人生風暴 ... Like storms in life

今年世界不同地區同病相憐，
就是遭遇幾十年一遇最強勁的風暴，
風暴名字不斷成為本地及國際新聞的主角。

一個月前颱風山竹來襲，
這是超強颱風、颶風級別的風災，
本地數以萬計的樹木倒下，
行人路旁，部分樹木連根拔起，
已被鋸斷。

同類的樹木，
雖然有些在颶風中倒下，
但旁邊仍有同伴屹立，
兩者之間為什麼有分別？

細看之下，
發現不少樹幹年輪中間都有大小裂縫，
有些形狀如大字，有些如米字。
難道因為樹幹本來已經「內傷」

(樹幹有問題，生長得不結實)
所以經不起颶風吹襲？

Among a row of trees,
 some have fallen while others have overcome the super storm.
What makes the difference?
Notice there are cracks
 in the trunk.

另一例子，
樹幹中心裂紋更明顯。
Another counterpart.

相比之下，旁邊有不少樹木仍屹立不倒，
是否因為它們根夠深、營養夠足、
樹幹生長結實，因此能夠承受颶風吹襲？

這令我想起人生中的「風暴」也是同樣道理 ─
對於信主的人，
如果信仰根基穩固，聽道而行道，
主耶穌比喻說，像房子建在磐石而非沙土上
(馬太福音七章24-27節)，
那麼就算遭遇人生中的「風暴」，
也可以經得起考驗。

一些朋友知道我過往走的路崎嶇，
或會大惑不解，或有不同看法和感受。
至於我自己呢，久而久之，漸已變得安然。

像這些樹木，生命才是最重要的事。
然而人的將來，不是自己可以完全掌握的。

樹木也如是，
誰知是否可以在下次風暴中仍能屹立不倒？
唯有往下紥更深的根，汲取更多的養料，
枝幹更成熟堅實，才能迎接下次風暴的吹襲。

枯枝再長新葉
New leaves sprout out again after super storm had hit off all the old leaves.

以上的樹木，
原本在風災後，
樹枝是光秃秃的，
還以為它難有生機，
不料兩周後竟長出翠綠新葉！

當樹木根夠深，
有水、有陽光、有養份，
風暴就不能阻止它重生；
有良好的根基去迎接人生風暴，
樹木與人也是同一道理。

後記：
        昨夜突然落「筆」寫此文，今晚才發現是因為昨晚翻閱去年日記，記下《每日經歷神》一書12月16日的文章《蓋在磐石上》的重點！

        當中提及「人生風暴」與「房子蓋在磐石上」，由此令我聯念早前觀察及拍攝風災後的樹木。以下是部分原文，寫得確好，而且看過近期風暴在各地所造成的破壞情況，就更明白了！

『耶穌說，人把神的話語應用在生活上，就像一個聰明人把房子蓋在磐石上。磐石是很堅硬的，很難蓋房子在上面。這需要我們非常努力，才能把建築物蓋在磐石上。......你如何分辨自己正在蓋甚麼樣的房子？看暴風雨來臨時的反應即可得知。人生風暴會掃去那些不留心神話語的人；而那些把生命建立在神話語的人，會在任何風暴中屹立不搖。

        靈性的成熟是沒有捷徑的，唯有努力順服神的話語才能成熟。你下回聽到耶穌的話，要立即將祂的話語堅固地建立在生活中，以至於沒有任何人生風暴會動搖你。』

        因此，《人生風暴》這題目，不是我想出來的。

Storms in life

Various places on Earth have experienced the strongest hurricanes or typhoons in this year.
Super storms have appeared in new headlines.
After the super storm, I observed that among the tree trunks that were sawed,
there were cracks in the centre of the trunks.
Were they the signs of weaknesses so that the trees could not stand the storms?
In their proximity, there were other trees that survived the blow.

From this scene, I thought about the storms in life.
For those who believe in Christ, if the foundation of faith is strong,
as Jesus described as houses that sit on rocks rather than sand,
then they could withstand challenges when they face storms in life.

Some friends knew that I have walked an unusual road in the past
and have different thoughts about this.
For me, I have gradually learnt to be still.
Just like these trees, life is most important.
But the future is not solely within our control.
Who knows whether one could withstand the next storm?
Only when trees get deep rooted and get more nutrients,
and grow stronger trunks,
could they face the next storm.

The following photo was new leaves sprouted out two weeks
after the destructive super typhoon had blown away all the leaves.
Though devastating, the super typhoon could not obstruct new life
when the trees are deeply rooted in good soil.
Same as for faith to withstand storms in life:

P.S. Tonight I finally found out why I suddenly wrote down this article. For last night, I was reading my diary written on 16 Dec. last year, which marked down the main points in the article on 16 Dec. 'Built on a rock' in the book 'Experiencing God Day by Day' . The idea of storms in life and building houses on rocks were mentioned in that article. So these ideas were not my own. The article is well written. Here are some extracts from the article:

"Jesus said that a man who takes the words of God and builds them into his life is like a wise man who builds his house on a rock. Rocks are hard to build on. It takes great effort to attach a foundation to a rock... 

How can you tell what kind of foundation a life has been built on? Watch to see what happens when a storm comes. A life built upon the Word of God will withstand the very storm that sweeps away the life that did not heed God's Word. There are no shortcuts to spiritual maturity. Maturity only comes through hard work and obedience to what God says. The next time you hear Jesus speaking, immediately begin to firmly build His truth into your life, so that no storm can unsettle you."

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