人生不设限·一个同样没手没脚的小男孩

15岁那年，我与上帝和好，恳求他的宽恕与带领，请他为我照亮通往人生目标的路。受洗4年之后，我开始演讲，与许多人分享我的信仰，这时我知道，我已经找到自己的天职。我的演讲和传福音工作逐渐国际化，就在几年前，发生了一件令我意想不到的事，振奋了我的心，也让我更确信自己选择了正确的路。

At fifteen years old I made my life right with God, asking Him for forgiveness and for direction. I asked Him to light my path of purpose. After being baptized four years later, I began speaking about my faith to others and knew I had found my calling. My career as a speaker and evangelist grew into a global ministry, and just a few years ago, quite unexpectedly, something happened that lifted my heart even higher and confirmed for me that I'd chosen the right path.

某个寻常的星期天上午，我走进加州一家教会准备演讲。我常在世界许多遥远的角落演讲，但这次很靠近家，诺特街教会就在我家那条路上。

Nothing felt out of the ordinary on that Sunday morning when I rolled into a California church for a speaking engagement. Unlike most of my appearances, which happened in far-off corners of the world, this one was close to home. The Knott Avenue Christian Church in Anaheim is just down the road from my house.

聚会开始了，我坐上轮椅，诗班开始献诗，而我往前头坐，准备开始演讲。会众陆续涌入这个大教堂，这是我第一次对诺特街的人演讲，我想他们应该也不太认识我，但我很惊讶地在诗班的歌声中听到有人喊着我的名字：“力克，力克!”

As I entered in my wheelchair, the choir was beginning its opening song, and the service was starting. I took a seat on a bench at the front as the congregation filled the large church, and I began to mentally prepare for my speech. This would be my first time talking to the people at Knott Avenue, and I didn't expect they knew much about me, so I was surprised to hear someone calling, "Nick! Nick!" over the singing voices.

我认不出那个声音，甚至不确定我就是那个“力克”。当我转身时，看见一位年老的男士对我挥手。

I didn't recognize the voice and was not even sure that I was the "Nick" being summoned. But when I turned around, I saw an older gentleman waving directly at me.

“力克，这里了!”他再次喊着。

"Nick! Over here!" he shouted again.

在挤满人的教堂里引起我的注意之后，他指向身旁一位较年轻的男子，那名男子手上抱着一个小孩。因为人群拥挤，起初我只看到那个学步中的孩子明亮的双眼、浓密闪亮的棕发，以及笑脸上露出的大牙缝。

Now that he had my attention, he pointed to a younger man standing next to him in the packed church who appeared to be holding a child. There were so many people crowded together that at first I could see only a flash of the toddler's bright eyes, a thatch of shiny brown hair, and a big gap-toothed baby smile.

然后年轻男子把孩子举高，好让我看得更清楚。完整地看到那孩子之后，一阵强烈的感觉流过我，让我两条腿几乎站不住(如果我有腿的话)。

Then the man held the little boy higher above the crowd so I could see him more clearly. The full view sent a wave of feeling through me so intense that (if I'd had them) it would have made my knees buckle.

那个双眼明亮的男孩跟我一样，没有手，没有脚，只有一只小小的左脚掌——这也跟我一样。虽然只有19个月大，但他完全就像我，于是我明白为什么那两个男人急着找我。稍后我得知那个男孩叫丹尼尔·马丁尼兹，是克里斯和派蒂的儿子。

The bright-eyed boy was just like me. No arms. No legs. He even had a little left foot like mine. Though he was only nineteen months old, he was exactly like me. I understood why the two men were so eager for me to see him. As I later learned, this boy's name is Daniel Martinez, the son of Chris and Patty.

那时我本来应该在准备演讲，但是看到丹尼尔——看到那孩子身上的我——触动了令人眩晕的感受，让我难以思考。一开始，我对他和他的家人心生怜悯，但尖锐的记忆与痛苦的情绪接着向我袭来，仿佛我又被带回自己在那个年纪所感受到的一切。我知道丹尼尔一定也经历过同样的事。

I was supposed to be preparing for my speech, but seeing Daniel—seeing myself in that child—triggered such a swirl of feelings that I couldn't think straight. I first felt compassion for him and his family. But then sharp memories and anguished emotions bombarded me as I was vividly brought back to how I had felt at about that age, and I realized that he must have been going through the same things.

“我知道他的感觉，”我想着，“我已经体验过他即将经历的。”

I know how he feels, I thought. I've already been through what he will experience.

看着丹尼尔，我感受到一股奇妙的联结，涌起了同理心。

Looking at Daniel, I felt this incredible connection and a surge of empathy for him.

不安、挫折、孤独等等过往的感受淹没了我，让我窒息，我觉得自己快被讲台上的灯光烤焦了，头昏眼花。那并不是恐慌，而是眼前这个男孩触动了我那颗孩子的心。

Old feelings of insecurity, frustration, and loneliness flooded back, pulling the air out of my lungs. I felt like I was baking under the stage lights. I felt woozy. It wasn't a panic attack exactly; the vision of this boy in front of me touched the boy inside me.

然后我突然灵光乍现，并感受到平静安稳。我心想：“在成长过程中，我从来没有遇见过跟我有同样处境的人好给我指引，但现在有了丹尼尔。我可以帮助他，而我的父母可以帮助他的父母。他不必经历我所经历的，或许我可以让他少受一些我受过的苦。”没有四肢的人生有多辛苦，我当然清楚，但我的生命仍然具有可以与人分享的价值。我所缺失的无法阻止我在这个世界引起一些改变。我喜欢激励别人、给人勇气，或许我无法如愿改变这个世界太多，但我依然确定自己的生命没有被浪费。我下定决心要有所贡献，你也应该相信自己有这样的力量。

Then I had a revelation that brought a sense of calm. When I was growing up, I had no one who shared my situation who could help guide me, but now Daniel has someone. I can help him. My parents can help his parents. He doesn't have to go through what I went through. Perhaps I can spare him some of the pain that I had to endure. Here I could clearly see that as difficult as it might be to live without limbs, my life still had value to be shared. There was nothing I lacked that would prevent me from making a difference in the world. My joy would be to encourage and inspire others. Even if I didn't change this planet as much as I would like, I'd still know with certainty that my life was not wasted. I was and am determined to make a contribution. You should believe in your power to do the same.

人生没有意义就没有希望，没有希望就没有信心。如果你找到贡献一己之力的方式，就能找到生命的意义，接着希望与信心自然来到，并陪伴你走向未来。

Life without meaning has no hope. Life without hope has no faith. If you find a way to contribute, you will find your meaning, and hope and faith will naturally follow and accompany you into your future.

我到诺特街教会本来是为了鼓舞别人，虽然一开始见到一个跟我如此相像的小男孩出现在人群中，让我心神大乱，但他让我再次确认我可以改变许多人的生命，特别是那些遭遇巨大挑战的人，例如丹尼尔与他的父母。

My visit to the Knott Avenue church was intended to inspire and encourage others. Though seeing a boy so much like me fl oating over the crowd initially threw me off, he was a powerful confirmation of the difference I could make in the lives of many people, especially those facing major challenges, such as Daniel and his parents.

这次的碰面实在太让我震撼了，我必须和那天的会众分享我的所见所思，因此我请丹尼尔的父母将他带上台来。

This encounter was so compelling that I had to share what I was seeing and feeling with the congregation, so I invited Daniel's parents to bring him up to the podium.

“生命没有巧合，”我说道，“每次呼吸、每个步伐，都是上帝的旨意。这个房间里有另一个男孩同样没手没脚，这并不是巧合。”

"There are no coincidences in life," I said. "Every breath, every step is ordained by God. It was no coincidence that another boy with no arms and no legs is in this room."

丹尼尔在我说话时开心地笑了起来，吸引住教堂里每个人的目光。当丹尼尔的父亲扶着他，让他直立地和我并排在一起时，会众陷入沉默。有着共同困境的年轻男子和小婴孩，他们正彼此微笑相对，此情此景让教堂里出现了啜泣和吸鼻水的声音。

As I said that, Daniel flashed a radiant smile, captivating everyone in the church. The congregation fell silent as his father held him upright and alongside me. The sight of us together, a young man and an infant with shared challenges, beaming at each other, set off weeping and sniffling in the pews around us.

我不是很容易哭，但是当周围的人都涕泗纵横时，我也忍不住流下泪来。记得那晚回到家，我不发一语，一直想着那个小男孩，想着他一定也体会到了我在那个年纪曾有过的感受。我还想到，当他慢慢意识到自己的状况，当他遇到我经历过的残酷行为和排斥时，会有什么感觉?我为他可能会承受的痛苦感到难过，但后来想到我和我的父母可以帮助他减轻负担，甚至为他带来希望，就觉得很振奋。

I don't cry easily, but as everyone around me unleashed a flood of tears, I couldn't help but get swept up too. At home that night, I remember saying not a single word. I kept thinking of this child and how he must be feeling just what I'd felt at his age. I thought also of how he would feel as his awareness grew, as he encountered the cruelties and rejection I'd experienced. I was sad for him and the suffering he likely would endure, but then I was heartened because I knew my parents and I could ease his burden and even light hope in his heart.

我等不及要告诉父母这件事，因为我知道他们一定也很想认识这个男孩，为他和他的父母带来希望。爸爸和妈妈在没有任何指引的状况下经历了许多事，我知道他们会非常感谢能有机会帮助这个家庭。

I couldn't wait to tell my parents because I knew they would be eager to meet this boy and to give him and his parents hope. My mum and dad had been through so much and they'd had no one to guide them. I knew they would be grateful for the opportunity to help this family.