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Inspirational
Stories
Why
It Is So Hard To Let Go...
The cheerful girl with bouncy golden curls
was almost five. Waiting with her mother at the checkout stand,
she saw them: a circle of glistening white pearls in a pink
foil box.
"Oh please, Mommy. Can I have them? Please,
Mommy, please?" Quickly the mother checked the back of
the little foil box and then looked back into the pleading
blue eyes of her little girl's upturned face. "A dollar
ninety-five. That's almost $2.00. If you really want them,
I'll think of some extra chores for you and in no time you
can save enough money to buy them for yourself. Your birthday's
only a week away and you might get another crisp dollar bill
from Grandma."
As soon as Jenny got home, she emptied her
penny bank and counted out 17 pennies. After dinner, she did
more than her share of chores and she went to the neighbor
and asked Mrs. McJames if she could pick dandelions for ten
cents.
On her birthday, Grandma did give her another
new dollar bill and at last she had enough money to buy the
necklace.
Jenny loved her pearls. They made her feel
dressed up and grown up. She wore them everywhere - Sunday
school, kindergarten, even to bed. The only time she took
them off was when she went swimming or had a bubble bath.
Mother said if they got wet, they might turn her neck green.
Jenny had a very loving daddy and every night
when she was ready for bed, he would stop whatever he was
doing and come upstairs to read her a story. One night when
he finished the story, he asked Jenny, "Do you love me?"
"Oh yes, Daddy. You know that I love you." "Then
give me your pearls." "Oh, Daddy, not my pearls.
But you can have Princess - the white horse from my collection.
The one with the pink tail. Remember, Daddy? The one you gave
me. She's my favorite." "That's okay, Honey. Daddy
loves you. Good night." And he brushed her cheek with
a kiss.
About a week later, after the story time,
Jenny's daddy asked again, "Do you love me?" "Daddy,
you know I love you." "Then give me your pearls."
"Oh Daddy, not my pearls. But you can have my baby doll.
The brand new one I got for my birthday. She is so beautiful
and you can have the yellow blanket that matches her sleeper."
"That's okay. Sleep well. God bless you, little one.
Daddy loves you" And as always, he brushed her cheek
with a gentle kiss.
A few nights later when her daddy came in,
Jenny was sitting on her bed with her legs crossed Indian-style.
As he came close, he noticed her chin was trembling and one
silent tear rolled down her cheek. "What is it, Jenny?
What's the matter?" Jenny didn't say anything but lifted
her little hand up to her daddy. And when she opened it, there
was her little pearl necklace. With a little quiver, she finally
said, "Here, Daddy. It's for you."
With tears gathering in his own eyes, Jenny's
kind daddy reached out with one hand to take the dime-store
necklace, and with the other hand he reached into his pocket
and pulled out a blue velvet case with a strand of genuine
pearls and gave them to Jenny. He had them all the time. He
was just waiting for her to give up the dime-store stuff so
he could give her genuine treasure.
So it is with our Heavenly Father. He is waiting
for us to give up the cheap things in our lives so that he
can give us beautiful treasure.
Isn't God good?
Are you holding onto things which God wants
you to let go of. Are you holding on to harmful or unnecessary
partners, relationships, habits and activities which you have
come so attached to that it seems impossible to let go? Sometimes
it is so hard to see what is in the other hand but do believe
this one thing.............
God will never take away something without
giving you something better in ....
-Author
Unknown
We'll see...
Once upon a time, there was a farmer in the
central region of China. He didn't have a lot of money and,
instead of a tractor, he used an old horse to plow his field.
One afternoon, while working in the field,
the horse dropped dead. Everyone in the village said, "Oh,
what a horrible thing to happen." The farmer said simply,
"We'll see." He was so at peace and so calm, that
everyone in the village got together and, admiring his attitude,
gave him a new horse as a gift.
Everyone's reaction now was, "What a
lucky man." And the farmer said, "We'll see."
A couple days later, the new horse jumped
a fence and ran away. Everyone in the village shook their
heads and said, "What a poor fellow!"
The farmer smiled and said, "We'll see."
Eventually, the horse found his way home,
and everyone again said, "What a fortunate man."
The farmer said, "We'll see."
Later in the year, the farmer's young boy
went out riding on the horse and fell and broke his leg. Everyone
in the village said, "What a shame for the poor boy."
The farmer said, "We'll see."
Two days later, the army came into the village
to draft new recruits. When they saw that the farmer's son
had a broken leg, they decided not to recruit him.
Everyone said, "What a fortunate young
man."
The farmer smiled again - and said "We'll
see."
Moral of the story: There's no use in overreacting
to the events and circumstances of our everyday lives. Many
times what looks like a setback, may actually be a gift in
disguise. And when our hearts are in the right place, all
events and circumstances are gifts that we can learn valuable
lessons from.
As Fra Giovanni once said:
"Everything we call a trial, a sorrow,
or a duty, believe me... the gift is there and the wonder
of an overshadowing presence."
-Author
Unknown
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Cosmos
of Happiness
