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經文：「我受苦是與我有益」（詩119:71） 有一件奇特的事，那就是：最鮮艷的花草都是生長在荒野的高山之上；而最鮮明的苔蘚與美麗的野花，都是長在荒涼光禿的高峰之巔。 我曾經親眼見過最艷麗的顏色，是在一個一萬呎高的山頂上。那處的山壁長滿了金黃色的苔蘚，在日光的照射下閃耀著，非常的美麗奪目。 你想，在那樣高拔與荒涼的地方，苔蘚受盡狂風暴雨的擊打，反而呈現出如此燦爛的顏色，這豈不奇怪？我有兩個苔蘚的標本，一個是從高山上採集的，一個是從城牆上的美桐樹採集的；這兩個標本的形狀和顏色，有著非常顯著的不同。 生長在高山風雨中的那個標本是櫻紅色的，質地光滑，輪廓完美；生長在低地溫和環境中的那個標本是暗黑色的，質地粗糙，輪廓破碎。 受苦的人啊，你是不是受盡了風雨的打擊？是不是失去了所有的安慰？神雖然許可風雨一次次地擊打你，使你的外在變得毀損陰沉；但是等到試煉一過，黑暗就要變成光明，你就要得到非常的祝福。--選 新譯｜荒漠甘泉讀書會
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Scripture: "It is good for me that I have been afflicted" (Ps. 119:71). It is a remarkable circumstance that the most brilliant colors of plants are to be seen on the highest mountains, in spots that are most exposed to the wildest weather. The brightest lichens and mosses, the loveliest gems of wild flowers, abound far up on the bleak, storm-scalped peak. One of the richest displays of organic coloring I ever beheld was near the summit of Mount Chenebettaz, a hill about 10,000 feet high, immediately above the great St. Bernard Hospice. The whole face of an extensive rock was covered with a most vivid yellow lichen which shone in the sunshine like the golden battlement of an enchanted castle. There, in that lofty region, amid the most frowning desolation, exposed to the fiercest tempest of the sky, this lichen exhibited a glory of color such as it never showed in the sheltered valley. I have two specimens of the same lichen before me while I write these lines, one from the great St. Bernard, and the other from the wall of a Scottish castle, deeply embossed among sycamore trees; and the difference in point of form and coloring between them is most striking. The specimen nurtured amid the wild storms of the mountain peak is of a lovely primrose hue, and is smooth in texture and complete in outline, while the specimen nurtured amid the soft airs and the delicate showers of the lowland valley is of a dim rusty hue, and is scurfy in texture, and broken in outline. And is it not so with the Christian who is afflicted, tempest-tossed, and not comforted? Till the storms and vicissitudes of God's providence beat upon him again and again, his character appears marred and clouded; but trials clear away the obscurity, perfect the outlines of his disposition, and give brightness and blessing to his life. ｜ Mrs. Charles Cowman
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