Truths ~ Michelle's Story...

On the last day before Christmas, i hurried to go to the supermarket to buy the remaining of the
gifts i didn't manage to buy earlier. When i saw all the people there, i started to complain to myself:
'It is going to take forever here and i still have so many other place to go...
Christmas really is getting more and more annoying every year.
How i wish i could just lie down, go to sleep and only wake up after it...'
Nonetheless, i made my way to the toy section, and there i started to curse the prices,
wondering if after all, kids really play with such expensive toys. Whilelooking in the toy section, i noticed a small boy of about 5 years old, pressing a doll against his chest.He kept on touching the hair of the dolland looked so sad. I wondered who the doll was for. Then the little boy turned to the old woman next to him:
'Granny, are you sure i don't have enough money?'
The old lady replied: 'You know it that you don't have enough money to buy this doll, my dear.'
Then she asked him to stay here for 5 minutes while she went to look around. She left quickly.
The little boy was still holding the doll in his hand. Finally, i started to walk toward him and
asked him who did he want to give this doll to. 'It is the doll that my sister loved most and wanted so much for this Christmas. She was so sure that Santa Claus would bring it to her.'
I replied to him that maybe Santa Claus will bring it to her, after all, and not to worry. But he replied to me sadly. 'No, Santa Claus can not bring it to her where she is now. I have to give thedoll to my mother so that she can give it to her when she goes there.'
His eyes were so sad while saying this.
'My sister has gone to be with God. Daddy say that Mummy will also go to see God very soon, so i thought that she could bring the doll with her to give it to my sister'
My heart nearly stopped. The little boy looked up at me and said: 'I told daddy to tell mummy not to go yet. I asked him to wait until i come back from the supermarket'
Then he showed me a very nice photo of him where he was laughing.
He then told me: 'I also want mummy to take this photo with her so that she will not forget me.'
'I love my mummy and i wish she doesn't have to leave me but daddy says that she has to go to be
with my little sister' Then he looked again at the doll with sad eyes, very quietly.
I quickly reached for my wallet and took a few notes and said to the boy. 'What if we checked again,
just in case if u have enough money?'
'Ok' he said. 'I hope that i have enough.'
I added some of my money to his without him seeing and started to count it. There was enough for the doll,
and even some spare money. The little boy said: 'Thank you God for giving me enough money'
Then he looked at me and added: 'I asked yesterday before i slept for God to make sure i have
enough money to buy this doll so that mummy can give it to my sister. He heard me' 'I also wanted to have enough money to buy a white rose for my mummy, but i didn't dare to ask God too much. But He gave me enough to buy the doll and the white rose.'
'You know, my mummy loves white rose'
A few minutes later, the old lady came again and i left with my trolley. I finished my shopping
in a totally different state from when i started. I couldn't get the little boy out of my mind.
Then i remembered a local newspaper article 2 days ago, which mentioned of a drunk man in a truck
who hit a car where there was one young lady and a little girl. The little girl died right away, and the mother was left in a critical state. The family had to decide whether to pull the plug on the life-assisting machine, because the young lady would not be able to get out of the coma.
Was this the family of the little boy?
Two days after this encounter with the little boy, i read in the newspaper that the young lady
had passed away. I couldn't stop myself and went to buy a bunch of white roses and i went to the
mortuary where the body of the young woman was exposed for people to see and make last wish before burial. She was there, in her coffin, holding a beautiful white rose in her hand with the photo of the little
boy and the doll placed over her chest.
I left the place crying, feeling that my life had been changed forever.
The love that this little boy had for his mother and his sister is still, to that day, hard to imagine.

Jerry is the manager of a restaurant in America. 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 always reply, "If I were any better, I
would be twins!"

Many of the waiters at his restaurant quit their jobs when he changed
jobs, so they could follow him around from restaurant to restaurant. The
reason the waiters followed Jerry was because of his attitude.

He was a natural motivator. If an employee was having a bad day, Jerry
was always 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 Jerry and asked him, "I don't get it! No one can be a
positive person all of the time. How do you do it?" Jerry replied, "Each
morning I wake up and say to myself, I have two choices today. I can
choose to be in a good mood or I can choose to be in a bad mood. I
always 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 always 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 always
choose the positive side of life."
"But it's not always that easy," I protested. "Yes, it is," Jerry 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 will affect your mood. You choose to be in a good mood
or bad mood. It's your choice how you live your life."

Several years later, I heard that Jerry accidentally did something you
are never supposed to do in the restaurant business: left the back door
of his restaurant open one morning and was robbed by three armed men.
While trying to open the safe, his hand, shaking from nervousness
slipped off the combination. The robbers panicked and shot him. Luckily,
Jerry was found quickly and rushed to the hospital. After 18 hours of
surgery and weeks of intensive care, Jerry was released from the
hospital with fragments of the bullets still in his body.

I saw Jerry about six months after the accident. When I asked him how he
was, he replied, "If I were any better, I'd be twins. Want to see my
scars?" I declined to see his wounds, but did ask him what had gone
through his mind as the robbery took place.

The first thing that went through my mind was that I should have locked
the back door" Jerry replied. "Then, after they shot me, as I lay on the
floor, I remembered that I had two choices: I could choose to live or
choose to die. I chose to live." "Weren't you scared?" I asked.

Jerry continued, "The paramedics were great. They kept telling me. I was
going to be fine. But when they wheeled me into the Emergency Room 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 need to take action."
"What did you do?" I asked. "Well, there was a big nurse shouting
questions at me," said Jerry. "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, 'Bullets!' Over their
laughter, I told them, 'I am choosing to live. Please operate on me as
if I am alive, not dead" Jerry lived, thanks to the skill of his
doctors, but also because of his amazing attitude. I learned from him
that every day you have the choice to either enjoy your life or to hate
it.

The only thing that is truly yours that no one can control or take from
you - is your attitude, so if you can take care of that, everything else
in life becomes much easier.

Most Important Lesson

A professor gave us a pop quiz. I was a conscientious student and had breezed through the questions, until I read the last one: "What is the first name of the woman who cleans the school?" Surely this was some kind of joke. I had seen the cleaning woman several times. She was tall, dark-haired and in her 50s, but how would I know her name? I handed in my paper, leaving the last question blank. Just before class ended, one student asked if the last question would count toward our quiz grade. "Absolutely," said the professor. "In your careers, you will meet many people. All are significant. They deserve your attention and care, even if all you do is smile and say 'hello'." I've never forgotten that lesson. I've also never forgotten her name was Dorothy.

2 - Second Important Lesson - Pickup in the Rain

One night, at 11:30 PM, an older African American woman was standing on the side of an Alabama highway trying to endure a lashing rain storm. Her car had broken down and she desperately needed a ride. Soaking wet, she decided to flag down the next car. A young white man stopped to help her, generally unheard of in those conflict-filled 1960s. The man took her to safety, helped her get assistance and put her into a taxi cab. She seemed to be in a big hurry, but wrote down his address and thanked him. Seven days went by and a knock came on the man's door. To his surprise, a giant console color TV was delivered to his home A special note was attached. It read: "Thank you so much for assisting me on the highway the other night. The rain drenched not only my clothes, but also my spirits. Then you came along. Because of you, I was able to make it to my dying husband's bedside just before he passed away. God bless you for helping me and unselfishly serving others."

Sincerely, Mrs. Nat King Cole.

3 - Third Important Lesson - Always remember those who serve.

In the days when an ice cream sundae cost much less, a 10-year-old boy entered a hotel coffee shop and sat at a table. A waitress put a glass of water in front of him. "How much is an ice cream sundae?" he asked. "Fifty cents," replied the waitress. The little boy pulled his hand out of his pocket and studied the coins in it. "Well, how much is a plain dish of ice cream?" he inquired. By now more people were waiting for a table and the waitress was growing impatient. "Thirty-five cents," she brusquely replied." The little boy again counted his coins. "I'll have the plain ice cream," he said. The waitress brought the ice cream, put the bill on the table and walked away. The boy finished the ice cream, paid the cashier and left. When the waitress came back, she began to cry as she wiped down the table. There, placed neatly beside the empty dish, were two nickels and five pennies You see, he couldn't have the sundae, because he had to have enough left to leave her a tip.

4 - Fourth Important Lesson - The Obstacle in Our Path

In ancient times, a King had a boulder placed on a roadway. Then he hid himself and watched to see if anyone would remove the huge rock. Some of the king's wealthiest merchants and courtiers came by and simply walked around it. Many loudly blamed the king for not keeping the roads clear, but none did anything about getting the stone out of the way. Then a peasant came along carrying a load of vegetables. Upon approaching the boulder, the peasant laid down his burden and tried to move the stone to the side of the road. After much pushing and straining, he finally succeeded. After the peasant picked up his load of vegetables, he noticed a purse lying in the road where the boulder had been. The purse contained many gold coins and a note from the king indicating that the gold was for the person who removed the boulder from the roadway. The peasant learned what many of us never understand. Every obstacle presents an opportunity to improve our condition.

5 - Fifth Important Lesson - Giving When it Counts

Many years ago, when I worked as a volunteer at a hospital, I got to know a little girl named Liz who was suffering from a rare and serious disease. Her only chance of recovery appeared to be a blood transfusion from her 5-year-old brother, who had miraculously survived the same disease and had developed the antibodies needed to combat the illness. The doctor explained the situation to her little brother, and asked the little boy if he would be willing to give his blood to his sister. I saw him hesitate for only a moment before taking a deep breath and saying, "Yes, I'll do it if it will save her." As the transfusion progressed, he lay in bed next to his sister and smiled, as we all did, seeing the color returning to her cheeks. Then his face grew pale and his smile faded. He looked up at the doctor and asked with a trembling voice, "Will I start to die right away?" Being young, the little boy had misunderstood the doctor; he thought he was going to have to give his sister all of his blood in order to save her.

Love Hurts