to
Uplifting
stories/ Capsules de Sagesse
A
seat awaits you in First class
Think About your
Attitude
GROWING
OLDER IS MANDATORY, GROWING UP IS OPTIONAL
Thougths
from Eleanor
Roosevelt
NAIL IN THE FENCE
The Divine Plan
The Hand Of God
Parents Worries
I have Learned
Money
DESIDERATA
Interview with God
I've learned
Farmer Fleming
Daily conversation with Jesus
A Box Full of Kisses
A
seat awaits you in First class
The following scene took place on a British Airways flight between
Johannesburg and London. This is a true story.
A White woman, about 50 years old, was seated next to a Black man.
Obviously disturbed by this, she called the air Hostess.
"Madam, what is the matter," the Hostess asked.
"You obviously do not see it then?" she responded.
"You placed me next to a Black man. I do not agree to sit next to someone
from such a repugnant group. Give me an alternative seat."
"Be calm please, " the Hostess replied. "Almost all the places on
this flight are taken. I will go to see if another seat is available."
The Hostess went away and then came back a few minutes later.
"Madam, just as I thought, there are no other available seats in the
Economy class. I spoke to the Captain and he informed me that there are also no
seats in the Business class. All the same, we still have one seat in the First
class."
Before the woman could say anything, the Hostess continued:
"It is not usual for our company to permit someone from the Economy class
to sit in the First class. However, given the circumstances, the Captain feels
that it would be scandalous to make someone sit next to someone so
disgusting."
She turned to the Black guy, and said,
"Therefore, Sir, if you would like to, please collect your hand luggage, a
seat awaits you in First class."
At that moment, the other passengers who were shocked by what they had just
witnessed stood up and applauded.
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Think About your
Attitude
Michael is the kind of guy you love to hate. He is always in a
good mood and always has something positive to say.
When someone would ask him how he was doing, he would reply,
"If I were any better, I would be twins!"
He was a natural motivator. If an employee was having a bad day, Michael was
there telling the employee how to look on the positive side of the situation.
Seeing this style really made me curious, so one day I went up to Michael and
asked him, "I don't get it! You can't be a positive person all of the time.
How do you do it?"
Michael replied, "Each morning I wake up and say to myself, you have two
choices today. You can choose to be in a good mood or you can choose to be in a
bad mood. I choose to be in a good mood. Each time something bad happens, I can
choose to be a victim or...I can choose to learn from it. I choose to learn from
it. Every time someone comes to me complaining, I can choose to accept their
complaining or... I can point out the positive side of life. I choose the
positive side of life.
"Yeah, right, it's not that easy," I protested.
"Yes, it is," Michael said. "Life is all about choices. When you
cut away all the junk, every situation is a choice. You choose how you react to
situations. You choose how people affect your mood. You choose to be in a good
mood or bad mood. The bottom line: It's your choice how you live your
life."
I reflected on what Michael said. Soon hereafter, I left the Tower Industry to
start my own business. We lost touch, but I often thought about him when I made
a choice about life instead of reacting to it.
Several years later, I heard that Michael was involved in a serious accident,
falling some 60 feet from a communications tower.
After 18 hours of surgery and weeks of intensive care. Michael
was released from the hospital with rods placed in his back. I saw Michael about
six months after the accident. When I asked him how he was, he replied, "If
I were any better, I'd be twins. Wanna see my scars?"
I declined to see his wounds, but I did ask him what had gone through his mind
as the accident took place.
"The first thing that went through my mind was the well-being of my soon to
be born daughter, " Michael replied. "Then, as I play on the ground, I
remembered that I had two choices: I could choose to live or ...I could choose
to die. I chose to live."
"Weren't you scared? Did you lose consciousness?" I asked.
Michael continued, "...the paramedics were great. They kept telling me I
was going to be fine. But when they wheeled me into the ER and I saw the
expressions on the faces of the doctors and nurses, I got really scared.
In their eyes, I read "he's a dead man. I knew I needed to take
action."
"What did you do?" I asked.
"Well, there was a big burly nurse shouting questions at me, said Michael.
"She asked if I was allergic to anything. "Yes, I replied."
The doctors and nurses stopped working as they waited for my reply. I took a
deep breath and yelled,"Gravity."
Over their laughter, I told them, "I am choosing to live. Operate on me as
if I am alive, not dead."
Michael lived, thanks to the skill of his doctors, but also because of his
amazing attitude. I learned from him that every day we have the choice to live
fully. Attitude, after all, is everything.
"Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about
itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." Matthew 6:34
After all today is the tomorrow you worried about yesterday.
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GROWING
OLDER IS MANDATORY, GROWING UP IS OPTIONAL
The first day of school our professor introduced himself and challenged us to
get to know someone we didn't already know. I stood up to look around when
a gentle hand touched my shoulder. I turned around to find a
wrinkled, little old lady beaming up at me with a smile that lit up her entire
being.
She said, "Hi handsome. My name is Rose. I'm eighty-seven years
old. Can I give you a hug?"
I laughed and enthusiastically responded, "Of course you may!" and she
gave me a giant squeeze. "Why are you in college at such a young,
innocent age?" I asked.
She jokingly replied, "I'm here to meet a rich husband, get married, have a
couple of children, and then retire and travel."
"No seriously," I asked. I was curious what may have motivated
her to be taking on this challenge at her age.
"I always dreamed of having a college education and now I'm getting
one!" she told me.
After class we walked to the student union building and shared chocolate
milkshake. We became instant friends. Every day for the next three
months we would leave class together and talk nonstop. I was always
mesmerized listening to this "time machine" as she shared her wisdom
and experience with me.
Over the course of the year, Rose became a campus icon and she easily made
friends wherever she went. She loved to dress up and she reveled in the
attention bestowed upon her from the other students. She was living it
up.
At the end of the semester we invited Rose to speak at our football banquet.
I'll never forget what she taught us. She was introduced and stepped up to
the podium. As she began to deliver her prepared speech, she dropped
her three by five cards on the floor. Frustrated and a little embarrassed
she leaned into the microphone and simply said, "I'm sorry I'm so jittery.
I gave up beer for Lent and this whiskey is killing me! I'll never get my
speech back in order so let me just tell you what I know."
As we laughed she cleared her throat and began, "We do not stop playing
because we are old; we grow old because we stop playing. There are only
four secrets to staying young, being happy and achieving success. You
have to laugh and find humor every day. You've got to have a dream.
When you lose your dreams, you die.
We have so many people walking around who are dead and don't even know it! There
is a huge difference between growing older and growing up. If you are
nineteen years old and lie in bed for one full year and don't do one productive
thing, you will turn twenty years old. If I am eighty-seven years old and
stay in bed for a year and never do anything I will turn eighty-eight.
Anybody can grow older. That doesn't take any talent or ability. The
idea is to grow up by always finding the opportunity in change.
Have no regrets. The elderly usually don't have regrets for what we did,
but rather for things we did not do. The only people who fear death are
those with regrets." She concluded her speech by courageously singing
"The
Rose." She challenged each of us to study the lyrics and live them
out in our daily lives.
At the years end Rose finished the college degree she had begun all those years
ago. One week after graduation Rose died peacefully in her sleep.
Over two thousand college students attended her funeral in tribute to the
wonderful woman who taught by example that it's never too late to be all you can
possibly be.
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Thougths from
Eleanor Roosevelt
Many people will walk in and out of your life, but only true friends
will leave footprints in your heart.
To handle yourself, use your head; to handle others, use your heart. Anger
is only one letter short of danger.
If someone betrays you once, it is his fault; if he betrays you twice, it is
your fault.
Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds
discuss people.
He who loses money, loses much; he, who loses a friend, loses much
more; He, who loses faith, loses all.
Beautiful young people are accidents of nature, but beautiful old people are
works of art.
Learn from the mistakes of others. You can't live long enough to make them all
yourself.
Friends, you and me - you brought another friend - and then there were 3. We
started our group - our circle of friends - and like that circle - there is
no beginning, nor an end.
Yesterday is history - tomorrow is a mystery - today is a gift.
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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."
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The Divine Plan
At a fundraising dinner for a school that serves learning-disabled
children, the father of one of the school's students delivered a speech
that would never be forgotten by all who attended. After extolling
the school and its dedicated
staff, he offered a question. "Everything God does is done with
perfection. Yet, my son, Shay, cannot learn things as other children do. He
cannot understand things as other children do. Where is God's plan reflected in
my son?"
The audience was stilled by the query. The father
continued. "I believe," the father answered, "that when God
brings a child like Shay into the world, an opportunity to realize the
Divine Plan presents itself. And it comes in the way people treat that
child."
Then, he told the following story: Shay and his father had walked past a
park where some boys Shay knew were playing baseball. Shay asked,
"Do you think they will let me play?" Shay's father knew that most
boys would not want him on their team. But the father understood that if his son
were allowed to play it would give him a much-needed sense of belonging.
Shay's father approached one of the boys on the field and
asked if Shay could play. The boy looked around for guidance from his
teammates. Getting none, he took matters into his own hands and said,
"We are losing by six runs, and the game is the eighth inning. I guess he
can be on our team and we'll try to put him up to bat in the ninth inning."
In the bottom of the eighth inning, Shay's team scored a few runs but was
still behind by three. At the top of the ninth inning, Shay put on a glove
and played in the outfield. Although no hits came his way, he was obviously
ecstatic just to be on the field, grinning from ear to ear as his
father waved to him from the stands.
In the bottom of the ninth inning, Shay's team scored
again. Now, with two outs and the bases loaded, the potential winning run
was on base. Shay was scheduled to be the next at-bat. Would the team
actually let Shay bat at this juncture give away their chance to win the
game?
Surprisingly, Shay was given the bat. Everyone knew that a
hit was all but impossible because Shay didn't even know how to hold the bat properly,
much less connect with the ball. However, as Shay stepped up to the plate,
the pitcher moved a few steps to lob the ball in softly so Shay could
at least be able to make contact. The first pitch came and Shay swung clumsily
and missed. The pitcher again took a few steps forward to toss the ball
softly toward Shay. As the pitch came in, Shay swung at the ball and
hit a slow ground ball to the pitcher. The pitcher picked up the soft
grounder and could easily have thrown the ball to the first baseman. Shay
would have been out and that would have ended the game. Instead, the
pitcher took the ball and threw it on a high arc to right field, far beyond
reach of the first baseman.
Everyone started yelling, "Shay, run to first. Run to first."
Never in his life had Shay ever made it to first base. He scampered down
the baseline, wide-eyed and startled. Everyone yelled, "Run to
second, run to second!"
By the time Shay was rounding first base, the right fielder had the ball.
He could have thrown the ball to the second baseman for a tag. But the
right fielder understood what the pitcher's intentions had been, so he
threw the ball high and far over the third baseman's head. Shay ran towards
second base as the runners ahead of him deliriously circled the bases
towards home.
As Shay reached second base, the opposing shortstop ran to him, turned him
in the direction of third base, and shouted, "Run to third!"
As Shay rounded third, the boys from both teams were screaming, "Shay!
Run home!"
Shay ran home, stepped on home plate and was cheered as the
hero, for hitting a "grand slam" and winning the game for his
team.
"That day," said the father softly with tears now rolling down his
face," the boys from both teams helped bring a piece of the Divine
Plan into this world."
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The Hand Of God
Rick volunteers with prison ministries, and in his work has
become friends with a pastor of a store front church. The pastor's church
is called Almighty God Tabernacle. On a Saturday night several weeks ago,
this pastor was working late, and decided to call his wife before he left
for home. It was about 10:00 PM, but his wife didn't answer the phone. The
pastor let it ring many times. He thought it was odd that she didn't
answer, but decided to wrap up a few things and try again in a few
minutes.
When he tried again she answered right away. He asked her
why she hadn't answered before, and she said that it hadn't rung at their house.
They brushed it off as a fluke and went on their merry ways.
The following Monday, the pastor received a call at the church
office, which was the phone that he'd used that Saturday night. The
man that he spoke with wanted to know why he'd called on Saturday night.
The pastor couldn't figure out what the guy was talking about.
Then the guy said, "It rang and rang, but I didn't
answer." The pastor remembered the mishap and apologized for
disturbing him, explaining that he'd intended to call his wife.
The man said, "That's OK. Let me tell you my story.
You see, I was planning to commit suicide on Saturday night, but before I did, I
prayed, 'God if you're there, and you don't want me to do this, give me a sign
now.' At that point my phone started to ring. I looked at the caller
ID, and it said, 'Almighty God'. "I was afraid to answer!"
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Parents Worries
Is there a magic cutoff period when offspring become accountable
for their own actions? Is there a wonderful moment when parents can become detached spectators in the lives of their children and shrug,
"It's their life," and feel nothing?
When I was in my twenties, I stood in a hospital corridor waiting for doctors to put a few stitches in my son's head. I
asked, "When do you stop worrying?"
A nurse said, "When they get out of the accident stage." My
mother just smiled faintly and said nothing.
When I was in my thirties, I sat on a little chair in a classroom and heard how one of my children talked incessantly, disrupted the class,
and was headed for a career making license plates. As if to read my mind, a teacher said, "Don't worry. They all go through this stage,
and then you can sit back, relax, and enjoy them." My mother listened and said nothing.
When I was in my forties, I spent a lifetime waiting for the phone to ring, the cars to come home, the front door to open. A friend said,
"They're trying to find themselves. In a few years, you can stop worrying. They'll be adults."
By the time I was 50, I was sick and tired of being vulnerable, I was still worrying over my children, but there was a new wrinkle. There was nothing I could do about it.
But I continued to anguish over their failures, be tormented by their frustrations and absorbed in their disappointments. My friends said
that when my kids got married I could stop worrying and lead my own life. I wanted to believe that, but I was haunted by my mother's
wan smile and her occasional, "You look pale. Are you all right?" "Call me the minute you get home." " Are you depressed about
something?"
Can it be that parents are sentenced to a lifetime of worry? Is
concern for one another handed down like a torch to blaze the trail of human frailties and the fears of the unknown? Is concern a curse?
Or is it a virtue that elevates us to the highest form of life?
One of my children became quite irritable recently, saying to me, "Where were you? I've been calling for three days, and no one
answered. I was worried." I smiled a wan smile.
The torch has been passed.
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I have Learned
I've learned....that the best classroom in the world is at the
feet of an elderly person.
I've learned....that when you're in love, it shows.
I've learned.... that just one person saying to me, "You've made my
day!" makes my day.
I've learned...that having a child fall asleep in your arms is
one of the most peaceful feelings in the world.
I've learned....that being kind is more important than being right.
I've learned...that you should never say no to a gift from a child.
I've learned....that I can always pray for someone when I don't have the
strength to help him in some other way.
I've learned....that no matter how serious your life requires you to be,
everyone
needs a friend to act goofy with.
I've learned....that sometimes all a person needs is a hand to hold and a heart
to understand.
I've learned....that simple walks with my father around the block on summer
nights when I was a child did wonders for me as an adult.
I've learned....that life is like a roll of toilet paper. The closer it gets to
the end, the faster it goes.
I've learned....that we should be glad God doesn't give us everything we ask
for.
I've learned....that money doesn't buy class.
I've learned....that it's those small daily happenings that make life so
spectacular.
I've learned....that under everyone's hard shell is someone who wants to be
appreciated and loved.
I've learned...that the Lord didn't do it all in one day. What makes me think I
can?
I've learned....that to ignore the facts does not change the facts.
I've learned....that when you plan to get even with someone, you are only
letting that person continue to hurt you.
I've learned....that love, not time, heals all wounds.
I've learned....that the easiest way for me to grow as a person is to surround
myself with people smarter than I am.
I've learned....that everyone you meet deserves to be greeted with a smile.
I've learned....that there's nothing sweeter than sleeping with your babies and
feeling their breath on your cheeks.
I've learned....that no one is perfect until you fall in love with them.
I've learned....that life is tough, but I'm tougher.
I've learned....that opportunities are never lost; someone will take the ones
you
miss.
I've learned....that when you harbor bitterness, happiness will dock elsewhere.
I've learned....that I wish I could have told my Mom that I love her one more
time before she passed away.
I've learned....that one should keep his words both soft and tender, because
tomorrow he may have to eat them.
I've learned....that a smile is an inexpensive way to improve your looks.
I've learned....that I can't choose how I feel, but I can choose what I do about
it.
I've learned....that when your newly born grandchild holds your little finger in
his little fist, that you're hooked for life.
I've learned....that everyone wants to live on top of the mountain, but all the
happiness and growth occurs while you're climbing it.
I've learned ...that it is best to give advice in only two circumstances; when
it is
requested and when it is a life threatening situation.
I've learned....that the less time I have to work with, the more things I get
done.
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Money
It can buy a House But
not a Home
It can buy a Bed But not Sleep
It can buy a Clock But not Time
It can buy you a Book But not Knowledge
It can buy you a Position But not Respect
It can buy you Medicine But not Health
It can buy you Blood But not Life
It can buy you Sex But not Love
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DESIDERATA
Go placidly amid the noise and haste, and remember
what peace there may be in silence. As far as possible without surrender be on good
terms with all persons.
Speak your truth quietly and clearly; and listen to others, even the dull and ignorant; they too have their
story.
Avoid loud and aggressive persons; they are vexatious to the spirit. If you compare yourself with
others, you may become vain and bitter; for always therewill be greater and lesser persons than yourself.
Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans. Keep interested in your own career, however be
humble; it is a real possession in the changing of fortunes of time. Exercise caution in your business affairs; for the
world is full of trickery. But let this not blind you to what virtue there is; many persons strive for high ideals;
and everywhere life is full of heroism.
Be yourself. Especially, do not feign affection. Neither be cynical about love; for in the face of all
aridity and disenchantment it is perennial as the grass.
Take kindly the counsel of the years, gracefully surrendering the things of youth. Nurture strength of
spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune. But do not distress yourself with imaginings. Many fears are born
of fatigue and loneliness. Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself.
You are a child of the universe, no less then the trees and the stars; you have a right to be here. And whether not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is
unfolding as it should.
Therefore be at peace with God, whatever you may conceive
him to be, and whatever your labors and aspirations in the noisy confusion of life keep peace with your soul.
With all it's sham, drudgery, and broken dreams, it is
still a beautiful world. Be careful. Strive to be happy.
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Interview with God
I dreamed I had an interview with God.
"Come in," God said. "So, you would like to interview Me?"
"If you have the time," I said.
God smiled and said: "My time is eternity and is enough to do everything;
what questions do you have in mind to ask me?"
I said "What surprises you most about mankind?"
God answered:
"That they get bored of being children, are in a rush to grow up, and then
long to be children again."
"That they lose their health to make money and then lose their money to
restore their health."
"That by thinking anxiously about the future, they forget the
present."
"That they live as if they will never die, and they die as if they had
never lived..."
God's hands took mine and we were silent for while and then I asked...
"As a parent, what are some of life's lessons you want your children
to learn?"
God replied with a smile:
"To learn that they cannot make anyone love them. What they can do is to
let themselves be loved."
"To learn that what is most valuable is not what they have in their lives,
but who they have in their lives."
"To learn that a rich person is not the one who has the most, but is one
who needs the least."
"To learn that it only takes a few seconds to open profound wounds in
persons we love, and that it takes many years to heal them."
"To learn that there are persons that love them dearly, but simply do not
know how to express or show their feelings"
"To learn that money can buy everything but happiness."
"To learn that two people can look at the same thing and see it totally
different."
"To learn that a true friend in someone who knows everything about
them...and likes them anyway."
"To learn that it is not always enough that they be forgiven by others, but
that they have to forgive themselves."
I sat there for awhile enjoying the moment. I thanked Him for his time and for
all that He has done for me and my family, and He replied,
"Anytime. I'm here 24 hours a day. All you have to do is ask for me, and
I'll answer."
"People will forget what you said. People will forget what you did. But
people will never forget how you made them feel."
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I've learned
I've learned that you can do something in an instant that will give you heartache for life.
I've learned that it's taking me a long time to become the person I want to be.
I've learned that you should always leave loved ones with loving
words. It may be the last time you see them.
I've learned that you can keep going long after you can't.
I've learned that we are responsible for what we do, no matter how we feel.
I've learned that either you control your attitude or it controls you.
I've learned that regardless of how hot and steamy a relationship is at first, the passion fades and there had
better be something else to take its place.
I've learned that heroes are the people who do what has to be done when it needs to be done,
regardless of the consequences.
I've learned that money is a lousy way of keeping score.
I've learned that my best friend and I can do anything or nothing and have the best time.
I've learned that sometimes the people you expect to kick you when you're down will be the ones to help you get back up.
I've learned that sometimes when I'm angry I have the right to be angry, but that doesn't give me
the right to be cruel.
I've learned that true friendship continues to grow, even over the longest distance.
Same goes for true love.
I've learned that just because someone doesn't love you the way you want them to doesn't mean they don't love you with all they have.
I've learned that maturity has more to do with what types of experiences you've had and what you've learned from them
and less to do with how many birthdays you've celebrated.
I've learned that your family won't always be there for you. It may seem funny,
but people you aren't related to can take care of you and love you and teach you to trust people again.
Families aren't biological.
I've learned- that no matter how good a friend is, they're going to hurt you every once in a while and you must forgive
them for that.
I've learned that it isn't always enough to be forgiven by others. Sometimes you have to learn to forgive yourself.
I've learned that no matter how bad your heart is broken the world doesn't stop for your grief.
I've learned that our background and circumstances may have influenced who we are, but we are responsible for who we become.
I've learned that just because two people argue, it doesn't mean they don't love each other.
And just because they don't argue, it doesn't mean they do.
I've learned that we don't have to change friends, if we understand that friends change.
I've learned that you shouldn't be so eager to find out a secret. It could change your life forever.
I've learned that two people can look at the exact same thing and see something totally different.
I've learned that your life can be changed in a matter of hours by people who don't even know you.
I've learned that even when you think you have no more to give, when a friend cries out to you, you will find the strength to help.
I've learned that credentials on the wall do not make you a decent human being.
I've learned that the people you care about most in life are taken from you too soon.
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Farmer Fleming
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 thefather 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.
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Daily conversation with
Jesus
A man's daughter had asked the local minister to come and pray with her father. When the minister
arrived, he found the man lying in bed with his head propped up on two pillows. An empty chair sat beside his bed. The minister assumed that the old fellow
had been informed of his visit.
"I guess you were expecting me," he said.
"No, who are you?" said the father.
The minister told him his name and then remarked, "I see the empty chair; I figured you knew I was going
to show up."
"Oh yeah, the chair," said the bedridden man. "Would you mind closing the door?"
Puzzled, the minister shut the door. "I have never told anyone this, not even my daughter," said the
man. "But all of my life I have never known how to pray. At church I used to hear the pastor talk about prayer, but it went right over my head." "I abandoned
any attempt at prayer," the old man continued, "until one day about four years ago my best friend said to
me, 'Johnny, prayer is just a simple matter of having a conversation with Jesus. Here is what I suggest."
"Sit down in a chair, place an empty chair in front of you, and in faith see
Jesus on the chair. It's not spooky because he promised, "I'll be with you always."
Then just speak to him in the same way you're doing with me right now."
"So, I tried it and I've liked it so much that I do it a couple of hours every day. I'm careful though.
If my daughter saw me talking to an empty chair, she'd either have a nervous breakdown or send me off to the funny farm."
The minister was deeply moved by the story and encouraged the old man to continue on the journey.
Then he prayed with him, anointed him with oil, and returned to the church.
Two nights later the daughter called to tell the minister that her daddy had died that afternoon.
"Did he die in peace?" he asked.
"Yes, when I left the house about two o'clock, he called me over to his bedside, told me he loved me
and kissed me on the cheek. When I got back from the store an hour later, I found him dead. "But there was
something strange about his death. Apparently, just before Daddy died, he leaned over and rested his
head on the chair beside the bed. What do you make of that?"
The minister wiped a tear from his eye and said, "I wish we could all go like that."
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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."
He was embarrassed by his earlier overreaction, but his anger flared again when he found the box was empty. He yelled at her, "Don't you know when
you give someone a present, there's supposed to be something inside it?"
The little girl looked up at him with tears in her eyes and said, "Oh, Daddy, it's not empty, I blew kisses into the box. All for you, Daddy." The
father was crushed. He put his arms around his little girl, and he begged for her forgiveness.
An accident took the life of the child only a short time later and it is told that the man 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.
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