非本身之美 Beauty Not Out of You
【作者:取材自Catechetical Help 顾美芬译】剪下一方暖和--喻道小故事 2013.05.19
Once there was a briar growing in the ditch. A man came with a spade , and as he dug around it, the briar said, "What is he going to do with me? Doesn't he see that I am worthless?" In spite of that, the gardener dug up the briar and planted it in his garden among the finest flowers. Again the briar thought, "What a mistake to plant a good-for-nothing briar among such beautiful flowers." But the man, having planted the briar, went away, never heeding the words. After some time he returned with a sharp knife, made a small slit in the briar, and grafted onto it a flower. In due time on that old briar bush began to bloom a great number of fragrant, beautiful flowers. Then the gardener said to the briar bush: "Your present beauty is not due to what came out of you, but what I put into you."
字汇
briar 荆棘
spade 铲子
heed 留心
graft 接枝
从前有棵荆棘长在沟里，有人拿了铲子在周围挖掘，荆棘说，「他打算拿我怎么样啊？他看不出我不值钱吗？」尽管如此，园丁还是把荆棘挖了起来，种在他的花园里，和最好的花在一起。荆棘又想了，「在这么漂亮的花中间种上没用的荆棘可是个天大的错误。」这人种了荆棘就走了，对这些话毫不在意。过了一阵子，他带着一把利刀回来，在荆棘上画了一道小口，把一朵花接枝上去。到了时候，原来的荆棘丛开始长出一大片香气扑鼻的美丽花朵。园丁这时候对荆棘丛说：「你现在的美，不是从你本身出来的，是我放进去的。」
思考与应用
1. 荆棘说的话让我们想到哪一种人？自卑？自大？还是两种都有的？
2. 想想有谁曾经把美的特质接枝到你生命里面？
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