Anonymous
She had been shopping with her Mom in Wal-Mart. She must have been 6 years old, this beautiful brown haired, freckle-faced image of innocence. It was pouring outside. The kind of rain that gushes over the top of rain gutters, so much in a hurry to hit the Earth it has no time to flow down the spout.
We all stood there under the awning and just inside the door of the Wal-Mart. We waited, some patiently, others irritated because nature messed up their hurried day. I am always mesmerized by rainfall. I get lost in the sound and sight of the heavens washing away the dirt and dust of the world. Memories of running, splashing so carefree as a child come pouring in as a welcome reprieve from the worries of my day.
Her voice was so sweet as it broke the hypnotic trance we were all caught in, "Mom, let's run through the rain," she said.
What? Mom asked.
Let's run through the rain! She repeated.
No, honey, we'll wait until it slows down a bit, Mom replied.
This young child waited about another minute and repeated, "Mom, let's run through the rain."
We'll get soaked if we do, Mom said.
No, we won't, Mom. That's not what you said this morning, the young girl said as she tugged at her Mom's arm.
This morning? When did I say we could run through the rain and not get wet?
Don't you remember? When you were talking to Daddy about his cancer, you said, 'If God can get us through this, he can get us through anything!'
The entire crowd stopped dead silent. I swear you couldn't hear anything but the rain. We all stood silently. No one came or left in the next few minutes. Mom paused and thought for a moment about what she would say.
Now some would laugh it off and scold her for being silly. Some might even ignore what was said. But this was a moment of affirmation in a young child's life. Time when innocent trust can be nurtured so that it will bloom into faith. "Honey, you are absolutely right. Let's run through the rain. If we get wet, well maybe we just needed washing," Mom said. Then off they ran.
We all stood watching, smiling and laughing as they darted past the cars and. They held their shopping bags over their heads just in case. They got soaked. But they were followed by a few who screamed and laughed like children all the way to their cars. And yes, I did. I ran. I got wet. I needed washing. Circumstances or people can take away your material possessions, they can take away your money, and they can take away your health. But no one can ever take away your precious memories. So, don't forget to make time and take the opportunities to make memories every day!
?To everything there is a season and a time to every purpose under heaven. I hope you still take the time to run through the rain.
佚 名
她和媽媽剛從沃爾瑪出來(lái)。這個(gè)小女孩一定已有6歲了,她有著一頭漂亮的棕色頭發(fā),長(zhǎng)著雀斑的臉上充滿(mǎn)童真的表情。外面下著傾盆大雨。雨水溢滿(mǎn)了檐槽,來(lái)不及排走,就迫不及待地涌向了大地。
我們都站在沃爾瑪門(mén)口的遮篷下。大家在等待,有的人很耐心,也有人很煩躁,因?yàn)槔咸煸诮o他們本已忙碌的一天添亂。雨天總能引起我的遐思。我出神地聽(tīng)著、看著老天洗刷沖走這世界的污垢和塵埃,孩提時(shí)無(wú)憂(yōu)無(wú)慮地在雨中奔跑玩水的記憶洶涌而至,暫時(shí)緩解了我這一天的焦慮。
小女孩甜美的聲音打破了這沉寂的氣氛,“媽媽?zhuān)覀冊(cè)谟昀锱馨??!彼f(shuō)。
“什么?”母親問(wèn)。
“我們?cè)谟昀锱馨?。”她重?fù)道。
“不,親愛(ài)的,我們等雨小一點(diǎn)再走?!蹦赣H回答說(shuō)。
過(guò)了一會(huì)小女孩又說(shuō):“媽媽?zhuān)覀兣艹鋈グ??!?/p>
?“這樣的話(huà)我們會(huì)濕透的。”母親說(shuō)。
“不會(huì)的,媽媽。你今天早上不是這樣說(shuō)的?!毙∨⒁贿呎f(shuō)一邊拽拽母親的手。
“今天早上?我什么時(shí)候說(shuō)過(guò)我們不會(huì)被淋濕???”
“你不記得了嗎?你和爸爸談他的癌癥時(shí),你不是說(shuō)‘如果上帝讓我們闖過(guò)這一關(guān),那我們就沒(méi)有什么過(guò)不去了。’”(編注:英文里through一詞表示“躲過(guò),通過(guò)”的意思。母親講可以避開(kāi)一切,在小女孩看來(lái)自然也應(yīng)該包括能避開(kāi)雨,不被淋濕了。)
人群一片寂靜。我發(fā)誓,除了雨聲,什么都聽(tīng)不到。我們都靜靜地站著。接下來(lái)的幾分鐘沒(méi)有一個(gè)人走動(dòng)。母親停了一下,在想著應(yīng)該說(shuō)些什么。
有人也許會(huì)對(duì)此一笑了之,或者責(zé)備孩子的不懂事。有人甚至不把她的話(huà)放在心上。但這卻是一個(gè)小孩子一生中需要被肯定的時(shí)候。若受到鼓舞,此時(shí)孩子單純的信任就會(huì)發(fā)展成為堅(jiān)定的信念。“親愛(ài)的,你說(shuō)得對(duì),我們跑過(guò)去吧。如果淋濕了,那也許是因?yàn)槲覀兊拇_需要沖洗一下了。”母親說(shuō)完后,母女倆就沖向雨中。
我們站在那里,笑著看她們飛快地跑過(guò)停著的汽車(chē)。他們把購(gòu)物袋高舉過(guò)頭想擋擋雨,但還是濕透了。好幾個(gè)人也跟著沖了出去,奔向自己的車(chē)子。他們像孩子般尖叫著,大笑著。當(dāng)然,我也這樣做了,跑了出去,淋濕了。我也需要接受洗禮。環(huán)境或其他人可以?shī)Z去你的物質(zhì)財(cái)富,搶走你的金錢(qián),帶走你的健康,但沒(méi)有人可以帶走你珍貴的回憶。因此,記得要抓緊時(shí)間,抓住機(jī)會(huì)每天都給自己留下一些回憶吧!
世間萬(wàn)物皆有自己的季節(jié),做任何事情也有一個(gè)恰當(dāng)?shù)臅r(shí)機(jī)。希望你有機(jī)會(huì)也在雨中狂奔一回。
實(shí)戰(zhàn)提升
Practising & Exercise
導(dǎo)讀
你改變不了環(huán)境,但可以改變自己;你改變不了過(guò)去,但可以改變現(xiàn)在。過(guò)去的就讓它過(guò)去,未來(lái)會(huì)更好。因?yàn)閽仐壛瞬槐匾陌?,生活才?huì)更美好。前面的路,即使很崎嶇、很陡峭,也要依然勇往直前,不要后悔,別讓生命留下太多的遺憾!就像文中的媽媽和女兒一樣,勇敢地跑向雨中。
核心單詞
freckle [?frekl] n. 雀斑;斑點(diǎn)
irritate [?iriteit] v. 使惱怒;使煩躁
hypnotic [hip?n?tik] adj. 催眠的
tug [t?ɡ] v. 用力拉
silly [?sili] adj. 愚蠢的;糊涂的
affirmation [?f???mei??n] n. 斷言;肯定
precious [?pre??s] adj. 貴重的,寶貴的,珍貴的
翻譯
I get lost in the sound and sight of the heavens washing away the dirt and dust of the world.
The entire crowd stopped dead silent. I swear you couldn't hear anything but the rain.
To everything there is a season and a time to every purpose under heaven. I hope you still take the time to run through the rain.