One winter day a storm was forecast for Portland. Of course to Bill the weather report was good news. “Perfect for a door-to-door salesman，” he said. “Everyone’s home！” So he bundled up and made his rounds until he had made his quota. But then， the buses had stopped running because the roads were so bad. He had to hitchhike home， only to discover the steep driveway leading to his front door was a sheet of ice. He tried to get up it again and again， but kept falling down. Finally he got down on his hands and knees and crawled to the front door thoroughly satisfied with his day’s work. He told me about it the next morning. It was as if the cumulative affect of working with Bill and his optimism sank in. I wanted to stop worrying about life and start enjoying it.
It’s been 20 years now that I’ve worked for Bill. Once in a while those old worries start in on me. It is then I think about my friend Bill crawling up his icy driveway. I hear him saying， “There are no obstacles， Shelly. Only challenges.” When I follow his example， I’m able to let go and feel free. Yes， Bill Porter finally got me looking forward to the opportunities God opens for us one door at a time. And these days when my family goes to the movies we see the full-priced show—and splurge on popcorn.
20年前，當我們生第一個孩子的時候，我和丈夫約翰就商量好了，我要在家裏做全職媽媽，這意味著我們就得隻靠他一個人的工資生活了。為了還房貸和學生貸款，我們節衣縮食。我們常以通心粉和奶酪為主食，而且再也沒有去看過電影。
我們剪下商家的優惠券，並且買打折的商品。在星期二，廉價舊貨店會出售“新”商品；星期三，快過期的肉類和奶類商品會半價出售；星期六，我們會趕在別人之前去買私人擺在門前要出售的商品。但是，對於這一切我早就習慣了，因為我從小就過著缺吃少穿的生活。因此為了擺脫貧困，我早就定下了實際目標，即上大學，擁有牢固的婚姻和一份事業。這些我都做到了，但是，我仍然無法想象我的生活會永遠不如意。我的信仰更像是安全網，而不能成為我企盼美好生活的理由。