrance   

n.妨碍，障碍

参考例句：

• Now they can construct tunnel systems without hindrance.现在他们可以顺利地建造隧道系统了。
• The heavy baggage was a great hindrance to me.那件行李成了我的大累赘。

10 climax   

n.顶点；高潮；v.(使)达到顶点

参考例句：

• The fifth scene was the climax of the play.第五场是全剧的高潮。
• His quarrel with his father brought matters to a climax.他与他父亲的争吵使得事态发展到了顶点。