"For our profit." (Heb. 12:10)
In one of Ralph Connor's books he tells a story of Gwen. Gwen was a wild, wilful lassie and one who had always been accustomed to having her own way. Then one day she met with a terrible accident which crippled her for life. She became very rebellious and in the murmuring state she was visited by the Sky Pilot, as the missionary among the mountaineers was termed.
He told her the parable of the canyon. "At first there were no canyons, but only the broad, open prairie. One day the Master of the Prairie, walking over his great lawns, where were only grasses, asked the Prairie, 'Where are your flowers?' and the Prairie said, 'Master I have no seeds.'
"Then he spoke to the birds, and they carried seeds of every kind of flower and strewed them far and wide, and soon the prairie bloomed with crocuses and roses and buffalo beans and the yellow crowfoot and the wild sunflowers and the red lilies all summer long. Then the Master came and was well pleased; but he missed the flowers he loved best of all, and he said to the Prairie: 'Where are the clematis and the columbine, the sweet violets and wind-flowers, and all the ferns and flowering shrubs?'
"And again he spoke to the birds, and again they carried all the seeds and scattered them far and wide. But, again, when the Master came he could not find the flowers he loved best of all, and he said:
"'Where are those my sweetest flowers?' and the Prairie cried sorrowfully:
"'Oh, Master, I cannot keep the flowers, for the winds sweep fiercely, and the sun beats upon my breast, and they wither up and fly away.'
"Then the Master spoke to the Lightning, and with one swift blow the Lightning cleft the Prairie to the heart. And the Prairie rocked and groaned in agony, and for many a day moaned bitterly over the black, jagged, gaping wound.
"But the river poured its waters through the cleft, and carried down deep black mould, and once more the birds carried seeds and strewed them in the canyon. And after a long time the rough rocks were decked out with soft mosses and trailing vines, and all the nooks were hung with clematis and columbine, and great elms lifted their huge tops high up into the sunlight, and down about their feet clustered the low cedars and balsams, and everywhere the violets and wind-flower and maiden-hair grew and bloomed, till the canyon became the Master's favorite place for rest and peace and joy."
Then the Sky Pilot read to her: "The fruit--I'll read 'flowers'--of the Spirit are love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness--and some of these grow only in the canyon."
"Which are the canyon flowers?" asked Gwen softly, and the Pilot answered: "Gentleness, meekness, longsuffering; but though the others, love, joy, peace, bloom in the open, yet never with so rich a bloom and so sweet a perfume as in the canyon."
For a long time Gwen lay quite still, and then said wistfully, while her lips trembled: "There are no flowers in my canyon, but only ragged rocks."
"Some day they will bloom, Gwen dear; the Master will find them, and we, too, shall see them."
Beloved, when you come to your canyon, remember!
三月十六日
“生身的父都是暂随己意管教我们，惟有万灵的父管教我们,是要我们得益处，使我们在他的圣洁上有分”(来十二：10)。
康诺氏所写的书中，说有一个山野少女葛文的故事。葛文顽皮任性，她在某一日不幸遇到了意外，成了残废。卧病在床第中，性情更加暴躁，当她在怨天尤人的时候,“天的响导”来看她，所谓“天的响导”，是山中居民对传教士的尊敬称呼。
传教士给她讲了一个峡谷的寓言，他说：地球最初的时候，只有一望无际的原野，并没有峡谷。原野的主人，有一天出外散步，看见大地上只长着青草，就问原野道:“你的花在哪里? ”，原野回答说：“主人，我没有种子”。
于是主人吩咐禽鸟把各类花的种子带来，四处播种。不久原野上就开出了番红玫瑰，水豆花，毛莨花，向日葵，红钤兰，以及一些耐热的夏季花卉。主人看了很高兴，但他找不到他最心爱的几种花，于是他对原野说：“还有铁线莲,缕斗菜，紫罗兰，白头翁，各种凤尾草和开花的灌木在哪里呢?”
他又吩咐禽鸟把所有的种子带来，四处播种。但主人再来的时候，还是找不到他最心爱的几种花，于是他说：“那些最可爱的花在哪里?”
原野悲哀地说：“主人，我无法保存这些花，因为狂风拼命的吹刮，烈阳炙烤着我的胸膛，这些花忍不住原野的气候，它们都零落凋萎了。”
于是主人吩咐闪电劈开原野的胸怀.原野在剧痛中颤抖哀号,为那黝黑而凹凸不平的裂口，悲痛呻吟了许多日子。
由于河水涌进了裂口，把深黑色的泥土带了进来，禽鸟再把种子带来，在那峡谷中播种。过了很长一段的时间之后，粗糙的岩石上，铺满了柔软的青苔和绵延的藤蔓，各处角落，都垂挂着铁线莲和缕斗菜，硕壮的榆树，仰起粗大枝干，升向高空的阳光，树根附近盘屈着矮杉和凤仙花，到处都有紫罗兰，白头翁和孔雀草在生长开花，峡谷终于成了主人所寻求的安息，平安和快乐的心爱之地了。
传教士讲完了故事之后，就对她说：“圣灵所结的果子，也可以称之谓圣灵之花，包括爱，喜乐，平安，坚忍，温和等等，其中有些只能在峡谷中生长”。
“只能在峡谷里生长的是什么花呢?”葛文轻声问。传教士答道：“温和，谦卑，忍耐，其他如爱，喜乐，和平安，虽能在原野开放，但若生长在峡谷里，它们将更美丽，更芬芳。”
葛文默默地躺了好一会，然后嘴唇颤抖地自言自语道：“在我的峡谷里没有花，只有粗陋的岩石”。
“亲爱的葛文，总有一天它们会开出花来，主会发现，我们也会看到”。
亲爱的，当你沦入你的峡谷时，请记着这句话！