绘◎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 [tɪl] 美 [tɪl]n. 冰碛；放钱的抽屉；备用现金prep. 直到conj. 直到……为止vt. 耕种；犁vi. 耕种；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 [rəʊ] 美 [ro] n. 行，排；划船；街道；吵闹vt. 划船；使……成排vi. 划船；争吵while my Mom dropped handfuls③handful 英 ['hæn(d)fʊl; -f(ə)l] 美 ['hænd,fʊl]n. 少数；一把；棘手事of fertilizer④fertilizer 英 ['fɜːtɪlaɪzə] 美 ['fɝtəlaɪzɚ]n.肥料；受精媒介物；促进发展者beside them. My brothers then covered them all with the freshly⑤freshly 英 ['freʃlɪ] adv. 新近；精神饱满地turned earth.

For months afterward I would glance over at the garden while I played outside and wonder what was going on underneath⑥underneath 英 [ʌndə'niːθ] 美 [,ʌndɚ'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；底层的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 ['bʊʃ(ə)l] 美 ['bʊʃəl] n. 蒲式耳vt. 修整（衣服等）and bushels of sweet sustenance⑧sustenance 英 ['sʌst(ə)nəns; -tɪn-] 美 ['sʌstənəns]n. 食物；生计；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

当我还是个小男孩的时候，家里的旧宅附近有好几个花园。最大的一个里面都用来种土豆。犹记得当年种土豆的日子，全家总动员。

在爸爸松土之后，就轮到妈妈、哥哥弟弟们还有我上场干活了。我的工作是把种子一排一排地播种，妈妈在一旁给种子们施肥。最后其他兄弟给种子们盖上新翻的土。

数月以后，当我在外面玩的时候我总会时不时地瞟向院子，想着地底下的土豆在发生着什么变化。丰收季来临，爸爸把土豆从土里拔出来，它们的尺寸总是大得惊人。

这些小小的种子最后长成大大的、甜甜的果实。

这些土豆可以做成烤土豆、土豆泥、炸土豆，还有我最喜欢的，把土豆熬成的通心粉的酱汁。

我们一家子靠着这些土豆能过一整年，想来真是个奇迹。

回想这特殊的时刻，不禁想此生我到底播种了多少能让它们在看不见的其他人心里面生根发芽。

多少次，上帝化腐朽为神奇，把我们认为微不足道的事物变得异常美丽。多少次，上天将这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.

些小小的种子变成甜美的食物慰藉生灵。

我希望你也有一座需要花心思的田园。也愿你只用善良、平和、慈悲的心来对待生命中遇到的每一个人。希望每一天我们都助力奇迹发生。