On the afternoon of March 19, I took a walk as I did every day. During the walk, I heard that there was a broadcast over and over again to inform the residents to take the nucleic acid test downstairs. Suddenly I realized that the coronavirus epidemic became serious again.
On my way home, I met a fruit farmer who sent some apples to the teachers of a vocational school and he had two bags of apples left. I bought them without hesitation.
In the evening, I saw the notice posted by the Community Committee that all residents must participate in the nucleic acid test. The notice didn’t say that the community was going to be closed, but I’d experienced a similar situation two years ago, so I went to the supermarket and bought several kilos of eggs, vermicelli, potatoes and other food which can be stored for a long time.
The next morning, I rushed to a food store and bought a bag of rice, a bag of noodles, and some toilet paper. As soon as I reached home, I heard the news that the community was going to be closed. I felt quite lucky to have bought the necessities in advance.
During the spiritual devotion on the next morning, when I repeated the Lord’s Prayer which is quite familiar to me, “Give us this day our daily bread.”, I suddenly felt extremely grateful to the Lord! I couldn’t help opening my eyes to glance at the food on the table and then continued my prayer. I never even thought about the actual meaning of this “old” prayer, but it became so real to me at that moment. I suddenly started to understand the true meaning of “One does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.” When the crisis was coming, I tried my best to store more food in case of need. But isn’t it more urgent for me to store something spiritually?
A few years ago, I bought some notebooks and sticky notes to memorize the Bible. At first, I read and transcribed the Bible every day, so as to be able to recite it. But as time goes by, I was occupied by other things and put the Bible aside. Now when I think of it, what a huge loss it is! If I kept reading it, then the number of words that I would have learned from the Bible would be huge by now. As stated in Psalm 119:11, “I treasure your word in my heart, so that I may not sin against you.” It reminds us that it is a must for us to memorize the words in the Bible.
Charles R. Swindoll said it right, “In fact, I think there is no greater benefit in Christian life than memorizing scripture... By reciting scripture, your prayer life is strengthened; Your testimony will be more touching and infectious; Your attitude and vision will change accordingly.”
I agree with the words of Mr. Swindoll above, and keeping God’s word in my heart has not only helped me avoid sin, but also helped me grow in all aspects of my life. Of course, I know that practicing the teachings is more important than trying to recite the scriptures, that is, to go deep into the scriptures and the meaning of the scriptures. Through meditation, I can implement the words of the Bible in my daily life, and even change my own temperament!
- Translated by Nicolas Cao
3月19日下午，我按照惯例出去散步。途中听到一个小区门口，有广播在一遍又一遍通知居民到楼下采集核酸。忽然意识到是不是疫情又严重了？
回来的路上，有果农正在给一个职业学校的教职员工送订购的苹果，剩余两袋子。我毫不犹豫地买下一袋子。
晚上我就接到所在小区居委会的通知说，要去做核酸检测，也没有通知说要封小区。但有了三年前疫情突然造访的经历，我去附近的超市买了几斤鸡蛋、粉条、土豆等放得住的食品。
第二天一大早上，我匆匆忙忙去粮店，买了一袋米、一小袋面，和一提卫生纸回来。脚跟儿还没站稳，就听到要封小区的通知。不得不庆幸自己的危机意识，以及付诸于实际的储备行动。
第三天早上灵修时，当主祷文里那句已经“烂熟”的：“今日的饮食赐给我们”，从嘴里“嘟噜”出来时，我心底忽然涌起深深的感恩！不由自主地睁开双眼，望了一眼餐桌上的食物，就马上低下头默想，平日里这句根本不过脑子、硬邦邦地随口说出的祷文，此时此地竟是如此迫切！促使我忽然领悟到，“我们活着并不是单靠食物，乃是靠他口里所出的一切话”的深刻含义。急难突然来到时，我知道想尽办法储存更多的米、面和菜等，以备不时之需，可是，我为灵里的需求更多地储备了吗？
想一想几年前，我买了一大堆的背诵经文的小本子和即时贴。刚开始时，每天热火朝天地背诵经文，抄写经文，不住地读祷。可随着时间的流逝，我去忙于他事，背诵经文的事就随之搁置下来，没有持之以恒，想一想，这是多大的损失啊！如果我能一直坚持下来，到如今，存记在心里的神的话，一定很可观了。正如诗篇119篇11节，“我将你的话藏在心里，免得我得罪你”，这个提醒我们背诵经文的金句，是多么重要啊！
我觉得，还是美国畅销书作家、哲学家施蕴道（Charles R. Swindoll）把背诵经文的益处，总结得特别到位，他说：“事实上，我认为在基督徒生命中没有比背诵经文更有益处……通过背诵经文，你的祷告生活会得到强化；你的见证会更感人、更有感染力；你看待事物的态度和看见会随之改变。”
我特别认同施蕴道以上的心得，而且，将神的话存记在心，不仅帮助我远离罪恶，更能促进我生命各方面的成长。当然，我知道，比努力背诵经文更重要的是，对经文要“走心”，就是深入到经文和经文的意义当中，通过默想，不仅要落实在我的生活中，更要改变我的性情呢！
疫情生活随笔 之“储粮”篇
On the afternoon of March 19, I took a walk as I did every day. During the walk, I heard that there was a broadcast over and over again to inform the residents to take the nucleic acid test downstairs. Suddenly I realized that the coronavirus epidemic became serious again.
On my way home, I met a fruit farmer who sent some apples to the teachers of a vocational school and he had two bags of apples left. I bought them without hesitation.
In the evening, I saw the notice posted by the Community Committee that all residents must participate in the nucleic acid test. The notice didn’t say that the community was going to be closed, but I’d experienced a similar situation two years ago, so I went to the supermarket and bought several kilos of eggs, vermicelli, potatoes and other food which can be stored for a long time.
The next morning, I rushed to a food store and bought a bag of rice, a bag of noodles, and some toilet paper. As soon as I reached home, I heard the news that the community was going to be closed. I felt quite lucky to have bought the necessities in advance.
During the spiritual devotion on the next morning, when I repeated the Lord’s Prayer which is quite familiar to me, “Give us this day our daily bread.”, I suddenly felt extremely grateful to the Lord! I couldn’t help opening my eyes to glance at the food on the table and then continued my prayer. I never even thought about the actual meaning of this “old” prayer, but it became so real to me at that moment. I suddenly started to understand the true meaning of “One does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.” When the crisis was coming, I tried my best to store more food in case of need. But isn’t it more urgent for me to store something spiritually?
A few years ago, I bought some notebooks and sticky notes to memorize the Bible. At first, I read and transcribed the Bible every day, so as to be able to recite it. But as time goes by, I was occupied by other things and put the Bible aside. Now when I think of it, what a huge loss it is! If I kept reading it, then the number of words that I would have learned from the Bible would be huge by now. As stated in Psalm 119:11, “I treasure your word in my heart, so that I may not sin against you.” It reminds us that it is a must for us to memorize the words in the Bible.
Charles R. Swindoll said it right, “In fact, I think there is no greater benefit in Christian life than memorizing scripture... By reciting scripture, your prayer life is strengthened; Your testimony will be more touching and infectious; Your attitude and vision will change accordingly.”
I agree with the words of Mr. Swindoll above, and keeping God’s word in my heart has not only helped me avoid sin, but also helped me grow in all aspects of my life. Of course, I know that practicing the teachings is more important than trying to recite the scriptures, that is, to go deep into the scriptures and the meaning of the scriptures. Through meditation, I can implement the words of the Bible in my daily life, and even change my own temperament!
- Translated by Nicolas Cao
Life Essay Under Pandemic: Grain Storage
