This is a heart-warming story.I guess we never view life in such a way.We all complain when life seems unfair to us.We have never thought about how much we are blessed.

For 25 years,I watched him fight cancer of the face.First just a small speck that begin to grow larger.Year after year I watch him go to hospital to have a bit cut out each time.As the years went by,more and more of his face was cut away.When he returned with what is left of his face,he tried to smile.He never complained or was downhearted.

He was a skilful mechanic and carpenter.In fact,he was one of the best.Whenever he does his job,he stands back to see if there is anything left out that could be added to make it perfect.Then he would see some little place that the average person would neglect.He would then touch it up.

I suspect he said this to himself "My work will be my face and my life."I doubt if he open looked in the mirror at his damaged face where the cancer ate into every day.No matter how small the job was or how crude the other workers seemed,it never bothered him.This was his work and it had to be done right.He never glanced at the work of others.A shoddy work done by others was not his concern.Nevertheless,I suspect when the job was done,he had a sense of inner pride and joy when he saw how outstanding it was.But he never boasted about it.

As the years went by,he became weaker and weaker.His hands did not move with confidence and speed that so characterized him.He was unable to do many things.However,no matter what the work or pay was he always had the insatiable desire to do a good job.

The helpers he got were not able to impress him.They thought he was cranky,trying so hard to complete every detail.So he worked alone.He did not complain.He would just appear the next morning by himself with no explanation of the absence of his helpers.

During the latter day,he had only the shambles of a face.He would wrap it up in a red handkerchief,leaving only his eyes.When you met him on the streets,he would always give a cheerful greeting.As time went on,it was more and more difficult for him to speak.Often he would move his walking stick.This stick,too,was a thing of beauty,carved out by his skilful hands.

His life seemed to be filled with contentment and peace.I suspect that he thanked God for those hands and the fact that they was not marred in any way.

He would often be missed about his usual haunts for weeks or months.He would make his journey to the hospital for the surgeon to cut away more of his face.Then you would see him again,a bit more gruesome.There would be no complaint,no telling of his operation and pain.He would just quietly go to work that was awaiting him.

In all his time,I never knew him to come back with any complaints about the pain.You would think there was nothing the matter if you did not see his face.When the days of his labors seemed to come to an end,his chief concern was that his tools might be in good hands.He sent for me one day and told me he wished someone would appreciate the tools and use them properly.

When I took a young man to see him about the tools,there came a look of contentment and satisfaction.His work was finished and he was ready to cash in.A few days before he died he was walking in the yard.His face was nearly completely covered with bandages.Only his eyes were uncovered.As he hobbled about the yard,he said,"I am going to keep young just as long as I can."

The day he died,I went to see him again.The smell was so offensive you could hardly stay there.What was left of his face was a mass of scars and there was really nothing to cut away.You could tell he was in great pain and had many sleepless nights.But still there were no words of complaints.

I shall never forget his last words.Even afterwards they have made me ashamed whenever I feel like complaining.Still day after day,they are vivid in my mind.

The words are,"God has been good to me.I have never had any reason to complain."

上帝善待我

這是一個感人的故事。我想我從未以這樣的方式來審視人生。生活看起來好像對我們不公正時，我們往往去抱怨，從不考慮我們是多么幸福。

25年來，我看著他與面部的癌癥抗爭。起初只是一個小小的斑點，后來越長越大。一年又一年，我目睹他上醫院每次切除一點。年復一年，他的臉部一點點被切除掉。每次帶著他那張剩下的臉回來，他都試圖微笑著。他從不抱怨，也不垂頭喪氣。

他是一個技藝嫻熟的木工技師。實事求是地講，他是一流的。只要是做活，他總會退后察看有沒有任何疏忽可以加以完善的地方。他總會瞅見某處會被常人忽視的小細節，然后他就會把它細細修繕。

我猜想他對自己說過這樣的話，“我的活兒就是我的臉面和人生”。我尋思他是否對著鏡子正視過他那張被癌每天侵蝕、形容已毀的臉。無論活計多小，無論其他工匠看起來多么拙劣，這都不會影響他。這就是他的工作，他的工作必須盡職盡責完成。他從不搭眼看其他人做的活，別人干的蹩腳活與他毫無關系。不過，我猜想當活兒干完時，當他注意到自己的手藝是多么卓絕不凡時，他會由衷驕傲與欣喜，但他絕不會據此自吹自擂。

年復一年，他越來越虛弱，雙手無法像人們描述的那樣自信麻利地移動，許多活兒他都做不動了。但是，無論活大活小，報酬如何，他總是懷著義無反顧之心做得令人滿意。

他的助手往往不能讓他滿意，而他們認為他性情古怪，苛求成就每個細節。為此，他獨自一人工作。他沒有抱怨，只是在次日清晨只身而來，對于助手缺席也不多言。

工作之余，他僅有一張扭曲怪異的臉。他把臉裹進紅色手帕里，只露出眼睛來。街上相遇，他總是熱情打招呼。隨著時間的推移，他說話越來越困難。他往往動動手杖，這根手杖也是個精美物件，精美的刻工出自他這雙靈巧的手。

他的生活似乎洋溢著滿足平和的氣氛。我想他感謝上帝賦予他這雙靈巧的手，感謝上帝它們未曾受到任何損傷。

他常常幾周或數月杳無音訊。他去醫院找外科醫生切除他臉部的其他一些部分。事后，你會重新看到他，他的面目更加猙獰。他沒有怨言，也不提及他的手術和痛苦，只是默默地去做等候著他的工作。

他這一輩子，我從未見他回來對疼痛抱怨過。你會以為什么情況也沒有，要是你沒有看到他的臉的話。他的勞動時代似乎要結束了，他最擔心的是他的工具能否落到能工巧匠之手。有一天他派人找來我，跟我說他希望有個賞識他這些工具的人能妥善使用它們。

我帶了個年輕人去他那看那些工具時，他臉上露出了安然稱心的神色。工作結束了，他等著收貨款。他去世前幾天總是在院子里散步，臉幾乎完全被繃帶覆蓋，只有兩只眼睛還露在外面。他在院子里蹣跚而行，說：“我要盡力保持年輕。”

他去世那天，我又去看望他。氣味刺鼻難聞讓人待不下去，他的臉只剩下一片疤痕，臉上也確實沒有什么可以切除的了。你可以想到他所受的痛苦有多么巨大，他度過了多少不眠之夜，但他仍然沒有留下任何抱怨的話。

我不會忘記他的臨終遺言。甚至是后來在我想抱怨時，這些話總會讓我羞愧不已。即便是經年累月，這些話仍然鮮活于我的腦海。

這些話就是：“上帝已經善待了我，我從來沒有任何理由去抱怨。”