Jesus provides an oasis of grace in the desert of trials.

在试炼的沙漠中，耶稣供应恩典的绿洲。

We fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. 2 Corinthians 4:18

原来我们不是顾念所见的，乃是顾念所不见的。-哥林多后书4章18节

A young boy showered my husband, Carl, and me with bubbles as he came running by us on the Atlantic City boardwalk. It was a light and fun moment on a difficult day. We had come to the city to visit our brother-in-law in the hospital and to help Carl’s sister who was struggling and having trouble getting to her doctors’ appointments. So as we took a break and walked along the seaside boardwalk we were feeling a bit overwhelmed by the needs of our family.

我和外子卡尔走在大西洋城的滨海木栈道上，一个小男孩吹着泡泡跑过我们身边，五彩缤纷的泡泡在我们四周飘舞，美丽极了。那绚丽的一刻，让我们觉得沉重的压力轻省了许多。我们来到大西洋城，一方面是到医院探望卡尔的姐夫，另一方面是要协助卡尔的姐姐，因为她已心力交瘁，健康状况也不好，必须去看医生。家人的各种需要让我们有点喘不过气来，所以就沿着滨海步道散步，休息一下。

Then came the bubbles. Just bubbles blown at us whimsically by a little boy in the ocean breeze—but they had a special significance to me. I love bubbles and keep a bottle in my office to use whenever I need the smile of a bubble break. Those bubbles and the vast Atlantic Ocean reminded me of what I can count on: God is always close. He is powerful. He always cares. And He can use even the smallest experiences, and briefest moments, to help us remember that His presence is like an ocean of grace in the middle of our heavy moments.

在这样的时刻，彩虹般的泡泡出现了！小男孩吹出的泡泡随着温暖的海风，轻轻地飘到我们身旁，这泡泡对我有很特别的意义。因为我很爱泡泡，我还在办公室放了一瓶泡泡水，每当我需要休息一下，便会吹泡泡放松心情。美丽的泡泡和广阔的大西洋，提醒我能倚靠上帝，因为祂永远在我身边！祂大有能力，也时刻眷顾。即使在我们心情沉重的时刻，祂也能用瞬间的小事来帮助我们记得祂的同在，祂的恩典犹如滔滔大海。

Maybe one day our troubles will seem like bubbles—momentary in light of eternity for “what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal” (2 Cor. 4:18).

 相信有一天，我们也能将困难视为稍纵即逝的泡泡，因为从永恒的角度来看，“所见的是暂时的，所不见的是永远的”（哥林多后书4章18节） 。

What gifts of grace has God given to you

in a difficult time? 

How might you be a blessing to others?

在艰难的时刻中，上帝曾赐给你什么样的恩典呢？
这如何让你成为他人的祝福呢？

Read：2 Corinthians 4:7-18New International Version (NIV)

7 But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. 8 We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair;9 persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.10 We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. 11 For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that his life may also be revealed in our mortal body. 12 So then, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you.

13 It is written: “I believed; therefore I have spoken.”[a] Since we have that same spirit of[b] faith, we also believe and therefore speak,14 because we know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you to himself.15 All this is for your benefit, so that the grace that is reaching more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God.

16 Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. 17 For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. 18 So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

整理：于姊妹