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I had always associated1 the word “miracle” with people surviving horrible crashes or “incurable” diseases， or epic2 events in the Bible like the parting of the Red Sea. But as I’ve grown older and learned how to pay closer attention to the world around me， I’ve discovered that God’s hand is everywhere， and miracles also include small events that most people write off as coincidences3.
我一直把“奇迹”一词与那些在可怕的车祸中或者“不治之症”中幸存下来的人，或是《圣经》中像摩西分海一样史诗般的事件联系在一起。但随着年龄的增长，我学会了如何更密切地关注周围的世界，我发现上帝之手无处不在，奇迹也包括很多人认为是巧合而不重视的小事件。
I experienced one such event recently when my older daughter， Marli， lost her first tooth. She was so excited about it that she took it to school to show to her friends， most of whom were also losing teeth like little popcorn machines. They would stand around in groups giggling and wiggling4 their loose teeth between their thumbs and forefingers， or proudly displaying the spaces where teeth used to be. It was sort of a competition to see who was growing up faster， and who could get the largest amount of cold， hard cash from the Tooth Fairy.
我最近经历了这样一件事，我的大女儿玛莉，掉了她的第一颗牙。她非常兴奋，带着牙去学校给她的朋友们看，他们中的大多数人也像小爆米花机一样掉了牙。他们会成群结队地站在一起，咯咯地笑着，用拇指和食指摆弄他们掉下来的牙齿，或者骄傲地展示牙齿曾经所在的位置。这有点像是一场看谁更快长大，看谁能从牙仙那里得到最多金币的比赛。
We were on the big lawn in front of Marli’s elementary school during the usual after-school play date when she reached into her pocket and took out the small， cloth bag we gave her to carry her tooth in. She put her finger into the bag to take out the tooth so she could show it to some friends who had gathered around， but her smile disappeared when she realized it wasn’t there. It had fallen out， probably when she was doing somersaults5 with a friend. She started to cry. Anxious to calm her down， I said， “Don’t worry， sweetie. We’ll find it.” But as I looked at the size of the lawn and thought of the actual chances of finding a tiny incisor6 somewhere in that sea of green， I didn’t feel very optimistic7.
在平時放学后玩耍的时间段里，我们正在玛莉读的小学前的大草坪上，她把手伸进口袋，拿出了我们给她装牙齿的小布袋。她把手指伸进袋子里，想把牙齿拿出来给周围聚集的朋友们看，但当她意识到牙齿不在里面时，她的笑容消失了。牙齿可能在她和朋友翻跟头的时候掉了。她哭了起来。我急着想让她平静下来，说：“别担心，亲爱的。我们会找到它的。”但当我看到草坪的大小，想到在那片绿色海洋中找到一颗小门牙的可能性时，我感到并不乐观。
Other parents and kids saw us poking8 around in the grass and asked what we had lost. They joined the search one by one until a small army was searching between every blade9 of grass. They all knew it was a re-enactment10 of the needle-in-a-haystack11 story， but they felt so sad for Marli that they couldn’t help but try. 其他的父母和孩子看到我们在草地上四处探寻，问我们丢了什么东西。他们一个接一个地加入搜寻的队伍，在每一片草叶之间寻找。他们都知道这是大海捞针的故事重演，但他们为玛莉感到难过，忍不住想试试。
After half an hour or so， someone yelled， “I found it！” I looked over and saw the father
我一直把“奇迹”一词与那些在可怕的车祸中或者“不治之症”中幸存下来的人，或是《圣经》中像摩西分海一样史诗般的事件联系在一起。但随着年龄的增长，我学会了如何更密切地关注周围的世界，我发现上帝之手无处不在，奇迹也包括很多人认为是巧合而不重视的小事件。
I experienced one such event recently when my older daughter， Marli， lost her first tooth. She was so excited about it that she took it to school to show to her friends， most of whom were also losing teeth like little popcorn machines. They would stand around in groups giggling and wiggling4 their loose teeth between their thumbs and forefingers， or proudly displaying the spaces where teeth used to be. It was sort of a competition to see who was growing up faster， and who could get the largest amount of cold， hard cash from the Tooth Fairy.
我最近经历了这样一件事，我的大女儿玛莉，掉了她的第一颗牙。她非常兴奋，带着牙去学校给她的朋友们看，他们中的大多数人也像小爆米花机一样掉了牙。他们会成群结队地站在一起，咯咯地笑着，用拇指和食指摆弄他们掉下来的牙齿，或者骄傲地展示牙齿曾经所在的位置。这有点像是一场看谁更快长大，看谁能从牙仙那里得到最多金币的比赛。
We were on the big lawn in front of Marli’s elementary school during the usual after-school play date when she reached into her pocket and took out the small， cloth bag we gave her to carry her tooth in. She put her finger into the bag to take out the tooth so she could show it to some friends who had gathered around， but her smile disappeared when she realized it wasn’t there. It had fallen out， probably when she was doing somersaults5 with a friend. She started to cry. Anxious to calm her down， I said， “Don’t worry， sweetie. We’ll find it.” But as I looked at the size of the lawn and thought of the actual chances of finding a tiny incisor6 somewhere in that sea of green， I didn’t feel very optimistic7.
在平時放学后玩耍的时间段里，我们正在玛莉读的小学前的大草坪上，她把手伸进口袋，拿出了我们给她装牙齿的小布袋。她把手指伸进袋子里，想把牙齿拿出来给周围聚集的朋友们看，但当她意识到牙齿不在里面时，她的笑容消失了。牙齿可能在她和朋友翻跟头的时候掉了。她哭了起来。我急着想让她平静下来，说：“别担心，亲爱的。我们会找到它的。”但当我看到草坪的大小，想到在那片绿色海洋中找到一颗小门牙的可能性时，我感到并不乐观。
Other parents and kids saw us poking8 around in the grass and asked what we had lost. They joined the search one by one until a small army was searching between every blade9 of grass. They all knew it was a re-enactment10 of the needle-in-a-haystack11 story， but they felt so sad for Marli that they couldn’t help but try. 其他的父母和孩子看到我们在草地上四处探寻，问我们丢了什么东西。他们一个接一个地加入搜寻的队伍，在每一片草叶之间寻找。他们都知道这是大海捞针的故事重演，但他们为玛莉感到难过，忍不住想试试。
After half an hour or so， someone yelled， “I found it！” I looked over and saw the father