Yes, Why God Talks to You.
Because I travel so frequently, I've come to expect the extra time and effort it takes to get re-dressed -- belt, shoes, jacket -- in any airport security lane. So you can imagine my delight when I arrived at my gate for a very early morning flight with plenty of time to spare.
Surveying the gate area, I perched myself about ten feet from the check-in counter -- in a perfect position to board first. I was pleasantly surprised by the lack of hub bub that normally characterizes morning departures. In fact, the only people anywhere near me were two gate agents chatting it up behind the counter. Not even one customer was around to ask to change seats or sign up to fly standby.
Neatly organized in my "mobile office space" with phone in hand, purse slung over my shoulder, and roller bag at my side, I finally relaxed enough to get a little work done while waiting for boarding to be announced. I pulled the stylus out of my phone, made a few taps, and began watching the emails roll into my inbox.
是的，《为什么神与你说话》。
因为我经常出差，所以我开始期望在机场的任何安检通道中都需要额外的时间和精力来重新打扮——腰带、鞋子、夹克。 因此，您可以想象，当我乘坐清晨的航班抵达登机口并有充足的空闲时间时，我的喜悦之情溢于言表。
我环视了登机口区域，在距离值机柜台约十英尺的地方坐下——这是一个最适合先登机的位置。 令我惊喜的是，这里没有通常早上出发的枢纽机场。 事实上，我附近唯一的人是两个在柜台后面闲聊的登机口工作人员。 甚至没有一位顾客要求换座位或报名飞行候补。
我手里拿着手机，肩上挎着钱包，身边放着滚轮包，整齐地整理着我的“移动办公空间”，在等待登机通知的同时，我终于可以放松地完成一些工作了。 我从手机中拔出手写笔，轻敲了几下，然后开始看着电子邮件滚入我的收件箱。
Not a minute had passed when I heard a loud shuffle, then a huge sigh. I looked up to find a short woman who had positioned herself almost on top of me. She was wearing a casual jogging outfit and appeared to be both distraught and a bit disheveled. She didn't have the "look" of a frequent flyer, so I immediately assumed that her experience in the airport security lane had taken its toll on her -- all the repacking, gathering, and patting down is often more than an occasional passenger is ready to handle so early in the day. But because she had nestled so close to me, especially when there was ample space to sit or stand anywhere else, I asked, in a CPR-ish kind of way, "Are you OK?"
"No," she didn't hesitate to reply.
For those of you who don't know me personally, I'm made for conversations like these. I love to talk to people, especially strangers!
So I asked a follow-up question: "What's wrong?" My father died yesterday, and I have to fly all the way from
California to Newark, New Jersey, by myself. I don't think I can do it. And I don't want to be alone," she blurted out.
I dropped my phone into my purse, looked her straight in the eye, and asked, "What's your name?"
She replied, "Diane."
"Diane, you're not alone," I said firmly. I asked, "Do you believe in God?" I must have been using my "outside" voice because in that moment, I saw one of the gate agents stop chatting and glance my way. But I pressed on when she nodded her head up and down, signaling a yes.
I said, "Diane, God will be with you on this plane. You're never alone." Then I asked, "Can I pray for you?"
She looked almost relieved and truly grateful... until I put my hand on her shoulder. She obviously wasn't anticipating that I would pray for her right then and there in the boarding lane of our gate. But it was too late at that point. I closed my eyes to pray, but not before catching the glance of the second gate agent, who was probably wondering why a prayer meeting had just sprung up at his counter. So, in my usual conversational manner, I began to pray for Diane - out loud. "Lord, be with Diane. Relieve her fears. You know how she's hurting. Please speak to her about her father, this trip, and her family. Be with her. Let her know that she's not alone. Thank you, Lord, for being with us during these times of sadness and pain. We love you. Amen."
I looked up and saw a genuine peace had come over Diane's face. She couldn't stop saying, "Thank you so much. Thank you so much. Thank you so much."
We boarded the plane shortly after our "boarding gate" prayer and didn't see each other again until a few hours later when she accidentally brushed my shoulder on her way back to the lavatory. I looked up just as she looked down; we were both surprised. She burst into a smile. Then she quickly bent down and whispered in my ear, "I'm not alone."
The first reason God talks to you is because He loves you.
God loves you so much that He is willing to reach into your heart with words of hope.
The death of a loved one, especially a parent, has the capacity to make time stand still like few other experiences.
My father, a typical midwestern blue-collar worker for most of his adult life, was a fun-loving, gentle man. Admirably, he was married fifty years to my mother and very content with very little. From childhood, though, he indulged in tobacco. His habit ranged from enjoying cigars with buddies on the golf course during his teens and twenties, to acquiring a variety of smoking pipes and stuffing them with aromatic tobacco that filled our home during the '50s and '60s. Eventually, he had to sneak a few puffs from his filter-less cigarettes whenever he could-outside, in the garage, or while walking the dog-thinking that he was hiding, or at least trying to hide, his habit from us.
还没过一分钟，我就听到一声响亮的脚步声，然后是一声巨大的叹息。 我抬头一看，发现一个身材矮小的女人几乎压在我身上。 她穿着一身休闲慢跑服，看上去既心烦意乱，又有点凌乱。 她没有常旅客的“外表”，所以我立即认为她在机场安检通道的经历对她造成了影响——所有的重新包装、收集和搜查往往不仅仅是一个偶然的乘客 这么早就准备好处理了。 但因为她离我太近了，尤其是当有足够的空间可以坐下或站到其他地方时，我以心肺复苏术式的方式问：“你还好吗？”
“不，”她毫不犹豫地回答。
对于那些不认识我个人的人来说，我是为这样的对话而生的。 我喜欢与人交谈，尤其是陌生人！
于是我又问了一个问题：“怎么了？” 我父亲昨天去世了，我必须千里迢迢地飞来
加利福尼亚州到新泽西州纽瓦克，我一个人。 我想我做不到。 我不想一个人呆着，”她脱口而出。
我把手机放进包里，直视着她的眼睛，问道：“你叫什么名字？”
她回答说：“黛安。”
“黛安，你并不孤单，”我坚定地说。 我问：“你信上帝吗？” 我一定是用了“外部”的声音，因为在那一刻，我看到一名登机口工作人员停止了聊天，并向我这边看了一眼。 但当她上下点头表示同意时，我继续说道。
我说：“黛安，上帝会在这架飞机上与你同在。你永远不会孤单。” 然后我问：“我可以为你祈祷吗？”
她看起来几乎如释重负，而且真的很感激……直到我把手放在她的肩膀上。 她显然没有预料到我会在登机口的登机通道上为她祈祷。 但那时已经太晚了。 我闭上眼睛祈祷，但在看到第二个登机口工作人员的目光之前，他可能想知道为什么他的柜台突然出现了祈祷会。 因此，以我惯常的交谈方式，我开始大声为黛安祈祷。 “主啊，与黛安同在。减轻她的恐惧。你知道她有多受伤。请和她谈谈她的父亲、这次旅行和她的家庭。与她在一起。让她知道她并不孤单。谢谢你，主， 在这些悲伤和痛苦的时刻与我们在一起。我们爱你。阿门。”
我抬起头，发现黛安的脸上露出了真正的平静。 她忍不住说：“非常感谢你，非常感谢你，非常感谢你。”
我们在“登机口”祈祷后不久就登上了飞机，直到几个小时后，她在返回厕所的路上不小心擦到了我的肩膀时才再次见面。 我抬起头，她也低下头； 我们都很惊讶。 她突然笑了。 然后她赶紧弯下腰，在我耳边低声说道：“我并不孤单。”
神与你说话的第一个原因是因为他爱你。
神如此爱你，以至于他愿意用充满希望的话语进入你的内心。
亲人的去世，尤其是父母的去世，能够让时间像其他经历一样停滞不前。
我的父亲在成年后的大部分时间里都是典型的中西部蓝领工人，是一个风趣、温柔的人。 令人钦佩的是，他与我母亲结婚五十年了，却对自己的一切感到非常满足。 然而，他从小就沉迷于烟草。 他的习惯包括从十几岁和二十几岁时与朋友在高尔夫球场上享受雪茄，到在五十年代和六十年代购买各种烟斗并在里面塞满芳香烟草，这些烟斗充满了我们的家。 最终，他不得不一有机会就偷偷吸上几口无过滤嘴香烟——在外面、在车库里，或者在遛狗的时候——认为他正在向我们隐瞒，或者至少试图隐瞒他的习惯。
For the last ten years of my father's life, he couldn't walk or breathe easily because he had smoked for many years, and he just couldn't quit. We talked about his habit endlessly. Doctors repeatedly warned him of the devastation the tobacco smoke was having on his lungs. He continually promised us he would quit smoking. He just didn't - or couldn't.
Then, one Sunday night in April, my mother called each of her three children, all of us born in Cleveland, Ohio, and now residents of sunny California. Mom asked us to come home on the next plane. She delivered the sad news that our father had suffered a very serious heart attack - and he was in a coma.
Over a twenty-four hour period, each of us arrived in Cleveland by order of our birth-my sister first, then my brother, then me. As if on cue, my father awoke from his coma within an hour of his youngest child's arrival. We held each other, prayed softly and often, realizing Dad had a very short memory. Showing pictures helped him get his bearings, but he often reverted back to an earlier time and place that was happiest for him. Nevertheless, we cherished every moment together, taking turns sleeping at the hospital.
For about five days, Dad's breathing and memory slowly improved, so he was placed in a "step-down" unit and taken off life-support machines. Our family felt relieved that he would soon be coming home, and we started making plans for his recovery.
Comforted by Dad's prognosis, we all decided to sleep in our own beds for the first time since arriving in Cleveland, rather than camping out on one of the hospital couches in a nearby waiting room. So after the rest of the family went home for dinner, I stayed a few more hours to watch the Cleveland Indians baseball game with my dad. A die-hard Cleveland Indians fan that had not seen a World Championship pennant awarded since the 1950s, he had been energized by the Indians' exciting season the previous year. It had revived his hope for a victory that he had not felt for decades. Together, we thoroughly enjoyed watching all nine innings of the away game against the Toronto Blue Jays. And though it continued late into the evening, Dad stayed awake and alert through every pitch, every hit, and the eventual win. As the game ended, I asked Dad if I could say a little prayer with him -- and as our hands met in an unexpected clasp, I asked God to take away any fear and send angels to surround him. I kissed his forehead, walked down the hospital corridor, and heard Dad ask the nurse, "Did you hear that nice prayer, my daughter prayed for me?"
Our family awoke to a phone call early the next morning,asking us to come to the hospital quickly - Dad had experienced another severe heart attack. We threw on our coats and rushed to the hospital. As we entered the step-down unit, a nurse met us with the very sad news that Dad had died in his sleep and could not be resuscitated.
We left the hospital as quickly as we had arrived, a bit shaken, mostly stunned because we had no further opportunity to be with Dad or talk to him. As the day unfolded, we were required to make a number of decisions that would define my father's life. We made calls to our families, and many times, we were so choked up with emotion. We couldn't even talk.
My husband, still in California, though he had gotten the news earlier in the day, called later in the afternoon to ask, "Have you heard God's voice today?" He added, "You don't want to miss God's voice." Then he encouraged me to spend time alone with God, talking to Him and listening to Him.
Our shared daily habit of listening to God talk has remained the same for years. Each day, we open a 365-day Bible to "today's"reading-so listening to God talk to us on that April 27 would be no different. On that day, the New Testament reading relayed the story of Jesus talking about life after death, found in chapter 23 of Luke. The last verse of the day's reading said, "And Jesus
在我父亲生命的最后十年里，他走路或呼吸都困难，因为他抽了很多年烟，而且他就是戒不掉。 我们没完没了地谈论他的习惯。 医生反复警告他烟草烟雾对他的肺部造成的破坏。 他不断向我们保证他会戒烟。 他只是没有——或者不能。
然后，四月的一个周日晚上，我母亲给她的三个孩子分别打电话，我们都出生在俄亥俄州克利夫兰，现在居住在阳光明媚的加利福尼亚州。 妈妈让我们乘坐下一班飞机回家。 她传达了一个悲伤的消息：我们的父亲患有严重的心脏病，并且处于昏迷状态。
在二十四小时内，我们每个人都按照出生顺序到达克利夫兰——首先是我的姐姐，然后是我的兄弟，然后是我。 就像是在暗示一样，我父亲在他最小的孩子到来后不到一个小时就从昏迷中醒来。 我们互相拥抱，经常轻声祈祷，意识到爸爸的记忆力很差。 展示照片帮助他了解方向，但他经常回到对他来说最快乐的较早时间和地点。 尽管如此，我们还是很珍惜在一起的每一刻，轮流在医院睡觉。
大约五天的时间里，爸爸的呼吸和记忆力慢慢好转，因此他被安置在“降压”病房，并脱离了生命支持机器。 他很快就要回家了，我们一家人都松了口气，开始为他的康复制定计划。
父亲的预后让我们感到安慰，我们都决定自抵达克利夫兰以来第一次睡在自己的床上，而不是在附近候诊室的医院沙发上露营。 因此，在家人回家吃晚饭后，我又呆了几个小时，和爸爸一起观看克利夫兰印第安人队的棒球比赛。 作为一名克利夫兰印地安人队的铁杆球迷，自 20 世纪 50 年代以来，他就再也没有见过世界冠军锦旗的颁发，去年印地安人队激动人心的赛季让他充满了活力。 这让他重新燃起了几十年来从未感受到的胜利的希望。 我们一起非常享受观看客场对阵多伦多蓝鸟队的全部九局比赛。 尽管这种情况一直持续到深夜，但爸爸在每次投球、每次击球以及最终的胜利中都保持清醒和警惕。 比赛结束时，我问爸爸是否可以和他一起祈祷——当我们的双手意外地握在一起时，我请求上帝带走任何恐惧，并派天使来包围他。 我吻了吻他的额头，沿着医院走廊走去，听到爸爸问护士：“我女儿为我祈祷，你听到那美妙的祈祷了吗？”
第二天一早，我们一家人就被电话吵醒，让我们赶紧去医院——爸爸又心脏病发作了。 我们穿上外套，赶往医院。 当我们进入降压病房时，一位护士向我们报告了一个非常悲伤的消息：爸爸在睡梦中去世了，无法苏醒。
我们和到达医院一样快地离开了医院，有点震惊，主要是震惊，因为我们没有更多的机会与父亲在一起或与他交谈。 随着这一天的到来，我们需要做出一些决定我父亲一生的决定。 我们给家人打电话，很多次都激动得哽咽。 我们甚至无法说话。
我的丈夫仍在加利福尼亚州，虽然他当天早些时候就得到了这个消息，但下午晚些时候打电话过来问：“今天你听到上帝的声音了吗？” 他补充道，“你不想错过上帝的声音。” 然后他鼓励我花时间与神独处，与他交谈并聆听他的讲话。
多年来，我们共同的日常聆听上帝谈话的习惯一直保持不变。 每天，我们都会打开一本 365 天的圣经来“今天”阅读——所以在 4 月 27 日聆听上帝对我们说话也不会有什么不同。 那天，新约读物转述了路加福音第 23 章中耶稣谈论死后生命的故事。 当天读经的最后一节说：“耶稣
replied, 'I assure you, today you will be with me in paradise' (v.erse 43 NLT).
As if heaven came down into my heart, I heard God talk to a daughter whose father had breathed his last breath and who needed comfort and assurance. On the day my father died, through my daily, planned Bible reading, I heard God saying to me, "Today, your dad is with me in heaven."
Now, I don't want you to misunderstand me by assuming that I believe this verse in Luke was written about me or for me. But I do want you to understand that I believe God talks to me on any given day by comforting me through Bible verses I'm reading that day.
As I sat upon the bed in the very bedroom I had occupied as a child, I both cried and laughed at the serendipitous communication I was having with God. Not someone who believes in luck or chance, I rushed out of my bedroom to share the verse in the gospel by Luke , with my mother and siblings. We determined to prominently place this very verse on the pamphlet that we would give to all those who attended the memorial service for my dad a few days later.
Later that evening, the Cleveland Indians televised a second baseball game in their series with the Blue Jays, again from Toronto's home stadium, which at the time was called the Sky Dome . Just as the game began, I was reminded of the sweet and final experience I had with my father the previous night while watching the game. Immediately - and at the time, I didn't know why - another thought came to mind. Find the Sports section. So I did. I located the newspaper that had been delivered to the front door of our family home every day for decades. I thumbed through each section of the Cleveland Plain Dealer until I found the front page of the Sports section.
In the mid-1990s, the Cleveland Indians' home games were played in a newly built and newly named stadium, Jacob's Field. At the time, their games were always sold out, and die-hard Indians fans who couldn't get seats for Cleveland home games had loaded dozens of buses for the Toronto series. Fans by the hundreds were willing to travel for hours and cross the Canadian border to see their beloved Indians play the SkyDome. The reporters were so impressed by the number of fans who had made the trek to Toronto that they made it the lead story on the front page of the Sports section on April 27, 1996. Across the page in big, bold letters was the question, "Has the SkyDome become Jacob's Field?"
Perhaps it is significant at this juncture to make a note that my father's name is Jacob Hunter. My grandfather's name is Jacob. And, my only son's name is Jacob.
For me, the local newspaper's reference to Jacob and the sky was not simply a coincidence. It was a timely, direct personal communication that came down from heaven into my hurting heart and our childhood home. I felt God talking to my family, comforting us with something we already knew but were grateful to be reminded of: On the day our earthly father passed away, he had gone to be with our Father in heaven.
God is determined to talk to you in ways that you will recognize - in order to spare you unnecessary pain and to remind you how intimately He is involved in every aspect of your life. God wants you to hear His personal, parental, protective, and powerful voice because He loves you deeply.
The second reason God talks to you is because He created you to communicate with Him as easily and as often as you communicate with others.
Most children raised in either Jewish or Christian homes have heard the stories of Joseph and Daniel, Moses and David, or Esther. In each case, the main person hears God talk, or a messenger from God speaks to them on His behalf. God's instruction usually causes a crisis of belief, along with some incredible
回答说：“我向你保证，今天你会和我一起在天堂里”（第 43 节 NLT）。
仿佛天堂降临到我的心里，我听到上帝对一个女儿说话，她的父亲已经咽下了最后一口气，她需要安慰和保证。 在父亲去世的那天，通过我每天有计划的读经，我听到神对我说：“今天，你的父亲在天堂与我同在。”
现在，我不想让你误会我，认为我相信路加福音中的这节经文是关于我或为我而写的。 但我确实希望你明白，我相信上帝在任何一天都会通过我当天正在阅读的圣经经文来安慰我。
当我坐在我小时候住过的那间卧室的床上时，我为与上帝的偶然交流而哭又笑。 我不是一个相信运气或机会的人，我冲出卧室，与我的母亲和兄弟姐妹分享路加福音中的经文。 我们决定将这节经文放在小册子的显着位置，几天后我们将分发给所有参加我父亲追悼会的人。
当天晚上晚些时候，克利夫兰印地安人队再次在多伦多的主场（当时被称为“天穹”）转播了他们与蓝鸟队系列赛的第二场棒球比赛。 比赛刚开始，我就想起前一天晚上看比赛时和父亲一起度过的甜蜜而最后的经历。 立刻——当时我不知道为什么——另一个想法浮现在我的脑海里。 找到体育部分。 所以我做了。 我找到了几十年来每天送到我们家前门的报纸。 我翻阅了克利夫兰平原经销商的每个部分，直到找到体育部分的首页。
20 世纪 90 年代中期，克利夫兰印地安人队的主场比赛在新建并新命名的体育场雅各布球场 (Jacob's Field) 举行。 当时，他们的比赛总是售空，而无法获得克利夫兰主场比赛座位的印第安人铁杆球迷，已经装载了数十辆巴士来观看多伦多系列赛。 数百名球迷愿意花几个小时穿越加拿大边境，观看他们心爱的印第安人在天穹球场的比赛。 记者们对长途跋涉来到多伦多的球迷数量印象深刻，因此他们将其作为 1996 年 4 月 27 日体育版头版的头条新闻。整个页面上用大而粗的字母写着这样的问题： “天穹变成了雅各布的领域吗？”
也许在这个时候记下我父亲的名字是雅各布·亨特是很重要的。 我祖父的名字是雅各布。 而且，我唯一的儿子叫雅各布。
对我来说，当地报纸提到雅各布和天空不仅仅是巧合。 这是一种及时、直接的个人沟通，从天堂降临到我受伤的心和我们童年的家。 我感觉到上帝在对我的家人说话，用一些我们已经知道但很感激被提醒的事情来安慰我们：在我们地上的父亲去世的那天，他已经去与我们在天上的父亲在一起了。
神决心以你能认出的方式与你交谈，以免你遭受不必要的痛苦，并提醒你他与你生活的方方面面密切相关。 神希望你听到他个人的、慈爱的、保护性的、强有力的声音，因为他深爱你。
神与你交谈的第二个原因是，他创造了你，让你能够像与他人交流一样轻松、频繁地与他交流。
大多数在犹太教或基督教家庭长大的孩子都听过约瑟和但以理、摩西和大卫或以斯帖的故事。 在每种情况下，主要人物都会听到上帝说话，或者上帝的使者代表他对他们说话。 上帝的指示通常会引起信仰危机，并伴随一些令人难以置信的事情
No comments:
Post a Comment