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There was a rich merchant who had 4 wives. He loved the 4th 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 the 3rd wife very much. He's very proud of her and always
wanted to show off her to his friends. However, the merchant is always in
great fear that she might run away with some other men.
He too, loved his 2nd wife. She is 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 2nd wife and she would
always help him out and tide him through difficult times.
Now, the merchant's 1st wife is a very loyal partner and has 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 4
wives with me. But when I die, I'll be alone. How lonely I'll be!"
Thus, he asked the 4th 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 4th wife and
she walked away without another word.
The answer cut like a sharp knife right into the merchant's heart. The sad
merchant then asked the 3rd wife, "I have loved you so much for all my
life. Now that I'm dying, will you follow me and keep me company?" "No!"
replied the 3rd wife. "Life is so good over here! I'm going to remarry
when you die!" The merchant's heart sank and turned cold.
He then asked the 2nd wife, "I always turned to you for help and you've
always helped me out. Now I need your help again. When I die, will you
follow me and keep me company?" "I'm sorry, I can't help you out this
time!" replied the 2nd wife. "At the very most, I can only send you to
your grave." The answer came like a bolt of thunder and the merchant
was devastated.
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. She
was so skinny, almost like she suffered from malnutrition. Greatly grieved,
the merchant said, "I should have taken much better care of you while I
could have !"
Mother's Day
A man stopped at a flower shop to order some flowers to be wired to his
mother who lived two hundred miles away.
As he got out of his car he noticed a young girl sitting on the curb
sobbing.
He asked her what was wrong and she replied, "I wanted to buy a red
rose for my mother.
But I only have seventy-five cents, and a rose costs two dollars."
The man smiled and said, "Come on in with me. I'll buy you a rose."
He bought the little girl her rose and ordered his own mother's flowers.
As they were leaving he offered the girl a ride home.
She said, "Yes, please! You can take me to my mother."
She directed him to a cemetery, where she placed the rose on a freshly
dug grave.
The man returned to the flower shop, canceled the wire order, picked up a
bouquet and drove the two hundred miles to his mother's house.
Two Frogs
A group of frogs were traveling through the woods, and two of them fell
into a deep pit. When the other frogs saw how deep the pit was, they told
the two frogs that they were as good as dead. The two frogs ignored the
comments and tried to jump up out of the pit with all their might. The
other frogs kept telling them to stop, that they were as good as dead.
Finally, one of the frogs took heed to what the other frogs were saying
and gave up. He fell down and died.
The other frog continued to jump as hard as he could. Once again, the
crowd of frogs yelled at him to stop the pain and just die. He jumped
even harder and finally made it out. When he got out, the other frogs
said, "Did you not hear us?" The frog explained to them that he was deaf.
He thought they were encouraging him the entire time.
This story teaches two lessons:
1. There is power of life and death in the tongue. An encouraging word to
someone who is down can lift them up and help them make it through the
day.
2. A destructive word to someone who is down can be what it takes to kill
them.
Be careful of what you say. Speak life to those who cross your path. The
power of words... it is sometimes hard to understand that an encouraging
word can go such a long way. Anyone can speak words that tend to rob
another of the spirit to continue in difficult times. Special is the individual
who will take the time to encourage another.
Eagles In A Storm
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.
my hands! The bones in every finger have been smashed at least once,
and lately I have been suffering from arthritis so badly in my right hand
that I cannot even hold a glass to return your toast, much less make
delicate lines on parchment or canvas with a pen or a brush. No, brother
... for me it is too late."
More than 450 years have passed. By now, Albrecht Durer's hundreds of
masterful portraits, pen and silver-point sketches, watercolors, charcoals,
woodcuts, and copper engravings hang in every great museum in the
world, but the odds are great that you, like most people, are familiar with
only one of Albrecht Durer's works. More than merely being familiar with
it, you very well may have a reproduction hanging in your home or office.
One day, to pay homage to Albert for all that he had sacrificed, Albrecht
Durer painstakingly drew his brother's abused hands with palms together
and thin fingers stretched skyward. He called his powerful drawing simply
"Hands," but the entire world almost immediately opened their hearts to
his great masterpiece and renamed his tribute of love "The Praying
Hands."
The next time you see a copy of that touching creation, take a second
look. Let it be your reminder, if you still need one, that no one - no one - ever makes it alone!
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.
Sadness was close by so Love asked, "Sadness, let me go with you."
"Oh . . . Love, I am so sad that I need to be by myself!"
Happiness passed by Love, too, but she was so happy that she did not
even hear when Love called her.
Suddenly, there was a voice, "Come, Love, I will take you." It was an
elder.
So blessed and overjoyed, Love even forgot to ask the elder where they
were going. When they arrived at dry land, the elder went her own way.
Realizing how much was owed the elder,
Love asked Knowledge, another elder, "Who Helped me?"
"It was Time," Knowledge answered.
"Time?" asked Love. "But why did Time help me?"
Knowledge smiled with deep wisdom and answered, "Because only Time
is capable of understanding how valuable Love is."
A Box Full of Kisses
The story goes that some time ago, a man punished his 3-year-old
daughter for wasting a roll of gold wrapping paper. Money was tight and
he became infuriated when the child tried to decorate a box to put under
the Christmas tree. Nevertheless, the little girl brought the gift to her
father the next morning and said, "This is for you, Daddy."
The man was embarrassed by his earlier overreaction, but his anger
flared again when he found out the box was empty. He yelled at her,
stating, "Don't you know, when you give someone a present, there is
supposed to be something inside? The little girl looked up at him with
tears in her eyes and cried, "Oh, Daddy, it's not empty at all. I blew kisses
into the box. They're all for you, Daddy."
The father was crushed. He put his arms around his little girl, and he
begged for her forgiveness.
Only a short time later, an accident took the life of the child. It is also told
that her father kept that gold box by his bed for many years and,
whenever he was discouraged, he would take out an imaginary kiss and
remember the love of the child who had put it there.
In a very real sense, each one of us, as humans beings, have been given
a gold container filled with unconditional love and kisses... from our
children, family members, friends, and God. There is simply no other
possession, anyone could hold, more precious than this.
Alexander Fleming
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.
"I'll make you a deal. Let me take him and give him a good education. If
the lad is anything like his father, he'll grow to a man you can be proud
of."
And that he did. In time, Farmer Fleming's son 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 nobleman's son was stricken with
pneumonia. What saved him? Penicillin. The name of the nobleman? Lord
Randolph Churchill. His son's name? Sir Winston Churchill.
The Lord replied, "Not only will she be able to think, she will be able to
reason, and negotiate."
The Angel then noticed something and reached out and touched the
woman's cheek. "Oops, it looks like You have a leak with this model. I told
You that You were trying to put too much into this one."
"That's not a leak." the Lord objected. "That's a tear!"
"What's the tear for?" the Angel asked.
The Lord said, "The tear is her way of expressing her joy, her sorrow, her
disappointment, her pain, her loneliness, her grief, and her pride."
The Angel was impressed. "You are a genius, Lord. You thought of
everything for this one. You even created the tear!"
The Lord looked at the Angel and smiled and said, "I'm afraid you are
wrong again. I created the woman, but she created the tear!"
this event and knew that it had held the greatest treasure of all time.
Years later, a group of men got in the fishing boat made from the second
tree. One of them was tired and went to sleep. While they were out on
the water, a great storm arose and the tree didn't think it was strong
enough to keep the men safe. The men woke the sleeping man, and he
stood and said "Peace" and the storm stopped. At this time, the tree knew
that it had carried the King of Kings in its boat.
Finally, someone came and got the third tree. It was carried through the
streets as the people mocked the man who was carrying it. When they
came to a stop, the man was nailed to the tree and raised in the air to die
at the top of a hill. When Sunday came, the tree came to realize that it
was strong enough to stand at the top of the hill and be as close to God
as was possible, because Jesus had been crucified on it.
The moral of this story is that when things don't seem to be going your
way, always know that God has a plan for you. If you place your trust in
Him, He will give you great gifts. Each of the trees got what they wanted,
just not in the way they had imagined. We don't always know what God's
plans are for us. We just know that His ways are not our ways, but His
ways are always best.
The Buzzard, The Bat, and the Bumblebee
If you put a buzzard in a pen six or eight feet square and entirely open at
the top, the bird, in spite of his ability to fly, will be an absolute prisoner.
The reason is that a buzzard always begins a flight from the ground with a
run of ten or twelve feet. Without space to run, as is his habit, he will not
even attempt to fly, but will remain a prisoner for life in a small jail with
no top.
The ordinary bat that flies around at night, a remarkable nimble creature
in the air, cannot take off from a level place. If it is placed on the floor or
flat ground, all it can do is shuffle about helplessly and, no doubt,
painfully, until it reaches some slight elevation from which it can throw
itself into the air. Then, at once, it takes off like a flash.
A Bumblebee if dropped into an open tumbler will be there until it dies,
unless it is taken out. It never sees the means of escape at the top, but
persists in trying to find some way out through the sides near the bottom.
It will seek a way where none exists, until it completely destroys itself.
In many ways, there are lots of people like the buzzard, the bat and the
bee. They are struggling about with all their problems and frustrations,
not realizing that the answer is right there above them.
Never allow yourself to get discouraged and think that your life is
insignificant and cannot make a change.
Dads Blessings
A young man was getting ready to graduate from college. For many
months he had admired a beautiful sports car in a dealer's showroom,
and knowing his father could well afford it, he told him that was all he
wanted.
As Graduation Day approached, the young man awaited signs that his
father had purchased the car. Finally, on the morning of his graduation,
his father called him into his private study. His father told him how proud
he was to have such a fine son, and told him how much he loved him. He
handed his son a beautifully wrapped gift box. Curious, but somewhat
disappointed, the young man opened the box and found a lovely, leatherbound Bible, with the young man's name embossed in gold. Angry, he
raised his voice to his father and said "With all your money, you give me a
Bible?" and stormed out of the house, leaving the Bible.
Many years passed and the young man was very successful in business.
He had a beautiful home and wonderful family, but realized his father was
very old, and thought perhaps he should go to him. He had not seen him
since that graduation day. Before he could make arrangements, he
received a telegram telling him his father had passed away, and willed all
of his possessions to his son. He needed to come home immediately and
take care of things.
When he arrived at his father's house, sudden sadness and regret filled
his heart. He began to search through his father's important papers and
saw the still new Bible, just as he had left it years ago. With tears, he
opened the Bible and began to turn the pages. And as he did, a car key
dropped from the back of the Bible. It had a tag with the dealer's name,
the same dealer who had the sports car he had desired. On the tag was
the date of his graduation, and the words PAID IN FULL.
How many times do we miss Spirit's blessings and answers to our prayers
because they do not arrive exactly as we have expected?
TODAY'S's affirmation: "Today I look beyond the obvious and allow
miracles to be created in my life."
A mother is devastated, she is howling with pain, yelling all she can in that dark
and dingy corner of her four by four kholi. There was nobody to hear her yell and
not a soul to pacify her, because outside her shack is a long winding lonely road.
There was no existence of mankind for miles and miles ahead. The wind was at
rest, the leaves didnt rustle and no resonance of a barking dog, silence filled the
air. Loneliness was already killing her, but no one knows what made her cry?
Losing something you love with all your heart isnt really the grief you can ever
overcome. Radha lost her baby. Her only means to live. She saw her child
getting crushed under a car in front of her own eyes. Blood was all over and the
accident was terrible. One lonely night, she was walking down the street t get a
breath of fresh air with her child cuddled tight in her arms. She walked a long
time s till she saw the face of mankind (in the evilest form).
The whole time she walked with her child in her arms the only thing that worried
her was Aryans (her sons) future. What kind of a person will he be? Will he
make me proud? How much light is life going to bring in his existence? She was
imagining and feeling every day of the Childs growth, and what she had in store
for him. But who knows whats in store for us tomorrow, life can change in the
splits of a second. Talk about destiny, all those dreams hopes and expectations
were snatched away from her in an instant. Her smiles were frowns and her faith
just crumbled, like a deal soul in a living, rather breathing body.
This is how it happened. On that abandoned road, were a few streetlights
barely sufficient? There was this one light that was visible from a distance, but
as it came closer it got brighter and brighter. That light changed radhas life into
darkness forever. A speeding car came down that road, as if the driver had
jammed the accelerator, cutting across the wind. He came at a speek of
110kmph throwing beer bottles out of his half open window. He was definitely
drunk, the speed took everything in its path. Just then, there was a loud cry, and
silence set in again. The cry of a baby and no sight of a child.
Ironically the mother wasnt hurt, not a scratch on a body, not a bruise on her
arm. She opened her eyes and didnt she Aryan, her vision was blur. After a few
minutes when her sight cleared up she looked all over frantically for her baby,
but alas! There was nothing. Just then she noticed something about then feet
away it was blood draining into the gutters, and pieces of minced flesh, laying
there saying so much without saying anything at all. The blood of her baby, the
child who hadnt even seen life, He paid the price for another mans folly. The
same little child whose future was just being planned. Simple, dont drink and
drive. You could take a life, but kill a number of people.