The Scars of Love 爱的伤疤
Some years ago on a hot summer day in south Florida a little boy decided togo for a swim in the old swimming hole behind his house.
几年前的一个炎炎夏日，在美国佛罗里达州南部，有个小男孩为贪图凉快，决定去自家房子后面一个形成已久的深水潭中游泳。
In a hurry to dive into the cool water,he ran out the back door,leavingbehind shoes,socks,and shirt as he went. He flew into the water,notrealizing that as he swam toward the middle of the lake,an alligator wasswimming toward the shore. His mother - in the house was looking out thewindow - saw the two as they got closer and closer together. In utterfear,she ran toward the water,yelling to her son as loudly as she could.
因为迫不及待地想投入到清凉的水中，他飞快地从后门跑了出去，边跑边脱掉鞋子、袜子和衬衣，把它们随手抛在了身后。他一头扎进了水里，丝毫没有意识到自己游往潭中心的同时，一只美洲鳄也正在朝岸边游来。小男孩的母亲当时在屋子里透过窗子向外看着，发现那只美洲鳄正向她的孩子步步逼近。她极度惊恐起来，一边迅速奔向水潭，一边声嘶力竭地朝自己的孩子呼喊着。
Hearing her voice, the little boy became alarmed and made a return to swimto his mother. It was too late. Just as he reached her,the alligatorreached him.
听到她的呼喊，小男孩才猛然意识到了危险，立即掉头向岸边的母亲游去。可这时已经无济于事。他的手勉强刚够到他的母亲，鳄鱼也已经接触到了他。
From the dock, the mother grabbed her little boy by the arms just as thealligator snatched his legs. That began an incredible tug-of-war betweenthe two. The alligator was much stronger than the mother, but the motherwas much too passionate to let go. A farmer happened to drive by, heard herscreams, raced from his truck, took aim and shot the alligator.
母亲在岸上拼命地拽紧儿子的手臂，而此时美洲鳄也死死地咬住孩子的腿不放。为了争夺小男孩，母亲和鳄鱼之间俨然展开了一场让人难以置信的拔河较量。美洲鳄的力气显然要比母亲强大得多，但是母亲挽救儿子的坚定信念让她无论如何也绝不放手。就在这万分危急的关头，一位农夫恰巧驾车经过，一听到孩子母亲的尖叫便飞速从卡车上跳下，瞄准鳄鱼并开枪将其射杀。
Remarkably, after weeks and weeks in the hospital, the little boy survived. His legs were extremely scarred by the vicious attack of the animal and, on his arms, were deep scratches where his mother's fingernails dug into his flesh in her effort to hang on to the son she loved.
值得庆幸的是，经过在医院数周的抢救治疗，小男孩居然存活了下来。鳄鱼凶残的袭击在他的腿上刻下了触目惊心的伤痕。不仅如此，他的双臂上也留下了深深的抓痕，那是在生死关头母亲为了牢牢抓住挚爱的儿子，以至于手指甲都掐入了儿子的肉中所留下的。
The newspaper reporter who interviewed the boy after the trauma, asked if he would show him his scars. The boy lifted his pant legs. And then, with obvious pride, he said to the reporter. But look at my arms. I have great scars on my arms, too. I have them because my mom wouldn't let go.
事后，这位死里逃生的小男孩接受了一位报社记者的.采访。当记者问他是否愿意让大家看看他身上的伤疤时，小男孩挽起了自己的裤腿，腿上深深的疤痕暴露无遗。紧接着，他满脸自豪地告诉记者，“大家还是看看我的手臂吧，我的手臂上也有好多伤疤呢。这是妈妈不放开我，在救我的时候留下的。”
You and I can identify with that little boy. We have scars, too. No, not from an alligator, or anything quite so dramatic. But, the scars of a painful past. Some of those scars are unsightly and have caused us deep regret.
看了这个小男孩的故事后，人们都能感同身受。其实我们每个人身上都有伤疤。只不过并不是被鳄鱼咬的，或任何如此戏剧性事件所造成，而是过往的痛苦经历所留下的。那些伤疤是如此难看，让人深感懊悔。
But, some wounds, my friend, are because God has refused to let go. In the midst of your struggle, He's been there holding on to you.
但是，我的朋友，你可曾想过有些伤口是一些不想放弃你的人造成的。在你挣扎的过程中，那些爱你的人为了拉住你，才在你身上留下了这些伤疤。
美文欣赏:你可以选择自己想过的生活
Occasionally, life can be undeniably, impossibly difficult. We are faced with challenges and events that can seem overwhelming, life-destroying to the point where it may be hard to decide whether to keep going. But you always have a choice. Jessica Heslop shares her powerful, inspiring journey from the worst times in her life to the new life she has created for herself:
生活有时候困难得难以置信，但又不容置疑。我们面临的挑战与困境似乎无法抵御，试图毁灭我们生活，甚至使你犹疑是否继续走下去。但是你总有选择的余地。从人生低谷走向新生活的杰西卡·赫斯乐普，在这里与我们分享她启迪心灵、充满震撼力的生活之旅。
In 2012 I had the worst year of my life.
2012年是我生活中最艰难的一年。
I worked in a finance job that I hated and I lived in a concrete jungle city with little greenery. I occupied my time with meaningless relationships and spent copious quantities of money on superficialities. I was searching for happiness and had no idea where to find it.
我做着讨厌的财务工作，住在难寻绿色的高楼林立的城市。我忙于无意义的交往，在一些肤浅表面的东西上大笔开销。我寻找快乐，却又不知道它在哪里。
Then I fell ill with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) and became virtually bed bound. I had to quit my job and subsequently was left with no income. I lived with my boyfriend of then only 3 months who financially supported me and our relationship was put under great pressure. I eventually regained my physical health, but not long after that I got a call from my family at home to say that my father’s cancer had fiercely progressed and that he had been admitted to a hospice.
然后我患上了慢性疲劳综合症，几乎到了卧床不起的地步。我不得不辞掉工作，同时也就断了财源。我和那时仅相处了3个月的男友住在一起，经济上完全依赖于他，我们的关系承受着巨大压力。终于我恢复健康，但不久，我接到家里的电话，父亲的癌症急剧恶化，已经住进了临终关怀中心。