An elderly carpenter was ready to retire. He told his employer-contractor of his
plans to leave the house-building business to live a more leisurely life with
his wife and enjoy his extended family. He would miss the paycheck each week,
but he wanted to retire. They could get by.
The contractor was sorry to
see his good worker go & asked if he could build just one more house as a
personal favor. The carpenter said yes, but over time it was easy to see that
his heart was not in his work. He resorted to shoddy workmanship and used
inferior materials. It was an unfortunate way to end a dedicated career.
When the carpenter finished his work, his employer came to inspect the
house. Then he handed the front-door key to the carpenter and said, "This is
your house... my gift to you."
The carpenter was shocked!
A certain man planted a rose and watered it faithfully and before it blossomed, he examined it.
He saw the bud that would soon blossom, but noticed thorns upon the stem and he thought, "How can any beautiful flower come from a plant burdened with so many sharp thorns? Saddened by this thought, he neglected to water the rose, and just before it was ready to bloom... it died.
So it is with many people. Within every soul there is a rose. The God-like qualities planted in us at birth, grow amid the thorns of our faults. Many of us look at ourselves and see only the thorns, the defects.
Did you know that an eagle knows when a storm is approaching long before it breaks? The eagle will fly to some high spot and wait for the winds to come. When the storm hits, it sets its wings so that the wind will pick it up and lift it above the storm. While the storm rages below, the eagle is soaring above it. The eagle does not escape the storm. It simply uses the storm to lift it higher. It rises on the winds that bring the storm. When the storms of life come upon us - and all of us will experience them - we can rise above them by setting our minds and our belief toward God. The storms do not have to overcome us. We can allow God's power to lift us above them. God enables us to ride the winds of the storm that bring sickness, tragedy, failure and disappointment in our lives. We can soar above the storm. Remember, it is not the burdens of life that weigh us down, it is how we handle them.
His name was Fleming, and he was a poor Scottish farmer. One day, while trying
to eke out a living for his family, he heard a cry for help coming from a nearby
bog. He dropped his tools and ran to the bog. There, mired to his waist in black
muck, was a terrified boy, screaming and struggling to free himself. Farmer
Fleming saved the lad from what could have been a slow
and terrifying death.
The next day, a fancy carriage pulled up to the Scotsman's sparse
surroundings. An elegantly dressed nobleman stepped out and introduced himself
as the father of the boy Farmer Fleming had saved.
"I want to repay you,"
said the nobleman. "You saved my son's life."
"No, I can't accept payment for
what I did," the Scottish farmer replied, waving off the offer. At that moment,
the farmer's own son came to the door of the family hovel.
"Is that your
son?" the nobleman asked. "Yes," the farmer replied proudly.
Once upon a time, there was an island where all the feelings lived:
Happiness, Sadness, Knowledge, and all of the others, including Love. One day it
was announced to the feelings that the island would sink, so all constructed
boats and left. Except for Love.
Love was the only one who stayed. Love
wanted to hold out until the last possible moment.
When the island had
almost sunk, Love decided to ask for help.
Richness was passing by Love
in a grand boat. Love said,
"Richness, can you take me with
you?"
Richness answered, "No, I can't. There is a lot of gold and silver in
my boat. There is no place here for you."
Love decided to ask Vanity who
was also passing by in a beautiful vessel. "Vanity, please help me!"
"I can't
help you, Love. You are all wet and might damage my boat," Vanity
answered.