Sometimes just when we need the power of miracles, they arise in the places we would least expect.
On a cold January afternoon in 1989, I was climbing Egypt’s Mt. Horeb, hoping to get to the peak by sunset to see the valley below. As I was winding up the narrow path, I’d sometimes see other hikers who were coming down. While they would generally pass with simply a nod or a greeting in another language, there was one man who did neither.
I saw him coming and as he got closer, I could see that, unlike other hikers, he was wearing traditional Egyptian galabia( 长 袍 ). What made his appearance so strange was that the man didn’t even appear to be Egyptian, but was a small-framed Asian man with little hair and round glasses.
As we neared one another, I said Hello, but not a sound came from him. I thought maybe he hadn’t heard me. Suddenly he stopped directly in front of me, looked up from the ground, and spoke a single sentence to me in English, “Sometimes you don’t know what you have lost until you’ve lost it.” As I took in what I had just heard, he simply stepped around me and continued his going down.
That moment in my life was a small miracle. The reason is less about what the man said but more about the timing and the context. The year was 1989, and it was during my Egyptian pilgrimage (朝圣), and specifically during my hike to Mt. Horeb, that I’d set the time aside to make decisions that would affect my career, my friends, my family, and ultimately, my life.
I had to ask myself what the chances were of an Asian man dressed in an Egyptian galabia coming down from the top of this historic mountain just when I was walking up, stopping before me, and offering his wisdom, seemingly from out of nowhere. My answer to my own question was easy: nearly no chance! In a meet that lasted less than two minutes, a total stranger had brought something clear and something of a warning, regarding the huge changes that I would make within a matter of days. In my way of thinking, that’s a miracle.
Miracles are everywhere and occur every day for different reasons, in response to the different needs that we may have in the moment. Our job may be less about questioning the extraordinary things that happen in our daily lives and more about accepting the gifts they bring.
【小题1】Before the Asian man spoke, how did the author think about him?| A．He was very rude and strange. |
| B．He was different from others. |
| C．He was shy and nod to strangers. |
| D．He looked ordinary and was talkative. |
| A．He was in search of a miracle in his life. |
| B．It was a place for a religious person to head for. |
| C．He intended to make arrangements for his future life. |
| D．He waited patiently in expectation of meeting a wise person. |
| A．For what reason did the man stop before me ? |
| B．Why did the Asian man go to the mountain ? |
| C．What change would I make within a matter of days ? |
| D．What was the probability that others told us the right words ? |
| A．Because the Asian man’s appearance had a deciding effect on his future life. |
| B．Because his words were in perfect response to the need he had at that moment. |
| C．Because what the Asian man said was meaningful in the philosophy of life. |
| D．Because the Asian man impressed on him the worth of what he had possessed. |
| A．Can you recognize a miracle? | B．Is a miracle significant to us? |
| C．When might a miracle occur? | D．Why do we need a miracle? |
