A TRICK

A TRICK

A young man, a student in one of our universities, was one day taking a walk with a professor, who was commonly called the students' friend, from his kindness to those who waited on his instructions.

As they went along, they saw lying in the path a pair of old shoes, which they supposed to belong to a poor man who was employed in a field close by, and who had nearly finished his day's work.

The student turned to the professor, saying: "Let us play the man a trick: we will hide his shoes, and conceal ourselves behind those bushes, and wait to see his perplexity when he cannot find them."

"My young friend," answered the professor, "we should never amuse ourselves at the expense of the poor. But you are rich, and may give yourself a much greater pleasure by means of the poor man. Put a coin into each shoe, and then we will hide ourselves and watch how the discovery affects him."

The student did so, and they both placed themselves behind the bushes close by.

The poor man soon finished his work, and came across the field to the path where he had left his coat and shoes. While putting on his coat he slipped his foot into one of his shoes; but feeling something hard, he stooped down to feel what it was, and found the coin.

Astonishment and wonder were seen upon his countenance. He gazed upon the coin, turned it round, and looked at it again and again. He then looked around him on all sides, but no person was to be seen. He now put the money into his pocket, and proceeded to put on the other shoe; but his surprise was doubled on finding the other coin.

His feelings overcame him; he fell upon his knees, looked up to heaven and uttered aloud a fervent thanksgiving, in which he spoke of his wife, sick and helpless, and his children without bread, whom the timely bounty, from some unknown hand, would save from perishing.

The student stood there deeply affected, and his eyes filled with tears. "Now," said the professor, "are you not much better pleased than if you had played your intended trick?"

The youth replied, "You have taught me a lesson which I will never forget. I feel now the truth of those words, which I never understood before: 'It is more blessed to give than to receive.'"

-- Author Unknown

THANK YOU LORD

THANK YOU LORD

Lord, thank you for this sink of dirty dishes; we have plenty of food to eat.

Thank you for this pile of dirty, stinky laundry; we have plenty of nice clothes to wear.

And I would like to thank you, Lord, for those unmade beds; they were so warm and comfortable last night.  I know that many have no bed.

My thanks to you, Lord, for this bathroom, complete with all the splattered mirrors, soggy, grimy towels and  dirty lavatory; they are so convenient.

Thank you for this finger-smudged refrigerator that needs defrosting so badly;  It has served us faithfully for many years.  It is full of cold drinks and enough leftovers for two or three meals.

Thank you, Lord, for this oven that absolutely must be cleaned today. It has baked so many things over the years.

The whole family is grateful for that tall grass that needs mowing, the lawn that needs raking; we all enjoy the yard.

Thank you, Lord, even for that slamming screen door.  My kids are healthy and able to run and play.

Lord, the presence of all these chores awaiting me says You have richly blessed my family.  I shall do them cheerfully and I shall do them gratefully.

-- Author Unknown

Gratitude

WHAT  HAPPENS IN HEAVEN WHEN WE PRAY?

I  dreamed that I went to Heaven and an angel was showing me  around.  We walked side-by-side inside a large workroom filled with angels.  My angel guide stopped in front of the  first section and said, "This is the Receiving Section.  Here, all petitions to God said in prayer are received."

I  looked around in this area, and it was terribly busy with so many angels sorting out petitions written on voluminous paper sheets and scraps from people all over the world.

Then we  moved on down a long corridor until we reached the second section.

The angel then said to me, "This is the  Packaging and Delivery Section.  Here, the graces and blessings the people asked for are processed and delivered to the living persons who asked for them."

I noticed again how busy it was there.  There were many angels working hard at that station, since so many blessings had been requested and were being packaged for delivery to Earth.

Finally  at the farthest end of the long corridor we stopped at the door of a very small station.  To my great surprise, only one  angel was seated there, idly doing nothing.  "This is the  Acknowledgment Section," my angel friend quietly admitted to me.  He seemed embarrassed.

"How is it that there is no work going on here?" I asked.

"So sad," the angel sighed.  "After people receive the blessings that they asked for, very few send back acknowledgments."

"How does one acknowledge God's blessings?" I asked.

"Simple,"  the angel answered.  Just say, "Thank you, Lord."

"What  blessings should they acknowledge?"  I asked.

"If you have food in the refrigerator, clothes on your back, a roof  overhead and a place to sleep you are richer than 75% of this  world.  If you have money in the bank, in your wallet, and spare change in a dish, you are among the top 8% of the world's wealthy."

"And if  you get this on your own computer, you are part of the 1% in the world who has that opportunity."

"If you  woke up this morning with more health than illness, you are more blessed than the many who will not even survive this day."

"If you have never experienced the fear in battle, the loneliness of imprisonment, the agony of torture, or the pangs of starvation, you are ahead of 700 million people in the world."

"If you can attend a church/synagogue without the fear of harassment, arrest, torture, or death, you are envied by and more blessed than three billion people in the world."

"If you can hold your head up and smile, you are not the norm.  You're unique to all those in doubt and despair."

"Okay.  What now?  How can I start?'


Have a  good day.  Count your blessings.  And if you care to, pass this along to remind everyone else how blessed we all are.

I thank  God for everything, especially all my family and  friends.

SAYING GRACE IN A RESTAURANT

Saying Grace in a Restaurant - Priceless !
Sometimes we forget the really important things in life.




 Last week, I took my grand-children to a restaurant.

My six-year-old grand-son asked if he could say grace.

As we bowed our heads he said, "God is good, God is great. Thank you for the food, and I would even thank you more if Nana gets us ice cream for dessert. And liberty and justice for all! Amen!"

Along with the laughter from the other customers nearby, I heard a woman remark, "That's what's wrong with this country. Kids today don't even know how to pray. Asking God for ice cream! Why, I never!"

Hearing this, my grand-son burst into tears and asked me, "Did I do it wrong? Is God mad at me?"

As I held him and assured him that he had done a terrific job, and God was certainly not mad at him, an elderly gentleman approached the table.

He winked at my grand-son and said, "I happen to know that God thought that was a great prayer."

"Really?" m y grand-son asked.

"Cross my heart," the man replied.

Then, in a theatrical whisper, he added (indicating the woman whose remark had started this whole thing), "Too bad she never asks God for ice cream. A little ice cream is good for the soul sometimes."

Naturally, I bought my grand-children ice cream at the end of the meal. My grand-son stared at his for a moment, and then did something I will remember the rest of my life.

He picked up his sundae and, without a word, walked over and placed it in front of the woman. With a big smile he told her, "Here, this is for you. Ice cream is good for the soul sometimes; and my soul is good already."




The End

I love this story!
Please keep it moving.
Sometimes, we all need some ice cream.





I hope God sends you some ice cream today!