A lesson in love
Carl was a quiet man. He didn’t talk much. He would always greet you with a big smile and a firm handshake. Even after living in our neighborhood for over 50 years, no one could really say they knew him very well.
Before his retirement, he took the bus to work each morning. The lone sight of him walking down the street often worried us. He had a slight limp from a bullet wound received in WWII. Watching him, we worried that although he had survived WWII, he may not make it through our changing uptown neighborhood with its ever-increasing random violence, gangs, and drug activity.
When he saw the flyer at our local church asking for volunteers for caring for the gardens behind the minister’s residence, he responded in his characteristically unassuming manner. Without fanfare, he just signed up.
He was well into his 87th year when the very thing we had always feared finally happened. He was just finishing his watering for the day when three gang members approached him. Ignoring their attempt to intimidate him, he simply asked, “Would you like a drink from the hose?”
The tallest and toughest-looking of the three said, “Yeah, sure,” with a malevolent little smile. As Carl offered the hose to him, the other two grabbed Carl’s arm, throwing him down. As the hose snaked crazily over the ground, dousing everything in its way, Carl’s assailants stole his retirement watch and his wallet, and then fled.
Carl tried to get himself up, but he had been thrown down on his bad leg. He lay there trying to gather himself as the minister came running to help him. Although the minister had witnessed the attack from his window, he couldn’t get there fast enough to stop it.
“Carl, are you okay? Are you hurt?” the minister kept asking as he helped Carl to his feet. Carl just passed a hand over his brow and sighed, shaking his head. “Just some punk kids. I hope they’ll wise-up someday.”
His wet clothes clung to his slight frame as he bent to pick up the hose. He adjusted the nozzle again and started to water. Confused and a little concerned, the minister asked, “Carl, what are you doing?” “I’ve got to finish my watering. It’s been very dry lately,” came the calm reply.
Satisfying himself that Carl really was all right, the Minister could only marvel. Carl was a man from a different time and place. A few weeks later the three returned. Just as before their threat was unchallenged. Carl again offered them a drink from his hose. This time they didn’t rob him. They wrenched the hose from his hand and drenched
him head to foot in the icy water.
When they had finished their humiliation of him, they saunteredoff down the street, throwing catcalls and curses, falling over one another laughing at the hilarity of what they had just done . Carl just watched them. Then he turned toward the warmth giving sun, picked up his hose, and went on with his watering.
The summer was quickly fading into fall, Carl was doing some tilling when he was startled by the sudden approach of someone behind him. He stumbled and fell into some evergreen branches. As he struggled to regain his footing, he turned to see the tall leader of his summer tormentors reaching down for him. He braced imself for the expected attack.
“Don’t worry old man, I’m not gonna hurt you this time.” The young man spoke softly, still offering the tattooed and scarred hand to Carl. As he helped Carl get up, the man pulled a crumpled bag from his pocket and handed it to Carl.
“What’s this?” Carl asked. “It’s your stuff,” the man explained.
“It’s your stuff back. Even the money in your wallet.”
“I don’t understand,” Carl said. “Why would you help me now?”
The man shifted his feet, seeming embarrassed and ill at ease. ”I learned something from you,” he said. “I ran with that gang and hurt people like you. We picked you because you were old and we knew we could do it. But every time we came and did something to you, instead of yelling and fighting back, you tried to give us a drink. You didn’t hate us for hating you. You kept showing love against our hate.” He stopped for a moment. ”I couldn’t sleep after we stole your stuff, so here it is back.”
He paused for another awkward moment, not knowing what more there was to say. “That bag’s my way of saying thanks
for straightening me out, I guess.” And with that, he walked off down the street.
Carl looked down at the sack in his hands and gingerly opened it. He took out his retirement watch and put it back on his wrist. Opening his wallet, he checked for his wedding photo. He gazed for a moment at the young bride that still smiled back at him from all those years ago.
He died one cold day after Christmas that winter. Many people attended his funeral in spite of the weather. In particular the minister noticed a tall young man that he didn’t know sitting quietly in a distant corner of the church.
The minister spoke of Carl’s garden as a lesson in life. In a voice made thick with unshed tears, he said, “Do your best and make your garden as beautiful as you can. We will never forget Carl and his garden.”
The following spring another flyer went up. It read: “Person needed to care for Carl’s garden.”
The flyer went unnoticed by the busy parishioners until one day when a knock was heard at the minister’s office door. Opening the door, the minister saw a pair of scarred and tattooed hands holding the flyer. “I believe this is my job, if you’ll have me,” the young man said.
The minister recognized him as the same young man who had returned the stolen watch and wallet to Carl. He knew that Carl’s kindness had turned this man’s life around. As the minister handed him the keys to the garden shed, he said,
“Yes, go take care of Carl’s garden and honor him.”
The man went to work and, over the next several years, he tended the flowers and vegetables just as Carl had done. In that time, he went to college, got married, and became a prominent member of the community. But he never forgot his promise to Carl’s memory and kept the garden as beautiful as he thought Carl would have kept it.
One day he approached the new minister and told him that he couldn’t care for the garden any longer. He explained with a shy and happy smile, ”My wife just had a baby boy last night, and she’s bringing him home on Saturday.”
“Well, congratulations!” said the minister, as he was handed the garden shed keys. “That’s wonderful! What’s the baby’s name?”
“Carl,” he replied.
Add a comment November 9, 2007
SATAN’S MEETING:
(Read even if you’re busy. Very well written)
Satan called a worldwide convention of demons.
In his opening address he said,
“We can’t keep people from going to pray.”
“We can’t keep them from reading their holy books and knowing the truth.”
“We can’t even keep them from forming an intimate relationship with their
GOD.”
“Once they gain that connection with GOD, our power over them is broken.”
“So let them go to their prayers; let them have their covered dish dinners,
BUT steal their time, so they don’t have time to develop a relationship
with GOD..”
“This is what I want you to do,” said the devil:
“Distract them from gaining hold of their GOD and maintaining that vital
connection throughout their day!”
“How shall we do this?” his demons shouted.
“Keep them busy in the non-essentials of life and invent innumerable
schemes to occupy their minds,” he answered.
“Tempt them to spend, spend, spend, and borrow, borrow, borrow.”
“Persuade the wives to go to work for long hours and the husbands to work
6-7 days each week, 10-12 hours a day, so they can afford their empty
lifestyles.”
“Keep them from spending time with their children.”
“As their families fragment, soon, their homes will offer no escape from
the pressures of work!”
“Over-stimulate their minds so that they cannot hear that still, small
voice.”
“Entice them to play the radio or cassette player whenever they drive.” To
keep the TV, VCR, CDs and their PCs going constantly in their home and see
to it that every store and restaurant in the world plays non-biblical music
constantly.”
“This will jam their minds and break that union with God.”
“Fill the coffee tables with magazines and newspapers.”
“Pound their minds with the news 24 hours a day.”
“Invade their driving moments with billboards.”
“Flood their mailboxes with junk mail, mail order catalogs, sweepstakes,
and every kind of newsletter and promotional offering free products,
services and false hopes..”
“Keep skinny, beautiful models on the magazines and TV so their husbands
will believe that outward beauty is what’s important, and they’ll become
dissatisfied with their wives. “
“Keep the wives too tired to love their husbands at night.”
“Give them headaches too! “
“If they don’t give their husbands the love they need, they will begin to
look elsewhere.”
“That will fragment their families quickly!”
“Give them disatractions to distract them from teaching their children the
real meaning of life.”
“Even in their recreation, let them be excessive.”
“Have them return from their recreation exhausted.”
“Keep them too busy to go out in nature and reflect on God’s creation. Send
them to amusement parks, sporting events, plays, concerts, and movies
instead.”
“Keep them busy, busy, busy!”
“And when they meet for spiritual fellowship, involve them in gossip and
small talk so that they leave with troubled consciences.”
“Crowd their lives with so many good causes they have no time to seek power
from GOD.”
“Soon they will be working in their own strength, sacrificing their health
and family for the good of the cause.”
“It will work!”
“It will work!”
It was quite a plan!
The demons went eagerly to their assignments causing people everywhere to
get busier and more rushed, going here and there.
Having little time for their God or their families.
Having no time to tell others about the power of GOD to change lives.
I guess the question is, has the devil been successful in his schemes?
You be the judge!!!!!
Does “BUSY” mean: B -eing U-nder S-atan’s Y-oke?
Please pass this on, if you aren’t too BUSY!
Add a comment November 9, 2007
Thank you
THANK YOU
By Oprah Winfrey
I live in the space of thankfulness – and I have been rewarded a million
times over for it.
I started out giving thanks for small things, and the more thankful I
became, the more my bounty increased. That’s because what you focus on
expands, and when you focus on the goodness in your life, you create
more of it.
Opportunities, relationships, even money flowed my way when I learned to
be grateful no matter what happened in my life.
“Say thank you!” Those words from my friend and mentor Maya Angelou
turned my life around. One day about ten years ago, I was sitting in my
bathroom with the door closed and the toilet lid down, booing and
ahooing on the phone so uncontrollably that I was incoherent.
“Stop it! Stop it right now and say thank you!” Maya chided. “But – you
don’t understand,” I sobbed.
To this day, I can’t remember what it was that had me so far gone, which
only proves the point Maya was trying to make. “I do understand,” she
told me. “I want to hear you say it now. Out loud.
‘Thank you.’” Tentatively, I repeated it:
“Thank you – but what am I saying thank you for?”
“You’re saying thank you,” Maya said, “because your faith is so strong
that you don’t doubt that whatever the problem, you’ll get through it.
You’re saying thank you because you know that even in the eye of the
storm, God has put a rainbow in the clouds. You’re saying thank you
because you know there’s no problem created that can compare to the
Creator of all things. Say thank you!”
So I did – and still do. Only now I do it every day. I kept a gratitude
journal, as Sarah Ban Breathnach suggests in Simple Abundance, listing
at least five things that I’m grateful for. My list includes small
pleasures:
the feel of Kentucky bluegrass under my feet (like damp silk); a walk in
the woods with all nine of my dogs and my cocker spaniel Sophie trying
to keep up; cooking fried green tomatoes with Stedman and eating them
while they’re hot; reading a good book and knowing another awaits.
My thank-you list also includes things too important to take for
granted: an “okay” mammogram, friends who love me, 15 years at the same
job (and loving it more than the first day I started), a chance to share
my vision for a better life, staying centered, having financial
security.
I won’t kid you, having money for all the things I want is a blessing.
But as I look back over my journals, which I’ve kept since I was 15
years old,
99 per cent of what brought me real joy had nothing to do with money .
(It had a lot to do with food, however.)
It’s not easy being grateful all the time. But it’s when you feel least
thankful that you are most in need of what gratitude can give you:
PERSPECTIVE. Just knowing you have that daily list to complete allows
you to look at your day differently, with an awareness of every sweet
gesture and kind thought passed your way. When you learn to say thank
you, see the world anew. And as Meister Eckhart so eloquently stated:
“If the only prayer you ever say in your whole life is ‘Thank you God’,
that would suffice.”
Add a comment September 14, 2007
The power of postive joy
Contrary to secular thought, “joy” and “happiness” stand in stark contrast.
Perhaps no one realized this more than nineteenth-century Chicago lawyer Horacio Spafford.
Spafford took a fierce financial blow when his real estate holdings were mostly destroyed in the Chicago fire of 1871. Just a short time earlier, he had suffered the loss of his only son.
Desperately needing a rest, Spafford and his family planned a vacation to Europe.
Detained by business, Spafford sent his wife and four daughters ahead of him.
During their voyage, however, their ship crashed and sank into the ocean depths. Upon safely reaching shore, Mrs. Spafford wired the somber news, “Saved alone.”
The Spafford’s four daughters, like their son, were now lost.
En route to joining his grieving wife, Spafford’s ship crossed over the exact patch of water where his children had been lost.
There, Spafford penned the words to a soulful hymn that has since become an enduring source of comfort, “It is Well with My Soul”.
At this time, Spafford was certainly not happy. He was suffering as a grieving father. However, his hardship did not overshadow his faith in God and joy in Christ Jesus.
Happiness is determined by circumstances, but true joy is a gift from God at all times. If you are reeling from life’s pain, bring your suffering to the Cross. There, God will turn your sorrow into dancing (Psalm 30:11).
by Dr. Charles F. Stanley
Add a comment September 14, 2007
THOSE BORN IN THE 50s/60s/early 70s
First, we survived with mothers who had no maids.
They cooked /cleaned while taking care of us at the same time.
They took aspirin, candies floss, fizzy drinks, shaved ice with syrups and diabetes were rare. Salt added to Pepsi or Coke was remedy for fever.
We had no childproof lids on medicine bottles, doors or cabinets and when we rode our bikes, we had no helmets, not to mention!
As children, we would ride with our parents on bicycles and motorcycles for 2 or 3. Richer ones in cars with no seat belts or air bags.
Riding in the back of a private taxi was a special treat.
We drank water from the tap and NOT from a bottle.
We would spend hours on the fields under bright sunlight flying our kites, without worrying about the UV ray which never seem to affect us.
We go to the jungle to catch spiders without worries of Aedes mosquitoes.
With a mere 5 pebbles (stones) would be an endless game. With a ball (tennis ball best) the boys would run like crazy for hours.
We caught guppies in drains / canals and when it rained, we swam there.
We shared one soft drink with four friends, from one bottle and NO ONE actually worry about being unhygenic.
We ate salty, very sweet & oily foods, candies, bread and real butter and drank very sweet coffee / tea, ice kachang, but we weren’t overweight because……
WE WERE ALWAYS OUTSIDE PLAYING!!
We would leave home in the morning and play all day, till streetlights came on.
No one was able to reach us all day. And we were O.K.
We would spend hours repairing our old bicycles and wooden scooters out of scraps and then ride down the hill, only to find out we forgot the brakes. After running into the bushes a few times, we learned to solve the problem .
We did not have Playstations, Nintendo’s, X-boxes, multiple channels on cable TV, DVD movies, no surround sound, no mobile phones, no personal computers, no Internet. WE HAD FRIENDS and we went outside and found them!
We fell out of trees, got cut, broke bones and teeth and we still continued the stunts.
We never had birthdays parties till we are 21,
We rode bikes or walked to a friend’s house and just yelled for them!
The idea of a parent bailing us out if we broke the law was unheard of. They actually sided with the law!
The past 40years have been an explosion of innovation and new ideas.
We had freedom, failures, successes and responsibilities, and we learned
HOW TO
DEAL WITH IT ALL!
CONGRATULATIONS!
You might want to share this with others who have had the luck to grow up as kids, before the government regulated our lives for our own good.
And while you are at it, forward it to your kids so they will know how brave their parents were!
P.S. -The big type is designed especially for you because of Long-sightedness or hyperopia at your age!
Add a comment September 5, 2007
Interesting quotes
{1} The brain is a wonderful organ. It starts working the moment you get up in the morning and does not stop until you get into the office.
[2] The trouble with being punctual is that nobody’s there to appreciate it.
[3] We must believe in luck. For how else can we explain the success of those we don’t like?
[4] It’s amazing that the amount of news that happens in the world
everyday always just exactly fits the newspaper.
[5] It matters not whether you win or lose; what matters is whether I win or lose.
[6] Life is pleasant. Death is peaceful. It’s the transition that’s troublesome.”
[7] Help a man when he is in trouble and he will remember you when he is in trouble again.
[8] Complex problems have simple, easy to understand wrong answers.
[9] It is not exactly cheating, I prefer to consider it creative problem solving.
[10] Behind every successful woman, is a man who is surprised.
[11] whoever said money can’t buy happiness, didn’t know where to shop.
[12] Alcohol doesn’t solve any problems, but then again, neither does milk.
[13] Most people are only alive because it is illegal to shoot them.
[14] Forgive your enemies but remember their names.
[15] Put your hand on a hot stove for a minute, and it seems like an hour. Sit with a pretty girl for an hour, and it seems like a minute. THAT’S relativity.
[16] The number of people watching you is directly proportional to the stupidity of your action
Add a comment August 16, 2007
What does Love mean?
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 just 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 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
(we need a few million more Nikka’s on this planet)
“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.” (what an image)
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 what he had said to the neighbor, the little boy said,
“Nothing, I just helped him cry”
Add a comment August 14, 2007
A brand new week
So far so good. I did some work at home over the weekend.
Add a comment August 13, 2007
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Add a comment August 10, 2007
