A grandfather overheard his granddaughter repeating the alphabet
in reverent, hushed tones.
"What are you doing?" he asked.
"I'm praying, Grandpa," she said. "I can't think of the right words,
so I just say all the letters. God will put them together for me,
'cause he knows what I'm thinking."
I have a friend named Monty Roberts who owns a horse ranch in San
Ysidro. He has let me use his house to put on fund-raising events to
raise money for youth at risk programs.
The last time I was there he introduced me by saying, "I want to tell
you why I let Jack use my horse. It all goes back to a story about a
young man who was the son of an itinerant horse trainer who would go
from stable to stable, race track to race track, farm to farm and ranch
to ranch, training horses. As a result, the boy’s high school career was
continually interrupted. When he was a senior, he was asked to write a
paper about what he wanted to be and do when he grew up.
"That night he wrote a seven-page paper describing his goal of
someday owning a horse ranch. He wrote about his dream in great detail
and he even drew a diagram of a 200-acre ranch, showing the location of
all the buildings, the stables and the track. Then he drew a detailed
floor plan for a 4,000-square-foot hous
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While waiting to pick up a friend at the airport in Portland, Oregon,
I had one of those life-changing experiences that you hear other people
talk about — the kind that sneaks up on you unexpectedly. This one
occurred a mere two feet away from me.
Straining to locate my friend among the passengers deplaning through
the jet way, I noticed a man coming toward me carrying two light bags.
He stopped right next to me to greet his family.
First he motioned to his youngest son (maybe six years old) as he
laid down his bags. They gave each other a long, loving hug. As they
separated enough to look in each other’s face, I heard the father say,
"It’s so good to see you, son. I missed you so much!” His son smiled
somewhat shyly, averted his eyes and replied softly, "Me, too, Dad!”
Then the man stood up, gazed in the eyes of his oldest son (maybe
nine or ten) and while cupping his son’s face in his hands said, "You’re
already quite the young man. I love you very
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One day, a poor boy who was selling goods from door to door to pay
his way through school, found he had only one thin dime left, and he was
hungry. He decided he would ask for a meal at the next house. However,
he lost his nerve when a lovely young woman opened the door. Instead of a
meal he asked for a drink of water. She thought he looked hungry so
brought him a large glass of milk. He drank it slowly, and then asked,
"How much do I owe you?” "You don’t owe me anything,” she replied.
"Mother has taught us never to accept pay for a kindness.” He said,
"Then I thank you from my heart.”
As Howard Kelly left that house, he not only felt stronger
physically, but his faith in God and man was strong also. He had been
ready to give up and quit.
Year’s later that young woman became critically ill. The local
doctors were baffled. They finally sent her to the big city, where they
called in specialists to study her rare disease. Dr. Howard Kelly was
called in for th
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Two men, both seriously ill, occupied the same hospital room. One man
was allowed to sit up in his bed for an hour each afternoon to help
drain the fluid from his lungs. His bed was next to the room’s only
window. The other man had to spend all his time flat on his back. The
men talked for hours on end. They spoke of their wives and families,
their homes, their jobs, their involvement in the military service,
where they had been on vacation.
Every afternoon when the man in the bed by the window could sit up,
he would pass the time by describing to his roommate all the things he
could see outside the window.
The man in the other bed began to live for those one hour periods
where his world would be broadened and enlivened by all the activity and
color of the world outside.
The window overlooked a park with a lovely lake. Ducks and swans
played on the water while children sailed their model boats. Young
lovers walked arm in arm amidst flowers of every c
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Sally jumped up as soon as she saw the surgeon come out of the
operating room. She said: "How is my little boy? Is he going to be all
right? When can I see him?”
The surgeon said, "I’m sorry. We did all we could, but your boy didn’t make it.”
Sally said, "Why do little children get cancer? Doesn’t God care any more? Where were you, God, when my son needed you?”
The surgeon asked, "Would you like some time alone with your son? One
of the nurses will be out in a few minutes, before he’s transported to
the university.”
Sally asked the nurse to stay with her while she said good-bye to
son. She ran her fingers lovingly through his thick red curly hair.
"Would you like a lock of his hair?” the nurse asked.
Sally nodded yes. The nurse cut a lock of the boy’s hair, put it in a
plastic bag and handed it to Sally. The mother said, "It was Jimmy’s
idea to donate his body to the university for study. He said it might
help somebody else. "I said
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Once upon a time all feelings and emotions went to a coastal island
for a vacation. According to their nature, each was having a good time.
Suddenly, a warning of an impending storm was announced and everyone was
advised to evacuate the island.
The announcement caused sudden panic. All rushed to their boats. Even
damaged boats were quickly repaired and commissioned for duty.
Yet, Love did not wish to flee quickly. There was so much to do. But
as the clouds darkened, Love realised it was time to leave. Alas, there
were no boats to spare. Love looked around with hope.
Just then Prosperity passed by in a luxurious boat. Love shouted, "Prosperity, could you please take me in your boat?”
"No,” replied Prosperity, "my boat is full of precious possessions, gold and silver. There is no place for you.”
A little later Vanity came by in a beautiful boat. Again Love
shouted, "Could you help me, Vanity? I am stranded and need a lift.
Please take me with
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After 21 years of marriage, my wife wanted me to take another woman
out to dinner and a movie. She said, "I love you, but I know this other
woman loves you and would love to spend some time with you.”
The other woman that my wife wanted me to visit was my MOTHER, who
has been a widow for 19 years, but the demands of my work and my three
children had made it possible to visit her only occasionally. That night
I called to invite her to go out for dinner and a movie. "What’s wrong,
are you well?” she asked.
My mother is the type of woman who suspects that a late night call or
a surprise invitation is a sign of bad news. "I thought that it would
be pleasant to spend some time with you,” I responded. "Just the two of
us.” She thought about it for a moment, and then said, "I would like
that very much.”
That Friday after work, as I drove over to pick her up I was a bit
nervous. When I arrived at her house, I noticed that she, too, seemed to
be nervous abou
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Father was a hardworking man who delivered bread as a living to
support his wife and three children. He spent all his evenings after
work attending classes, hoping to improve himself so that he could one
day find a better paying job. Except for Sundays, Father hardly ate a
meal together with his family. He worked and studied very hard because
he wanted to provide his family with the best money could buy.
Whenever the family complained that he was not spending enough time
with them, he reasoned that he was doing all this for them. But he often
yearned to spend more time with his family.
The day came when the examination results were announced. To his joy,
Father passed, and with distinctions too! Soon after, he was offered a
good job as a senior supervisor which paid handsomely.
Like a dream come true, Father could now afford to provide his family
with life’s little luxuries like nice clothing, fine food and vacation
abroad.
