第12章 God Has Been Good to Me

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

这是一个感人的故事。我想我从未以这样的方式来审视人生。生活看起来好像对我们不公正时，我们往往去抱怨，从不考虑我们是多么幸福。

25年来，我看着他与面部的癌症抗争。起初只是一个小小的斑点，后来越长越大。一年又一年，我目睹他上医院每次切除一点。年复一年，他的脸部一点点被切除掉。每次带着他那张剩下的脸回来，他都试图微笑着。他从不抱怨，也不垂头丧气。

他是一个技艺娴熟的木工技师。实事求是地讲，他是一流的。只要是做活，他总会退后察看有没有任何疏忽可以加以完善的地方。他总会瞅见某处会被常人忽视的小细节，然后他就会把它细细修缮。

我猜想他对自己说过这样的话，“我的活儿就是我的脸面和人生”。我寻思他是否对着镜子正视过他那张被癌每天侵蚀、形容已毁的脸。无论活计多小，无论其他工匠看起来多么拙劣，这都不会影响他。这就是他的工作，他的工作必须尽职尽责完成。他从不搭眼看其他人做的活，别人干的蹩脚活与他毫无关系。不过，我猜想当活儿干完时，当他注意到自己的手艺是多么卓绝不凡时，他会由衷骄傲与欣喜，但他绝不会据此自吹自擂。

年复一年，他越来越虚弱，双手无法像人们描述的那样自信麻利地移动，许多活儿他都做不动了。但是，无论活大活小，报酬如何，他总是怀着义无反顾之心做得令人满意。

他的助手往往不能让他满意，而他们认为他性情古怪，苛求成就每个细节。为此，他独自一人工作。他没有抱怨，只是在次日清晨只身而来，对于助手缺席也不多言。

工作之余，他仅有一张扭曲怪异的脸。他把脸裹进红色手帕里，只露出眼睛来。街上相遇，他总是热情打招呼。随着时间的推移，他说话越来越困难。他往往动动手杖，这根手杖也是个精美物件，精美的刻工出自他这双灵巧的手。

他的生活似乎洋溢着满足平和的气氛。我想他感谢上帝赋予他这双灵巧的手，感谢上帝它们未曾受到任何损伤。

他常常几周或数月杳无音讯。他去医院找外科医生切除他脸部的其他一些部分。事后，你会重新看到他，他的面目更加狰狞。他没有怨言，也不提及他的手术和痛苦，只是默默地去做等候着他的工作。

他这一辈子，我从未见他回来对疼痛抱怨过。你会以为什么情况也没有，要是你没有看到他的脸的话。他的劳动时代似乎要结束了，他最担心的是他的工具能否落到能工巧匠之手。有一天他派人找来我，跟我说他希望有个赏识他这些工具的人能妥善使用它们。

我带了个年轻人去他那看那些工具时，他脸上露出了安然称心的神色。工作结束了，他等着收货款。他去世前几天总是在院子里散步，脸几乎完全被绷带覆盖，只有两只眼睛还露在外面。他在院子里蹒跚而行，说：“我要尽力保持年轻。”

他去世那天，我又去看望他。气味刺鼻难闻让人待不下去，他的脸只剩下一片疤痕，脸上也确实没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，他度过了多少不眠之夜，但他仍然没有留下任何抱怨的话。

我不会忘记他的临终遗言。甚至是后来在我想抱怨时，这些话总会让我羞愧不已。即便是经年累月，这些话仍然鲜活于我的脑海。

这些话就是：“上帝已经善待了我，我从来没有任何理由去抱怨。”