"I know that your husband really loves you," he said. "And I hope you can forgive him." Maurice didn't want to infringe on my privacy, and he offered his advice gently. I accepted it with gratitude. After we talked, it was an immense relief just to sit quietly by the water in the company of a good friend.
“我知道你丈夫真心爱你,”莫里斯说,“我们希望你能原谅他。”莫里斯无意侵犯我的隐私,他以温和的口吻提出意见,我很感激地接受。和他谈过之后,我觉得光是和好友一起坐在海边就能令人无比放松。
I was thankful for the support and counsel I received during this time, particularly from Don Jones, my youth minister, who had become a lifelong friend. Don reminded me of a classic sermon by the theologian Paul Tillich, "You Are Accepted," Don had once read to our youth group in Park Ridge. Its premise is how sin and grace exist through life in constant interplay; neither is possible without the other. The mystery of grace is that you cannot look for it. "Grace strikes us when we are in great pain and restlessness," Tillich wrote. "It happens; or it does not happen."
我感激在这段时间获得的支持和意见,唐·琼斯的支持尤其让我感激。他是我在中学时代的牧师,之后我们成了一辈子的朋友。唐·琼斯提醒我当年他向我所属的青年团体朗读过的一篇经典布道文,标题是《你被接受了》,主题是罪恶和恩典在人生中不断交互作用,没有此,彼也不可能存在。恩典的奥秘是你无法追寻它。“恩典在我们处于绝大的痛苦和不安时降临,它会发生,也可能不会发生。”
Grace happens. Until it did, my main job was to put one foot in front of the other and get through another day.
在恩典降临之前,我的分内职责是咬紧牙关,一天一天坚持下去。