卡伦·马约里·加里森/Karen Majoris Garrison

It bad been the worst snowstorm in ten years, and I’d been caught in it. After hearing earlier that it was supposed to snow later in the night, I had volunteered at our church to take groceries and medical prescriptions to elderly members in need. Since my husband was away on business, I called my mother and she immediately came over to my house to watch my three-year-old daughter, Abigail.

“Can’t someone else help those people?”she had asked me, concerned for my safety.“I have a bad feeling about this, and it looks like it might snow at any minute.”

I glanced out the window and had to admit that the sky looked threatening. I began to feel uncertain.

“Mama will be okay,”my daughter smiled, taking her grandmother’s hand.“She likes helping people. Besides, I’ll be praying for her!”

My heart swelled at her words. We had such a close relationship that sometimes when I breathed, it was as though Abigail exhaled. I decided then that I had to act on what I’d been instilling in my daughter:that sometimes we just have to step out in faith and believe that God will keep us safe. Kissing my mother and daughter good-bye, I set out to make my rounds. On my last stop, the snow began to fall.

“You shouldn’t have come here.”Bill Watkins, a ninety-twoyear-old member of our congregation, scolded. He coughed, trying to get out of bed, but the effort proved too taxing. Giving up, he settled back on-to the pillows.“I told the pastor that I didn’t expect anyone to come to the boonies for me.”

“Nonsense.”I grinned, positioning snacks and drinks by his bed. Beneath his gruff exterior, Bill was sweet as candy. His heart medication had to be taken every day, and living on a modest income without any surviving family members, he needed as much help as possible.

“Well, look what your stubbornness brought you.”he said, pointing to the snow-covered road outside the window. His fingers clasped my hand.“Stay here, Karen. I want you safe.”

I kissed the top of his head but decided to brave the road conditions. It would be worse later, I reasoned.

“I’ll be okay.”I told him, remembering my sweet daughter’s words before I left. Thoughts of Abigail made me more determined to get home. I missed her already.

I got into my Volkswagen and gradually tried making it down the steep hill. Remembering old instructions about driving in the snow, I kept the compact car in second gear. The wind increased, creating waves of blinding white. As I squinted through the windshield, holding my breath, I screamed and jerked the wheel, narrowly missing the deer that stood frozen by my headlights.

The Volkswagen hit the embankment, plummeted off the side of the road, and skidded to the bottom of a ravine below. When the rolling motion finally stopped, I opened my eyes and realized that I had been unconscious for some time. Night had arrived-and with it the forecasted accumulation of snow. Panicking, I tried opening the door, but it wouldn’t budge against the resisting snow. Sliding over to the passenger’s door, I realized that the door had been jammed shut by a tree. I turned the key to start the engine, but the battery was dead. My hopes of rolling down the power windows to crawl out vanished. Without heat and adequate clothing, I curled up on the back seat and waited for help.

The frigid air enveloped me. Shivering, I chastised myself for not preparing for a circumstance like this. My toes and fingers were already numb. An eternity seemed to pass, and as I listened to the wind and snow hitting against the car, I prayed for my family, who would be sick with worry by now. Abigail would probably be drawing pictures for me when I arrived home. Since she’d been old enough to hold a crayon, she’d drawn pictures to brighten the days of her loved ones.

To calm my growing concern about my safety, I closed my eyes and concentrated on pleasant thoughts. Drifting into sleep, I saw Abigail. Abigail in the warm sunlight, laughing as she held out a beautiful white dove to me. The dove’s graceful, serene presence and the love shining in my daughter’s eyes filled me with peace.

The night grew colder, and as I floated in and out of consciousness, I fixed my mind on the image of Abigail and her dove. Together, they kept me company throughout the night. Hours later, as the first rays of daybreak appeared, I heard tapping on my window. Relieved to see an emergency rescue team, my stiff lips tried to smile as they hoisted me onto a stretcher and into an ambulance. At the hospital, I was treated for mild frostbite and a head wound before being told I’d have to stay overnight for observation. Anxious to see my family, I propped myself up on the bed pillows and waited impatiently.

Before long, the door opened and my mother burst into the room.“We were so worried about you!”she cried, rushing over to hug me.“I knew you were in trouble!Mothers sense these kinds of things.”Her maternal instincts surfaced as she appraised the food tray nearby.“Your tea is cold!I’ll be right back.”

Seizing the opportunity to have me all to herself, Abigail climbed onto the bed and buried her face in my neck. I scooped her closer.“I’ve missed you so much.”I murmured softly, brushing a silky strand of hair from her face.“And what have you been doing while I’ve been away?”

“Oh, I forgot!”she exclaimed, jumping out of my arms to grab a large tube of construction paper nearby.“I drew this for you last night when we didn’t know where you were. I thought you might have been scared, and I wanted you to feel better.”

As if it were a treasure map, I unrolled it and oohed and aahed over the images.“Well, that’s our car.”I said, pointing to the red square.“And that’s me.”I laughed, touching my fingertips to a stick person with long hair.“But what am I holding?”

Abigail’s eyes brightened as she pushed her fingertip to the small object on the paper.“That’s God’s spirit.”she said excitedly.“I drew it as a dove like I saw in Sunday school.”She pressed her soft lips against my cheek and added,“I didn’t want you to be alone, Mama, and so I gave you the best friend I could think of.”

“Oh, darling,”I exclaimed, recalling the white dove that had given me comfort in the darkest of nights.“Your dove was with me.”

Taking her hand, I marveled at the heavenly bond between mothers and daughters.

“And what are you two looking at?”my mother interrupted, placing a steaming cup of tea on the nightstand. She started to move away, but I grabbed her hand and brought it between Abigail’s and mine. It was a remarkable feeling, this incredible connection of three generations.

“We’re looking at the love that flows between us.”I whispered, kissing the top of my daughter’s head as I met my mother’s understanding eyes. Returning my gaze to Abigail’s picture, I studied the beautiful bird that had, on such a dismal night, connected my daughter’s heart with mine.

Years later, that extraordinary event in our mother-daughter relationship became known as the“miracle”.The miracle of Abigail’s dove.

这是十年里最大的一场暴风雪，我被困在其中。提前听说了晚上可能会下雪的消息，我便自愿到教堂去帮助发放一些食物和药品给那些有需要的老人。因为丈夫出差了，于是我打电话给母亲，让她来照看我三岁大的女儿阿比盖尔。母亲很快就过来了。

母亲担心我的安危，问道：“难道别人不能帮助他们吗？我有一种不好的预感，似乎大雪随时都会下起来。”

我瞥了一眼窗外，不得不承认，天空正变得越来越阴沉。我也开始感觉不踏实了。

“妈妈不会有事的。”正牵着外婆的手的女儿笑着说道，“因为她乐于助人。而且，我会为妈妈祈祷的！”

女儿的话让我的心绪澎湃起来。我们的关系是如此亲密，以至于有时候我们会心有灵犀。于是，我决定去践行对女儿的教导：有时我们需要真实地迈出自己的脚步，并且相信上帝一定会保佑我们的。与母亲和女儿吻别之后，我出发去挨家挨户地给老人们送东西。当我送到最后一家时，天空开始下起雪来。

92岁的比尔·瓦肯是我们教会中的一名成员，他责骂道：“你不应该来这里的。”比尔·瓦肯挣扎着想要从**下来，可是他咳嗽得很厉害，有些力不从心。他只好放弃，又躺回到枕头上说：“我告诉过牧师，不希望今天有人来这么偏远的郊区看我。”

“别胡说了。”我一边笑着说，一边将食物和饮料放在他的床边。尽管比尔外表粗鲁，可是有一颗美好的心灵。他每天都需要服用治疗心脏的药物，他没有家人，仅靠着微薄的收入度日，他需要尽可能多的帮助。

“哎，看你任性的结果是什么。”他指着窗外积雪覆盖的道路对我说，“留在这儿吧，卡伦，我希望你是安全的。”

我吻了一下他的头顶，决定勇敢地面对糟糕的路况。我的理由是，再不走情况会更糟。

想着我可爱的女儿在我临走之前所说的话，我对比尔·瓦肯说：“我不会有事的。”想起阿比盖尔，更让我坚定了回家的信心。我已经想念我的女儿了。

钻进车里，我努力使车沿着陡峭的山路逐渐向下行驶。心里想着雪中驾车规则，我保持着二挡的行驶速度。风力加强了，雪也随风扬起，挡住了我的视线。我一边斜视着挡风玻璃，一边屏住呼吸小心驾驶着。我尖叫着转动方向盘，差一点儿撞上那只站在我车灯前的冻僵的麋鹿。

我的车撞在路堤上，从路边垂直落下，掉入底部的一个峡谷。当车子最终停止了旋转时，我睁开眼睛，意识到有一段时间我失去了意识。夜晚来了——预报中的大雪也来了。惊恐万分的我试图打开车门，可是车门被积雪堵住，怎么也推不动。我爬到旁边的副驾驶座位上，发现那扇门被一棵树卡住了。我转动钥匙想要启动引擎，可是电池没电了。因此，摇下车窗爬出车外的希望也落空了。没有暖气和足够的衣物保暖，我蜷缩在后座上等待救助。

寒冷的空气笼罩了我。我颤抖着，责怪自己没作好应对这样的环境的准备。我的脚趾和手指已冻得麻木。似乎很久过后，当我听到风与雪交织着抽打车子的声音时，我开始为此刻正在为我担忧的家人祈祷。我回到家的时候，阿比盖尔也许为我画画了。自从她可以握住画笔之后，她就为她所爱之人做画，来使他们的生活变得明亮。

我更加担心自己的安危，为了让这种愈加强烈的担忧平静下来，我闭上双眼，让自己集中精力回想那些高兴的事情。渐渐地，我睡着了，梦里看到了阿比盖尔。她站在温暖的阳光里，笑着递给我一只美丽的白鸽。白鸽的优雅安静，还有女儿眼中闪烁的爱意，让我觉得很安详。

晚上，天气变得更加寒冷，当我的意识时而清醒，时而模糊时，我将自己的思绪集中在想象阿比盖尔和她的白鸽上。它们陪伴我度过了整个漫长的夜晚。数小时后，当黎明的第一束光亮出现时，我听到有人在拍打我的车窗。我放心地看到有一支急救队。就在他们把我抬到担架上面，送进救护车时，我那僵硬的嘴唇露出了一丝微笑。在医院里，医生诊断我为轻度冻伤，头部的一个伤口需要住院观察一晚才有结果。我急切地想见到家人，靠着枕头坐在病**，焦急地等待着家人的出现。

没多久，病房的门开了，母亲冲了进来。她猛地抱住我，哭着说道：“我们快担心死了！我就知道你遇上麻烦了！母亲就是能预感到。”当她评价旁边的餐盘时，她的母性便表现了出来。她说：“你的茶凉了！我去去就来。”

阿比盖尔抓住只有我们两个人的机会，爬上床，将脸埋在我的脖子里。我把她抱得更近些，用手将她那丝滑的头发从脸上拂开，轻声对她说：“我好想你。我离开的时间里，你都做了些什么？”

“噢，我都忘记了！”她兴奋地叫道，并挣脱了我的怀抱，抓起旁边的一卷纸张。“昨晚不知道你在哪里的时候，我为你画了这张画。我想你可能会感到害怕，我希望你能感觉好点。”

就好像这是一张藏宝图一样，我打开它，惊讶于眼前看到的画面。我指着上面红色的方块说：“噢，那是我们的车子。”我用指尖指着一个有长头发的棒状小人，笑着说：“那个是我。可是，我手中拿的是什么？”

当她将指尖落在画面上那个小物体时，阿比盖尔的眼睛明亮起来。她兴奋地说道：“是上帝的灵魂。我把它画成了鸽子，就像我在主日学校里看到的那样。”她用那柔软的嘴唇在我的脸颊上吻了一下，然后补充说：“妈妈，我不想让你孤单，于是我就画了我能想到的最好的朋友给你。”

回想起在那个最黑暗的夜晚带给我安慰的白鸽，我惊呼起来：“天哪，亲爱的，你的鸽子真的陪伴在我身边。”我握着她的手，为母女之间的心有灵犀感到震惊。

“你们在看什么？”母亲打断了我们，将一杯热气腾腾的茶放在床头的茶几上。她转身准备走开，而我却抓住她的手，放在我和阿比盖尔的手指间。三代人之间的这种奇妙的关联，给我们一种极其特别的感觉。

“我们正在看我们之间的爱流。”我轻声说道。亲吻女儿的头顶时，我的目光与母亲会心的目光相遇。我再次凝视着阿比盖尔的画，仔细看着出现在如此恐怖的夜晚的这只鸟儿，它将我与女儿的心紧紧连接在一起。

很多年后，我们母女间那个特别的夜晚，成为我们熟知的“奇迹”。那是阿比盖尔的鸽子的奇迹。

心灵小语

因为是上天的礼物，所以要好好珍惜这份意外的爱。

词汇笔记

prescription[pri'skrip??]n.药；治疗方法；药方；秘诀

例 The doctor dispensed a prescription to his patient.医生开处方给病人配药。

brave[brev]adj.勇敢的；新颖的

例 He is a brave soldier.

他是一位勇敢的战士。

adequate['?ikwit]adj.充分的；适当的；胜任的

例 We need adequate rest.

我们需要足够的睡眠。

construction[k?'str?k??]n.建造；建筑业；结构

例 The building is a peculiarly shaped construction.这是一栋造形独特的建筑物。

小试身手

我瞥了一眼窗外，不得不承认，天空正变得越来越阴沉。

译________________________________________

我更加担心自己的安危，为了让这种愈加强烈的担忧平静下来，我闭上双眼，让自己集中精力回想那些高兴的事情。

译________________________________________

阿比盖尔抓住只有我们两个人的机会，爬上床，将脸埋在我的脖子里。

译________________________________________

短语家族

The door opened and my mother burst into the room.

burst into：匆匆进入（某处）；突然开始（某事）

造________________________________________

She started to move away.

move away：离开；搬到别处去住；改变（见解）

造________________________________________