15. “By the way，” he called to me as I hesitated in his doorway，“did anyone ever tell you that Joanna is a good Hebrew18 name？”

16. Sixteen years have passed since the rabbi married David and me on a rainy October morning. And， yes， I have called out several times when I sensed we were in danger. I would tell the rabbi how well his analogy19 has served me， but I cannot. He died two years after our wedding. But I will always be grateful for the priceless gift he gave me： the wisdom to know that all of our experiences in life make us not less valuable， but more valuable， not less able to love， but more able to love.

1. 微塵在射進拉比辦公室的那縷陽光中飛舞著，那縷陽光是拉比辦公室里惟一的光源。拉比坐在椅子上往后仰，撫摸著他的胡須嘆息了一聲。他摘下金屬絲鏡架的眼鏡，漫不經心地在他的法蘭絨襯衫上擦拭著。

2. “這么說，”他開了口，“你離婚了。現在你想與這位猶太好小伙子結婚，有什么問題？”

3. 他用手把住他那有花白胡須的下巴，溫柔地沖我微笑著。

4. 我真想尖叫。有什么問題？首先，我是基督教徒。第二，我比他年齡大。第三，這絕不是最不重要的——我離過婚！但我沒有叫，而是迎向他那雙溫柔的棕色的眼睛，努力組織著話語。

5. “您不認為，”我結結巴巴地說，“離過婚就像東西被用過一樣嗎？就像是受損的物品嗎？”

6. 他坐在椅子上，頭往后靠，伸直了腿，將目光投向天花板。他輕捋著他那稀稀拉拉的、遮蓋了下巴和脖子的胡須，然后他將身子轉回辦公桌前并朝我這邊俯過來。

7. “比如說你得做個手術。有兩位醫生可供你選擇。你會選誰？選位剛從醫學院畢業的，還是選那位有經驗的？”

8. “有經驗的那位，”我回答。

9. 他笑了，臉上都是皺紋。“我也是，”他凝視著我說。“那么在這樁婚姻中，你就是有經驗的一方。要知道這并不是什么壞事。”

10. “婚姻往往像在水上漂流，會陷入危險的激流里，會偏離航向流向暗藏的沙洲。等注意到時已經晚了。在你的臉上，我看到了一樁失敗婚姻留下的痛苦。在這樁婚姻中你會注意到流向。當你看到巖石時你會大喊一聲，你會呼叫要小心些，注意點。你將是有經驗的那個人，”他嘆息著說，“相信我，那并不是什么壞事，真地不是。”

11. 他走到窗邊，透過百葉板向外瞥了一眼。“你瞧，這里沒有人知道我的第一位妻子。我并沒有掩藏，但我也沒有大肆渲染。我們結婚沒多久她就去世了，后來我遷居到這里。現在，夜深人靜時我想到所有那些我從未能說出的話，我想到所有那些我在第一次婚姻中錯過的機會。我相信對于我現在的妻子我是個更好的丈夫，是因為那位我失去的女人。”

12. 他眼里的悲傷顯露出了含義。現在我明白了為什么我選擇來和這個人談婚姻，而沒有圖省事去找不屬于我們雙方宗教的人為我們主持婚禮。“拉比”一詞意味著老師。不知怎的，我感覺出他會教給我，甚至會給予我去再次嘗試、再次結婚、再次奉獻出愛情所需要的勇氣。

13. “我會為你和你的戴維主持婚禮，”拉比說，“但條件是，你要答應我，當你發現婚姻陷入危機時你要大聲說出來。”

14. 我答應他我會的，然后我起身離開。

15. “順便說一句，”當我走到門口猶豫片刻時他叫住我，“有沒有人告訴過你喬安娜是個好的希伯來語名字？”

16. 10月一個下雨的早晨，拉比為我和戴維舉行了婚禮。一晃16年過去了。是的，有幾次當我感覺到我們身陷危機時我就大聲地說了出來。我多想告訴拉比他的比喻讓我多么受益。但是我無法告訴他。我們結婚兩年后他就去世了。但是我永遠感激他賜予我的無價的禮物：一種智慧，它使我懂得我們生活中所有的經歷并不會使我們貶值，而是使我們更有價值，并不會使我們喪失愛的能力，而是使我們更有能力去愛。

Who Is Packing Our Spiritual Parachute？ 誰為我們準備心靈降落傘

1. Charles “Chuck” Plumb was a U.S. Navy jet pilot in Vietnam. After 75 combat missions， his plane was destroyed by a surface-to-air missile. Plumb ejected and parachuted into enemy hands. He was captured and spent six years in a communist Vietnamese prison. He survived the ordeal and now lectures on the lessons he learned from that experience.

2. One day， when Plumb and his wife were sitting in a restaurant， a man at another table came up and said， “You’re Plumb！ You flew jet fighters in Vietnam from the Aircraft Carrier Kitty Hawk. You were shutdown！”

3. “How in the world did you know that？” asked Plumb. “I packed your parachute，”the man replied. Plumb gasped in surprise and gratitude. The man pumped his hand and said， “I guess it worked！” Plumb assured him， “It sure did. If your chute hadn’t worked， I wouldn’t be here today.”

4. Plumb couldn’t sleep that night， thinking about that man. Plumb says， “I kept wondering what he might have looked like in a Navy uniform： a white hat， a bib in the back， and bell-bottom trousers. I wonder how many times I might have seen him and not even said， ‘Good morning， how are you？’ or anything because， you see， I was a fighter pilot and he was just a sailor.” Plumb thought of the many hours the sailor had spent on a long wooden table in the bowels of the ship， carefully weaving the shrouds and folding the silks of each chute， holding in his hands each time the fate of someone he didn’t know.

5. Now， Plumb asks his audience， “Who’s packing your parachute？” Everyone has someone who provides what they need to make it through the day. Plumb also points out that he needed many kinds of parachutes when his plane was shot down over enemy territory—he needed his physical parachute， his mental parachute， his emotional parachute， and his spiritual parachute. He called on all these supports before reaching safety.

6. Sometimes in the daily challenges that life gives us， we miss what is really important. We may fail to say hello， please， or thank you， to congratulate people on something wonderful that has happened to them， to give a compliment， or just to do something nice for no reason. As you go through this week， this month， and this year， recognizes people who pack your parachutes and send them your gratitude.

1. 查爾斯？恰克？帕朗柏是越戰中美國海軍的一位噴射機駕駛員。在完成了七十五次戰役任務后，他的飛機被一枚地對空飛彈擊毀，帕朗柏跳傘逃命，卻降落在敵方陣營里，他被越共俘虜并被關在監獄里六個月，之后，他從這場苦難中成功逃生。現在，他為人們演講有關他從經歷中所學到的功課。

2. 有一天，當帕朗柏和妻子在一家餐廳用餐時，隔壁桌一位先生走過來說道：“你是帕朗柏！在越戰中，你駕駛從小鷹號航空母艦上起飛的噴射戰機，當時你的戰機被飛彈打下來了！”

3. 帕朗柏問：“你怎么知道這件事的？”這位先生回答：“你的降落傘是我負責打包整理的。”帕朗柏驚訝地倒抽了一口氣，立即向他表示謝意。這位先生使勁地握著帕朗柏的手說：“我想那個降落傘確實發揮了功效！”帕朗柏向他確認道：“它的確發揮了功效，否則我今天就不會在這里了。”

4. 那一晚帕朗柏無法入睡，心中一直想著那位先生。帕朗柏說：“我一直在想，當他穿著海軍制服——戴著白帽、穿著工作背心和喇叭褲時，會是什么模樣呢？有多少次當我看到他時，可能連一句‘早安，你好嗎？’之類打招呼的話都沒有說，因為我是戰機駕駛，而他只是一位水手而已。”帕朗柏想到那位水手在船內的長木桌上，花了無數個小時，小心翼翼地整理著吊傘索，并一一迭好每個降落傘，每一次他的手里都掌握著某個他不認識的人的命運。

5. 現在，帕朗柏總會問著聽眾：“是誰幫你們打包降落傘呢？我們每個人的降落傘都是由別人供應的，而為了打包這些降落傘，他們可能必需工作一整天。”帕朗柏也指出當他的飛機在敵人領空被打下來時，他需要各種不同的降落傘：物質的降落傘、精神的降落傘、情感的降落傘和心靈的降落傘，在安全抵達地面之前，他需要這些降落傘的支持。

6. 我們每天面臨生活中的挑戰，有時候會遺漏了一些真正重要的事情。對于周遭的人，我們可能會忘了向他們打聲招呼、說個請字或表達謝意，或是當某個人遇到好事時，忘了祝賀他、講些贊美的話，或是單純地做一些表達善意的行動。每當你過了一段時間后，也許是這個星期、這個月或今年時，請試著找出那些幫你打包‘降落傘’的人，并向他們致上謝意。

No Charge分文不收

1. Our little boy came up to his mother in the kitchen one evening while she was fixing supper，and handed her a piece of paper that he had been writing on. After his mom dried her hands on an apron，she read it，and this is what it said：