當我還小，有人告訴我微不足道其實很美

繪◎秋林夕

When I was a boy, we had several gardens around our old house. The largest one of all was used just for growing potatoes. I can still remember those potato planting days. The whole family helped.

After my Dad had tilled①till 英 [t?l] 美 [t?l]n. 冰磧；放錢的抽屜；備用現金prep. 直到conj. 直到……為止vt. 耕種；犁vi. 耕種；耕耘the soil, my Mom, brothers,and I went to work. It was my job to drop the little seed potatoes in the rows②row 英 [r??] 美 [ro] n. 行，排；劃船；街道；吵鬧vt. 劃船；使……成排vi. 劃船；爭吵while my Mom dropped handfuls③handful 英 ['h?n(d)f?l; -f(?)l] 美 ['h?nd,f?l]n. 少數；一把；棘手事of fertilizer④fertilizer 英 ['f??t?la?z?] 美 ['f?t?la?z?]n.肥料；受精媒介物；促進發展者beside them. My brothers then covered them all with the freshly⑤freshly 英 ['fre?l?] adv. 新近；精神飽滿地turned earth.

For months afterward I would glance over at the garden while I played outside and wonder what was going on underneath⑥underneath 英 [?nd?'ni?θ] 美 [,?nd?'niθ]prep. 在……的下面；在……的形式下；在……的支配下adv. 在下面；在底下n. 下面；底部adj. 下面的；底層的the ground. When the harvest time came I was amazed at the huge size of the potatoes my Dad pulled out of the soil.

Those little seedlings had grown into bushels⑦bushel 英 ['b??(?)l] 美 ['b???l] n. 蒲式耳vt. 修整（衣服等）and bushels of sweet sustenance⑧sustenance 英 ['s?st(?)n?ns; -t?n-] 美 ['s?st?n?ns]n. 食物；生計；支持.

They would be turned into meal after meal of baked potatoes, mashed potatoes, fried potatoes, and my personal favorite: potatoes slowed cooked in spaghetti sauce.

They would keep the entire family well fed throughout the whole year. It truly was a miracle to behold.

Thinking back on those special times makes me wonder

當我還是個小男孩的時候，家里的舊宅附近有好幾個花園。最大的一個里面都用來種土豆。猶記得當年種土豆的日子，全家總動員。

在爸爸松土之后，就輪到媽媽、哥哥弟弟們還有我上場干活了。我的工作是把種子一排一排地播種，媽媽在一旁給種子們施肥。最后其他兄弟給種子們蓋上新翻的土。

數月以后，當我在外面玩的時候我總會時不時地瞟向院子，想著地底下的土豆在發生著什么變化。豐收季來臨，爸爸把土豆從土里拔出來，它們的尺寸總是大得驚人。

這些小小的種子最后長成大大的、甜甜的果實。

這些土豆可以做成烤土豆、土豆泥、炸土豆，還有我最喜歡的，把土豆熬成的通心粉的醬汁。

我們一家子靠著這些土豆能過一整年，想來真是個奇跡。

回想這特殊的時刻，不禁想此生我到底播種了多少能讓它們在看不見的其他人心里面生根發芽。

多少次，上帝化腐朽為神奇，把我們認為微不足道的事物變得異常美麗。多少次，上天將這how many other seeds I have planted in this life that have grown unseen in the hearts and minds of others.

How many times has God used some little thing that I said or did to grow something beautiful? How many times has Heaven used these little seedlings to provide another's soul with sweet sustenance?

I hope then that you always tend the garden around you with care. I hope that you plant only goodness, peace, and compassion in the lives of everyone you meet. I hope that everyday you help miracles to grow.

些小小的種子變成甜美的食物慰藉生靈。

我希望你也有一座需要花心思的田園。也愿你只用善良、平和、慈悲的心來對待生命中遇到的每一個人。希望每一天我們都助力奇跡發生。