Inspirational - Spiritual Stories - 3
The
Box
The
story goes that some time ago a
mother punished her 5 year-old daughter for wasting a roll of
expensive gold wrapping paper. Money was tight and she became
even
more upset when the child used the gold paper to decorate a
box to
put under the Christmas tree. Nevertheless,
the little girl brought
the gift box to her mother the next morning and said, "This is for you,
Momma." The mother was embarrassed by her earlier
over
reaction, but her anger flared again when she opened the box
and
found it was empty.
She spoke
to her daughter in a harsh
manner. "Don't you know, young lady, when you give someone a
present there's supposed to be something inside the package?"
She
had tears in her eyes and said, "Oh,
Momma, it's not empty! I blew kisses into it until it was
full."
The mother was
crushed. She fell on her
knees and put her arms around her little girl, and she begged
her
forgiveness for her
thoughtless anger.
An
accident took the life of the child
only a short time later,
and it is told that the mother kept that gold box by her bed
for
all the years of her life. Whenever she was discouraged or
faced
difficult problems she would open the box and take out an
imaginary kiss and remember the love of the child who had put
it
there.
In a very real sense,
each of us, as
human beings, have been given a Golden box filled with
unconditional love and kisses from our children, family,
friends
and God. There is no more precious possession anyone could
hold.
Friends are
like angels who lift us to our feet, when our wings have
trouble remembering how to fly.
"Never let your successes go to your HEAD and
never let your failures go to your HEART."
NAIL IN THE FENCE
There once
was a little boy who had a bad temper. His Father
gave
him a bag of nails and told him that every time he lost his temper, he
must hammer a nail into the back of the fence.
The first day the boy
had driven 37 nails into the fence. Over the next few weeks, as he
learned to control his anger, the number of nails hammered daily
gradually dwindled down. He discovered it was easier to hold his temper
than to drive those nails into the fence.
Finally the day came
when the boy didn't lose his
temper
at all. He told his father about it and the father suggested that the
boy now pull out one nail for each day that he was able to hold his
temper.
The days passed and the young boy was finally able
to tell
his father that all the nails were gone. The father took his son by the
hand and led him to the fence. He said, "You have done well, my son,
but look at the holes in the fence. The fence will never be the same.
When you say things in anger, they leave a scar
just like
this one. You can put a knife in a man and draw it out. It won't matter
how many times you say I'm sorry, the wound is still there. " A verbal
wound is as bad as a physical one.
Friends are
very rare jewels, indeed. They make
you smile
and encourage you to succeed. They lend an ear, they share words of
praise and they always want to open their hearts to us.
Please forgive me if I have ever left a hole.
A group of professional
people posed this question to a group of 4 to 8
year-olds,
"What does love mean?"
The answers
they got were broader and deeper than anyone could have imagined. See
what you
think:
"When my grandmother got arthritis, she couldn't bend over and paint
her toenails
anymore. So my grandfather does it for her all the time, even when his
hands got arthritis
too. That's love." Rebecca - age 8
When someone loves you, the way they say your name is different. You
know that your name
is safe in their mouth." Billy - age 4
"Love is when a girl puts on perfume and a boy puts on shaving cologne
and they go
out and smell each other." Karl - age 5
"Love is when you go out to eat and give somebody most of your French
fries without
making them give you any of theirs." Chrissy - age 6
"Love is what makes you smile when you're tired." Terri - age 4
Love
is when my mommy makes coffee for my daddy and she takes
a sip
before giving it to
him, to make sure the taste is OK." Danny - age 7
"Love is when you kiss all the time. Then when you get tired of
kissing, you still
want to be together and you talk more. My Mommy and Daddy are like
that. But they look
gross when they kiss" Emily - age 8
"Love is what's in the room with you at Christmas if you stop opening
presents and
listen," Bobby - age 7 (Wow!)
"If you want to learn to love better, you should start with a friend
who you
hate." Nikka - age 6 "Love is when you tell a guy you like his shirt,
then he
wears it everyday." Noelle - age 7
"Love is like a little old woman and a little old man who are still
friends even
after they know each other so well." Tommy - age 6
"During my piano recital, I was on a stage and I was scared. I looked
at all the
people watching me and saw my daddy waving and smiling. He was the only
one doing that. I
wasn't scared anymore" Cindy - age 8
"My mommy loves me more than anybody. You don't see anyone else kissing
me to sleep
at night." Clare - age 6
"Love is when Mommy gives Daddy the best piece of chicken." Elaine-age
5
"Love is when Mommy sees Daddy smelly and sweaty and still says he is
handsomer than
Robert Redford." Chris - age 7
"Love is when your puppy licks your face even after you left him alone
all day."
Mary Ann - age 4
"I know my older sister loves me because she gives me all her old
clothes and has to
go out and buy new ones." Lauren - age 4
"When you love somebody, your eyelashes go up and down and little stars
come out of
you." Karen - age 7
"Love is when Mommy sees Daddy on the toilet and she doesn't think it's
gross."
Mark - age 6
"You really shouldn't say 'I love
you' unless you mean it. But if you
mean it, you should say it a lot. People forget." Jessica - age 8
And
the final one-Author and lecturer Leo Buscaglia once
talked about a
contest he was
asked to judge. The purpose of the contest was to find the most caring
child. The winner
was a four-year old child whose next door neighbor was an elderly
gentleman who had
recently lost his wife. Upon seeing the man cry the little boy went
into the old
gentleman's yard, climbed onto his lap, and just sat there. When his
Mother asked him what
he had said to the neighbor, the little boy said, "Nothing, I just
helped him
cry."
Interesting
historical information about life in the 1500's
The
next time you are washing your hands and complain because the water
temperature isn't just how you like it, think about how things used to
be.
Here are some facts about the1500s:
Most
people got married in June because they took their yearly bath in May,
and still smelled pretty good by June. However, they were starting to
smell, so brides carried a bouquet of flowers to hide the body odor.
Hence the custom today of carrying a bouquet when getting married.
Baths
consisted of a big tub filled with hot water. The man of the house had
the privilege of the nice clean water, then all the other sons and men,
then the women and finally the children. Last of all the babies. By
then the water was so dirty you could actually lose someone in it.
Hence the saying, Don't throw the baby out with the Bath water.
Houses
had thatched roofs-thick straw-piled high, with no wood underneath. It
was the only place for animals to get warm, so all the cats and other
small animals (mice, bugs) lived in the roof When it rained it became
slippery and sometimes the animals would slip and fall off the roof.
Hence the saying . It's raining cats and dogs
There
was nothing to stop things from falling into the house.. This posed a
real problem in the bedroom where bugs and other droppings could mess
up your nice clean bed. Hence, a bed with big posts and a sheet hung
over the top afforded some protection. That's how canopy beds came into
existence.
The floor was dirt. Only the wealthy
had something other than dirt. Hence the saying, Dirt poor.
The wealthy had slate floors that would get slippery in the winter when
wet, so they spread thresh (straw) on floor to help keep their footing.
As the winter wore on, they added more thresh until, when you opened
the door, it would all start slipping outside. A piece of wood was
placed in the entranceway. Hence the saying a thresh hold.
In
those old days, they cooked in the kitchen with a big kettle that
always hung over the fire. Every day they lit the fire and added things
to the pot. They ate mostly vegetables and did not get much meat. They
would eat the stew for dinner, leaving leftovers in the pot to get cold
overnight and then start over the next day. Sometimes stew had food in
it that had been there for quite a while. Hence the rhyme,
Peas porridge hot, peas porridge cold, peas porridge in the pot nine
days old..
Sometimes they could obtain pork,
which made them feel quite special. When visitors came over, they would
hang up their bacon to show off. It was a sign of wealth that a man
could, bring home the bacon. They would cut off a little to
share with guests and would all sit around and chew the fat..
Those
with money had plates made of pewter. Food with high acid content
caused some of the lead to leach onto the food, causing lead poisoning
death. This happened most often with tomatoes, so for the next 400
years or so, tomatoes were considered poisonous.
Bread
was divided according to status. Workers got the burnt bottom of the
loaf, the family got the middle, and guests got the top, or the upper
crust.
Lead cups were used to drink ale or whisky.
The combination would sometimes knock the imbibers out for a
couple of days. Someone walking along the road would take them for dead
and prepare them for burial. They were laid out on the kitchen table
for a couple of days and the family would gather around and eat and
drink and wait and see if they would wake up. Hence the custom of
holding a wake.
England is old and small and the
local folks started running out of places to bury people. So
they would dig up coffins and would take the bones to a bone-house, and
reuse the grave. When reopening these coffins, 1 out of 25 coffins were
found to have scratch marks on the inside and they realized they had
been burying people alive. So they would tie a string on the
wrist of the corpse, lead it through the coffin and up through the
ground and tie it to a bell. Someone would have to sit out in the
graveyard all night (the graveyard shift.) to listen for the bell;
thus, someone could be, saved by the bell or was considered a ...dead
ringer.
And that's
the truth...
Now, whoever said History was boring ! ! !
Subject: The Positive Side of
Life
Living on Earth is
expensive, but it does include a free trip around the sun every year.
How
long a minute is depends on what side of the bathroom
door You're
on.
Birthdays are good for you; the more you have, the longer you live.
Happiness
comes through doors you didn't even know you left
open.
Ever notice that the people who are late
are often much
jollier than
the people who have
to wait for them?
Most of us go to our grave with our music still inside of us.
If
Wal-Mart is lowering prices every day, how come nothing is
free yet?
You may be only one person in the world, but you
may also be the world
to one person.
Some mistakes are too much fun to only make once.
Don't cry because it's over; smile because it happened.
We
could learn a lot from crayons: some are sharp,
some are pretty, some are dull, some have weird names, and all are
different colors....but they all exist very nicely in the same box.
A
truly happy person is one who can enjoy the scenery on a
detour.
Have an awesome day, and know that
someone who thinks you're
great has
thought about you
today!.. "And that person was me.".....
YOU Pack My Parachute
Charles Plumb was a U.S. Navy jet pilot in Vietnam.
After 75 combat
missions, his plane
was destroyed by a surface-to-air missile. Plumb ejected and parachuted
into enemy hands.
He was captured and spent 6 years in a communist Vietnamese prison. He
survived the ordeal
and now lectures on lessons learned from that experience.
One day, when Plumb and his wife were sitting in a restaurant, a man at
another table came
up and said, "You're Plumb! You flew jet fighters in Vietnam from the
aircraft
carrier Kitty Hawk. You were shot down!"
"How in the world did you know that?" asked Plumb.
"I packed your parachute," the man replied.
Plumb gasped in surprise and gratitude. The man pumped his hand and
said, "I guess it
worked!"
Plumb assured him, "It sure did. If your chute hadn't worked, I
wouldn't be here
today."
Plumb couldn't sleep that night, thinking about that man. Plumb says,
"I kept
wondering what he had looked like in a Navy uniform: a white hat, a bib
in the back, and
bell-bottom trousers. I wonder how many times I might have seen him and
not even said
'Good morning, how are you?' or anything because, you see, I was a
fighter pilot and he
was just a sailor."
Plumb thought of the many hours the sailor had spent at a long wooden
table in the bowels
of the ship, carefully weaving the shrouds and folding the silks of
each chute, holding in
his hands each time the fate of someone he didn't know.
Now, Plumb asks his audience, "Who's packing your parachute?" Everyone
has
someone who provides what they need to make it through the day. He also
points out that he
needed many kinds of parachutes when his plane was shot down over enemy
territory - he
needed his physical parachute, his mental parachute, his emotional
parachute, and his
spiritual parachute. He called on all these supports before reaching
safety.
Sometimes in the daily challenges that life gives us, we miss what is
really important. We
may fail to say hello, please, or thank you, congratulate someone on
something wonderful
that has happened to them, give a compliment, or just do something nice
for no reason. As
you go through this week, this month, this year, recognize people who
pack your
parachutes.
The Mayonnaise Jar and the
Coffee
A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some
items in front on him. When the class began, wordlessly, he picked up a
very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with golf
balls. He then asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed it
was.
So then the professor then picked up a box of pebbles
and poured them
into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles rolled into the
open areas between the golf balls. He then asked the students if the
jar was full.
They agreed it was. The professor
next picked up a box of sand and
poured it into the jar and of course the sand filled up everything else
up. He asked once more if the jar was full.
The
students responded with an unanimous "yes." The professor then
produced two coffee cups of coffee from under the table and
poured the entire contents into the jar, effectively filling the empty
space between the sand. The students laughed.
"Now,"
said the professor, as the laughter subsided. "I want
you to recognize that this jar represents your life. The golf balls are
the important things - your family, your children, your health, your
friends, and your favorite passions - things that if everything else
was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full. The
pebbles are the other things that matter like your job, your house, and
your car. The sand is everything else - the small stuff. If you put the
sand in the jar first, he continued, "There is no room for the pebbles
or the golf balls.
The same goes for life. If
you spend all your time and energy on the
small stuff, you will never have room for the things that are important
to you. Pay attention to the things that are critical to your
happiness. Play with your children. Take time to get medical checkups.
Take your spouse to dinner. Spend time with your parents for you won't
always have them in your life. There will always be time to clean the
house and fix the disposal. Take care of the golf balls first, the
things that really matter. Set your priorities. The rest is just sand.
One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the
coffee
represents? The professor smiled. "I am glad you asked. It just goes to
show you that no matter how full your life may seem, there is always
room for a couple of cups of coffee with a friend."
So when
things in your life seem almost too much to handle,
when 24 hours in a day are not enough, remember the mayonnaise jar and
the coffee.
Four
Wives
In ancient times, there was a rich
merchant who had four wives.
He loved the fourth wife the most and
adorned her with rich robes and treated her to delicacies. He took
great care of her and gave her nothing but the best.
He also loved his
third wife very much. He was very proud of her and always wanted to
show her off to his friends. However, the merchant was always in great
fear that she might run away with some other men.
He
too, loved his second wife. She was a very considerate person, always
patient and in fact is the merchant's confidante. Whenever the merchant
faced some problems, he always turned to his second wife and she would
always help him out and help him through difficult times.
Now, the
merchant's first wife was a very loyal partner and had made great
contributions in maintaining his wealth and business as well as taking
care of the household. However, the merchant did not love the first
wife and although she loved him deeply, he hardly took notice of her.
One
day, the merchant fell ill. Before long, he knew that he was going to
die soon. He thought of his luxurious life and told himself, "Now I
have four wives with me. But when I die, I'll be alone. How lonely I'll
be!"
Thus, he asked the fourth wife, "I loved you
most, endowed you with the finest clothing and showered great care over
you. Now that I'm dying, will you follow me and keep me company?" "No
way!" replied the fourth wife and she walked away without another word.
Similar responses came from the third and second wives.
Then
a voice called out: "I'll leave with you. I'll follow you no matter
where you go." The merchant looked up and there was his first wife.
Greatly grieved, the merchant said, "I should have taken much better
care of you while I could have!"
Actually, we each
have four wives in our lives
4.
The fourth wife is our body. No matter how much time and effort we
lavish in making it look good, it'll leave us when we die.
3.
Our third wife represents our possessions, status and wealth. When we
die, they all go to others.
2. The second wife is our family
and friends. No matter how close they had been there for us when we're
alive, the furthest they can stay by us is up to the grave.
1.
The first wife is, in fact, our soul, often neglected in our pursuit of
material, wealth and sensual pleasure. – but in truth our
real self.
Friendship
His name was
Fleming, and he was a poor Scottish farmer. One day,
while trying to make 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.
"I'll
make
you a deal. Let me provide him with the level of education
my own son will
enjoy. If the lad is anything like his father, he'll no
doubt grow to be a man
we both will be proud of."
And that he did. Farmer
Fleming's
son attended the very best schools and in time, he graduated
from St.
Mary's Hospital Medical School in London, and went on to
become known
throughout the world as the noted Sir Alexander Fleming, the discoverer
of Penicillin.
Years
afterward,
the same nobleman's son who was saved from the bog
was stricken with
pneumonia. What saved his life this time? Penicillin. The name
of the
nobleman? Lord Randolph Churchill. His son's name? Sir Winston
Churchill.