x*[ s t o r i e s ]*x
these are stories that i have read and i find them very meaningful. and tat's why i've decided to share it here with every1 =)
e-mail me stories
+. contentment .+
After a conversation with one of my friends, he told
me despite taking 2 jobs, he brings back barely above
1K per month, he is happy as he is. I wonder how he
can be as happy as he is considering he has to skimp
his life with the low pay to support a pair of old
parents,in-laws, a wife, 2 daughters and the many
bills of a household.
He explained that it was through one incident that he
saw in India that happened a few years ago when he was
really feeling low and touring India after a major
setback. He said that right in front of his very eyes,
he saw an Indian mother chop off her child's right
hand with a chopper. The helplessness in the mother's
eyes, the scream of pain from the innocent 4 year old
child haunted him until today.
You may ask why did the mother do so; had the child
been naughty,had the child's hand been infected?? No,
it was done for two simple words TO BEG!
The desperate mother deliberately caused the child to
be handicapped so that the child could go out to the
streets to beg. Taken aback by the scene, he dropped a
piece of bread he was eating half-way. And almost
instantly, a flock of 5 or 6 children swamped towards
this small piece of bread which was covered with sand,
robbing bits from one another. The natural reaction of
hunger.
Stricken by the happenings, he instructed his guide to
drive him to the nearest bakery. He arrived at two
bakeries and bought every single loaf of bread he
found in the bakeries. The owner was dumbfounded but
willingly sold everything. He spent less than $100 to
obtain about 400 loaves of bread(this is less than
0.25 per loaf) and spent another $100 to get daily
necessities.
Off he went in the truck full of bread into the
streets. As he distributed the bread and necessities
to the children (mostly handicapped) and a few
adults, he received cheers and bows from these
unfortunate. For the first time in his life he
wondered how people can give up their dignity for a
loaf of bread which cost less than $0.25.
He began to tell himself how fortunate he is. How
fortunate he is to be able to have a complete body,
have a job, have a family, have the chance to complain
what food is nice and what isn't, have the chance to
be clothed, have the many things that these people in
front of him are deprived of.
Now I begin to think and feel it, too! Was my life
really that bad? Perhaps...no, I should not feel bad
at all...What about you? Maybe the next time you think
you are, think about the child who lost one hand to
beg on the streets.
"Contentment is not the fulfilment of what you want,
it is the realization of how much you already have."
Dream what you want to dream; go where you want to go;
be what you want to be, because you have only one life
and one chance to do all the things you want to do.
The happiest of people don't necessarily have the best
of everything; they just make the most of everything
that comes along their way.
When you were born, you were crying and everyone
around you was smiling. Live your life so that when
you die, you're the one who is smiling and everyone
around you is crying.
+. mother .+
When you came into the world, she held you in her arms.
You thanked her by wailing like a banshee.
When you were 1 year old, she fed you and bathed you.
You thanked her by crying all night long.
When you were 2 years old, she taught you to walk.
You thanked her by running away when she called.
When you were 3 years old, she made all your meals with love.
You thanked her by tossing your plate on the floor.
When you were 4 years old, she gave you some crayons.
You thanked her by coloring the dining room table.
When you were 5 years old, she dressed you for the holidays.
You thanked her by plopping into the nearest pile of mud.
When you were 6 years old, she walked you to school.
You thanked her by screaming, "I'M NOT GOING!"
When you were 7 years old, she bought you a baseball.
You thanked her by throwing it through the next-door-neighbor's
window.
When you were 8 years old, she handed you an ice cream.
You thanked her by dripping it all over your lap.
When you were 9 years old, she paid for piano lessons.
You thanked her by never even bothering to practice.
When you were 10 years old, she drove you all day, from soccer to
gymnastics to one birthday party after another.
You thanked her by jumping out of the car and never looking back.
When you were 11 years old, she took you and your friends to the
movies.
You thanked her by asking to sit in a different row.
When you were 12 years old, she warned you not to watch certain TV
shows.
You thanked her by waiting until she left the house.
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
Those teenage years.....
When you were 13, she suggested a haircut that was becoming.
You thanked her by telling her she had no taste.
When you were 14, she paid for a month away at summer camp.
You thanked her by forgetting to write a single letter.
When you were 15, she came home from work, looking for a hug.
You thanked her by having your bedroom door locked.
When you were 16, she taught you how to driver her car.
You thanked her by taking it every chance you could.
When you were 17, she was expecting an important call.
You thanked her by being on the phone all night.
When you were 18, she cried at your high school graduation.
You thanked her by staying out partying until dawn.
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
Growing old and gray.....
When you were 19, she paid for your college tuition, drove you to
campus, carried your bags.
You thanked her by saying good-bye outside the dorm so you wouldn't
be embarrassed in front of your friends.
When you were 20, she asked whether you were seeing anyone.
You thanked her by saying, "It's none of your business."
When you were 21, she suggested certain careers for your future.
You thanked her by saying, "I don't want to be like you."
When you were 22, she hugged you at your college graduation.
You thanked her by asking whether she could pay for a trip to Europe.
When you were 23, she gave you furniture for your first apartment.
You thanked her by telling your friends it was ugly.
When you were 24, she met your fiance and asked about your plans for
the future.
You thanked her by glaring and growling, "Muuhh-ther, please!"
When you were 25, she helped to pay for your wedding, and she cried
and told you how deeply she loved you.
You thanked her by moving halfway across the country.
When you were 30, she called with some advice on the baby.
You thanked her by telling her, "Things are different now."
When you were 40, she called to remind you of an relative's birthday.
You thanked her by saying you were "really busy right now."
When you were 50, she fell ill and needed you to take care of her.
You thanked her by reading about the burden parents become to their
children.
And then, one day, she quietly died.
And everything you never did came crashing down like thunder.
Have you been spending enough time with your mother?
+. unconditional acceptance .+
I am a mother of three (ages 14, 12, 3) and have recently
completed my college degree.
The last class I had to take was Sociology.
The teacher was absolutely inspiring with the qualities that
I wish every human being had been graced with. Her last project
of the term was called "Smile."
The class was asked to go out and smile at three
people and document reactions. I am a very friendly person and
always smile at everyone and say hello anyway, so, I thought this
would be a piece of cake, literally.
Soon after we were assigned the project, my husband, youngest son,and
I went out to McDonald's one crisp March morning. It was just our
way of sharing special play time with our son.We were standing
in line, waiting to be served, when all of a sudden everyone around us
began to back away, and then even my husband did.
I did not move an inch...an overwhelming feeling
of panic welled up inside of me as I turned to see why they had moved.
As I turned around I smelled a
horrible "dirty body" smell, and there standing
behind me were two poor homeless men. As I looked down at the short
gentleman, close to me, he was "smiling".
His beautiful sky blue eyes were full of God's Light as he
searched for acceptance. He said, "Good day" as he counted the few coins
he had been clutching. The second man fumbled with his hands
as he stood behind his friend. I realized the second man was mentally
deficient and the blue eyed gentleman was his salvation.
I held my tears as I stood there with them. The young lady
at the counter asked him what they wanted. He said, "Coffee is
all Miss" because that was all they could afford. (If they wanted to sit in
the restaurant and warm up, they had to buy something.
He just wanted to be warm).
Then I really felt it - the compulsion was so great I almost reached
out and embraced the little man with the blue eyes. That
is when I noticed all eyes in the restaurant were set on me, judging my
every action.
I smiled and asked the young lady behind the counter to give
me two more breakfast meals on a separate tray. I then
walked around the corner to the table that the men had chosen
as resting spot. I put the tray on the table and laid my hand
on the blue-eyed gentleman's cold hand. He looked up at
me, with tears in his eyes, and said,
"Thank you."
I leaned over, began to pat his hand and said,
"I did not do this for you. God is here working through me
to give you hope." I started to cry as
I walked away to join my husband and son.
When I sat down my husband smiled at me and said, "That is
why God gave you to me, Honey. To give me hope."
We held hands for a moment and at that time we
knew that only because of the Grace that we had been given
were we able to
give. We are not church goers, but we are believers.
That day showed me the pure Light of God's sweet love.
I returned to college, on the last evening of
class, with this story in hand. I turned in "my project" and the
instructor read it.
Then she looked up at me and said, "Can I share this?"
I slowly nodded as she got the attention of the
class. She began to read and that is when I knew that we as human
beings and being part of God, share this need to heal people and be
healed. In my own way I had touched the people at McDonald's,
my husband, son, instructor, and every soul that shared the classroom
on the last night I spent as a college student.
I graduated with one of the biggest lessons I would ever learn:
UNCONDITIONAL ACCEPTANCE.
+. nails in the fence .+
There once was a little girl who had a bad temper.
Her mother gave her a bagof nails and told her that every time
she lost her temper, she must hammer a nail into the back of the fence.
The first day the girl had driven 37 nails into
the fence.
Over the next few weeks, as she learned to control heranger, the
number of nails hammered daily gradually dwindled down. She
discovered it was easier to hold her temper than to drive those
nails into the fence.
Finally the day came when the girl didn't lose her
temper at all. She told her mother about it and the mother
suggested that the girl now pull out one nail for each day that
she was able to hold her temper.
The days passed and the young girl was finally
able to tell her mother that all the nails were gone.
The mother took her daughter by the hand and led
her to the fence. She said,
"You have done well, my daughter, 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 person 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.
+. i love you .+
From the very begining, the girl's family
objected
strongly on her dating this guy. Saying that it has
got to do with family background,& that the girl
will have to suffer for the rest of her life if she were
to be with him.
Due to family's pressure, the couple quarrel very
often. Though the girl love the guy deeply,
but she always ask him: "How deep is your love
for me?"
As the guy is not good with his words, this often
cause the girl to be very upset. With that & the
family's pressure, the girl often vent her anger
on him. As for him, he only endure it in silence.
After a couple of years, the guy finally graduated &
decided to further his studies in overseas. Before
leaving, he proposed to the girl: "I'm not very good
with words. But all I know is that I love you. If you
allow me, I will take care of you for the rest of my
life. As for your family, I'll try my best to talk them
round. Will you marry me?"
The girl agreed, & with the guy's determination,
the family finally gave in & agreed to let them get
married. So before he leave, they got engaged.
The girl went out to the working society, whereas
the guy was overseas, continuing his studies.
They
sent their love through emails & phone calls.
Though it's hard, but both never thought of giving
up.
One day, while the girl was on her way to work,
she was knocked down by a car that lost control.
When she woke up, she saw her parents beside
her bed. She realised that she was badly injured.
Seeing her mum crying, she wanted to comfort
her. But she realized that all that could come out
of
her mouth was just a sigh.
She has lost her
voice......
The doctors says that the impact on her brain has
caused her to lose her voice. Listening to her
parents' comfort, but with nothing coming out from
her, she broke down.
During the stay in hospital, besides silence
cry,.....it's still just silence cry that companied
her. Upon reaching home, everything seems to
be the same. Except for the ringing tone of the
phone. Which pierced into her heart everytime it
rang. She does not wish to let the guy know. & not
wanting to be a burden to him, she wrote a letter
to him saying that she does not wish to wait any
longer.
With that, she sent the ring back to him. In return,
the guy sent millions & millions of reply, and
countless of phonecalls,.. all the girl could do,
besides crying, is still crying....
The parents decided to move away, hoping that
she could eventually forget everything & be happy.
With a new environment, the girl learn sign
language & started a new life. Telling herself
everyday that she must forget the guy. One day,
her friend came & told her that he's back. She
asked her friend not to let him know what
happened to her. Since then, there wasn't
anymore news of him.
A year has passed & her friend came with an
envelope, containing an invitation card for the
guy's wedding. The girl was shattered. When she
open the letter, she saw her name in it instead.
When she was about to ask her friend what's
going on, she saw the guy standing in front of her.
He used sign language telling her "I've spent
a year's time to learn sign language. Just to let
you know that I've not forgotten our promise. Let
me have the chance to be your voice. I Love You.
With that, he slipped the ring back into her finger.
The girl finally smiled.