 |
|
Lessons from life THE story is told of a king in Africa who had a close friend with whom he grew up. The friend had a habit of looking at every situation, positive or negative, that ever occurred in his life and remarking, "This is good!" One day the king and his friend were out on a hunting expedition. The friend would load and prepare the guns for the king. The friend had apparently done something wrong in preparing one of the guns, for after taking the gun from him, the king fired it and his thumb was blown off. Examining the situation the friend remarked as usual, "This is good!" To which the king replied, "No, this is not good!" and proceeded to send his friend to jail. About a year later, the king was hunting in an area that he should have stayed clear of. Cannibals captured him and took them to their village. They tied his hands, stacked some wood, set up a stake and bound him to the stake. As they came near to set fire to the wood, they noticed that one of the king’s thumbs was missing. Being superstitious, they never ate anyone that was less than whole. So they untied the king, they sent him on his way. As he returned home, he
was reminded of the event that had taken his thumb and felt remorse for
the way he had treated his friend. He went immediately to the jail to
speak with his friend. "You were right," he said, "it was
good that my thumb was blown off." |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
And he proceeded to tell the friend all that had just happened. "And so I am very sorry for sending you to jail for so long." "No," his friend replied, "This is good!" "What do you mean, 'This is good'? How could it be good that I sent my friend to jail for a year?" "If I had not been in jail, I would have been with you." Joy in the journey Two brothers decided to dig a deep hole behind their house. As they were working, a couple of older boys stopped by to watch. "What are you doing?" asked one of the visitors. "We plan to dig a hole all the way through the earth!" one of the brothers volunteered excitedly. The older boys began to laugh, telling the younger ones that digging a hole all the way through the earth was impossible. After a long silence, one of the diggers picked up a jar full of spiders, worms and a wide assortment of insects. He removed the lid and showed the wonderful contents to the scoffing visitors. Then he said quietly and confidently, "Even if we don't dig all the way through the earth, look what we found along the way!" Their goal was far too ambitious, but it did cause them to dig. And that is what a goal is for - to cause us to move in the direction we have chosen; in other words, to set us digging! Not every goal will be fully achieved. Not every job will end successfully. Not every relationship will endure. Not every hope will come to pass. Not every love will last. Not every endeavour will be completed. Not every dream will be realised. But when you fall short of your aim, perhaps you can say, "Yes, but look at what I found along the way! Look at the wonderful things which have come into my life because I tried to do something!" It is in the digging that life is lived. And I believe it is joy in the journey, in the end, that truly matters. PC prayer Dear Lord: Every single evening As I'm lying here in bed This tiny little prayer Keeps running through my head. God bless my Mom and Dad, And all my family. Keep them warm and safe from harm For they're so close to me. And God, there is one more thing I wish that you could do. Hope you don't mind me asking, Bless my computer too. Now I know that it's not normal To bless a mother board, But listen just a second While I explain to you 'My Lord.' You see, that little metal box Holds more than odds & ends Inside those small compartments Rest so many of my friends I know so much about them By the kindness that they give And this little scrap of metal Takes me in to where they live. By faith is how I know them Much the same as you We share in what life brings us And from that our friendship grew. Please, take an extra minute From your duties up above To bless those in my address book That's filled with so much love! Wherever else this prayer may reach To each and every friend, bless each email Inbox And the person who hits Send. When you update your heavenly list On your own CD-Rom Remember each who've said this prayer Sent up to God.com. Amen. (Culled from the Net) |
 |
|
