我的母親已經在癌末最後的日子中。從去年底被診斷出大腸癌，今年1月4日開刀確認已經是第四期。2-3月中經歷過兩次化療，四月初突感喘不過氣，發現肺積水，醫生宣布只剩下三個月。儘管主治醫師仍主張再開一次刀，希望可以切除阻塞小腸的腫瘤，開刀的結果是癌組織已經在腹膜和胸腔間形成一整片的硬塊，手術刀完全進不去；徒留腹部22公分的傷口。這一切發生得很快，而且每一次都是最糟的結果。

    Last week I led a workshop for 國三students on how to deal with test anxiety. From a counseling perspective, effectively handling test anxiety consists of identifying triggers and training the body and mind to respond to them.  Thus, I asked students to name the negative thoughts, feelings, and physical responses that occurred when they sat down to take an important test.  Students reported feeling nervous and worried with their body sometimes feeling too hot or too cold, their hearts racing, and the urge to pick at their fingernails.  They mentioned negative thoughts such as “Other students are smarter or faster than me,”  “What if I fail?” and “I just want to be done with the test and do other things.”  All of these triggers work together to flood the body and brain so that students freeze, forget what they studied, or even sometimes give up.

    你曾經參加過教會禱告會嗎？隨著時代變遷與科技進展，禱告會的形式也逐漸改變，教會裡全體的、大型的禱告聚會似乎越來越少見了，取而代之的是化整為零的禱告小團體，QT、RPG…等等。其實，無論規模大小，基督徒們總是需要聚集禱告，如同耶穌的吩咐：「若是你們中間有兩個人在地上同心合意的求什麼事，我在天上的父必為他們成全。因為無論在哪裡，有兩三個人奉我的名聚會，那裡就有我在他們中間。」（太18:19-20）重點不在於人數，而是「同心合意」、「奉主的名」祈求：每個參加的人放下自己手邊的事，專門為著「我們的事」祈求；而這些「我們的事」要如何成就、何時成就、往哪個方向成就，這一群人也同心合意的交托給那成全的主，不再堅持自己的主張與時間表。