I was in the Santa Cruz Mountains not long ago, speaking and singing at a women’s conference. We were focusing on the theme of loving others in practical ways through our gifts, and something in particular happened during one of the sessions that will remain imprinted in my memory as a beautifulillustration of this practice.

不久前我在圣克鲁斯山脉，在一次妇女大会上有说有唱。我们关注的主题是通过送礼物等实用的方法来关爱他人。其中一个会议期间发生的一件特殊的事将成为最美的印迹永远铭刻在我的记忆中。

A young Syrian woman ("Lilith") had been invited to the conference at the last minute, and everyone seemed surprised and delighted that she’d actually come. Just a few days earlier, Lilith had fled her country and found refuge with one of the women attending the conference. As an Orthodox Christian in Syria, she and her loved ones had become targets of violent atrocities from radical terrorist groups in the country’s ongoing civil war.

一位年轻的叙利亚女士(莉莉丝)在最后一分钟被邀请到会议上，大家看起来都很惊讶，也很高兴她真的来了。就在几天前，莉莉丝逃离她的国家，和另外一个参加会议的女士一起寻找避难所。作为叙利亚的一名东正教教徒，她和亲人们成为了这个国家正在进行的内战中激进的恐怖组织暴行的目标。

Lilith had witnessed horrors no one her young age should ever see. Despite the further danger it presented, she’d decided to leave her home and her family to find safety here in America. Knowing some of her story, and seeing her sitting through the sessions at the retreat -- head covered in a scarf, face bowed toward the floor -- broke my heart.

莉莉丝目击了她这个年纪的年轻人不该见到的恐怖。尽管要面临更大的危险，但她决定离开家和家人来美国寻求安全。知道了她的一些故事，看见她会议期间有些退却——头上包着围巾，脸朝着地面压得很低——我感觉心要碎了。

Lilith’s story touched all of us, including Pam, an attendee who was a quilt maker. Pam had just finished a gorgeous, intricately-patterned quilt, and had brought it with her. She, along with a few of the leaders, decided to give it to Lilith as a symbol of their comfort and love. Lilith had left her own mother behind in her homeland, and I can’t imagine how frightened and alone she felt. But in her absence I could see there were lots of "mamas" in this community of women who were more than ready to love on her.

莉莉丝的故事触动了我们所有人，包括与会的被子生产商帕姆。帕姆刚做出了一床华丽的、图案精致的被子，也带过来了。她和几位领导决定把它赠给莉莉丝，被子象征了他们的安慰和爱。莉莉丝把母亲留在了家乡，我无法想象她感到多么害怕孤单。但她的离开使我看到在这个女性团体中有很多“妈妈”，她们都准备好要把爱献给她。

During our last session together Lilith was called forward and prayed over, hugged, and wrapped up in that beautiful quilt. I thought of the many hours Pam undoubtedly spent working on it, unaware of the horrendous events that would lead Lilith to this moment--literally surrounded by the beauty and love the quilt embodied. I wept. When they told her it was for her, she wept. We all wept, honking our noses and wiping our eyes.

我们最后一次在一起开会时，莉莉丝被叫去站到前面，大家为她祈祷，拥抱她，把那条漂亮的被子围在她身上。我想到帕姆毫无疑问花了好长时间做这个被子，当时她根本不知道那些可怕的事会把莉莉丝带到这里——此时却被被子蕴含的美丽和爱所围绕。我哭了，她们告诉她这个被子是给她的时候，她哭了。我们都哭了，抽泣着擦着眼泪。

I thought about the words from 1 Peter 4:10: Serve one another with the particular gifts God has given each of you, as faithful dispensers of the magnificently varied grace of God. The words particular and varied suggest to me that there may be as many gifts as there are people and personalities. A quilt wrapped around a ravaged young woman is just one practical, loving act of service that demonstrates God’s grace.

我想到了彼得前书的4章10节里的话：各人要照所得的恩赐彼此服侍，作神百般恩赐的好管家。这番话特别换了一种方式提醒我有多少人和个性就有多少礼物。一位受到伤害的年轻女子身上围的被子就是体现了上帝慈悲的一个充满爱意的行为。

It’s the particular things we do that we sometimes think are too small or inconsequential compared to the overwhelming suffering we witness. But to do nothing when we see an opportunity--to serve, to comfort, to ease another’s pain--is to withhold whatever facet of God’s magnificently varied grace our gift offers.

这就是我们所做的特别的事，有时我们认为这和我们见到的势不可挡的苦难相比太过渺小或不重要。但有机会时-服务、安慰、缓解别人的痛苦-你什么都不做，就没有体现出上帝给予的恩赐所展现的各种慈悲的任何一面。