Children are like Kites

You spend years trying to get them off the ground.

You run with them until you are both breathless. They crash ... they hit the roof ... you patch, comfort and assure them that someday they will fly.

Finally, they are airborne.

They need more string, and you keep letting it out.

They tug, and with each twist of the twine, there is sadness that goes with joy.

The kite becomes more distant, and you know it won't be long before that beautiful creature will snap the lifeline that binds you together and will soar as meant to soar ... free and alone.

Only then do you know that you have done your job.

-author unknown-

What is Commitment

I will never forget what my old headmaster told taught me. Normally when you are only 15 years of age you do not remember most of the things that are preached by your teachers. But, this particular story is one such lesson that I will never forget. Every time I drift off course, I get reminded of this story.

It was a normal Monday morning at an assembly, and he was addressing the students on important things in life and about committing ourselves to what is important to us. This is how the story went:

An old man lived in a certain part of London, and he would wake up every morning and go to the subway. He would get the train right to Central London, and then sit at the street corner and beg. He would do this every single day of his life. He sat at the same street corner and begged for almost 20 years.

His house was filthy, and a stench came out of the house and it smelled horribly. The neighbors could not stand the smell anymore, so they summoned the police officers to clear the place. The officers knocked down the door and cleaned the house. There were small bags of money all over the house that he had collected over the years.

The police counted the money, and they soon realized that the old man was a millionaire. They waited outside his house in anticipation to share the good news with him. When he arrived home that evening, he was met by one the officers who told him that there was no need for him to beg any more as he was a rich man now, a millionaire.

He said nothing at all; he went into his house and locked the door. The next morning he woke up as usual, went to the subway, got into the train, and sat at the street corner and continued to beg.

Obviously, this old man had no great plans, dreams or anything significant for his life. We learn nothing from this story other than staying focused on the things we enjoy doing, commitment.

We should remain true to our course; which may mean committing yourselves to things that people around you would normally disapprove. Let nothing distract us from being happy, let nothing else determine our fate, but ourselves.

What makes us happy is what matters in the end, not what we acquire.

Written by O.F Thataone

BROKEN

Melanie's son's high school classmate was in a horrible traffic accident the day after he turned 18 (January 2005) and was in a coma for months before awakening to a new, impaired life. The young man has a beautiful, positive, grateful spirit, but Melanie often thinks how painful it must be for his parents to see him as he is now every day and recall what he was and imagine what he might have been had he not stepped into the street without looking on his way home from a soccer match on that fateful night. Melanie imagines how she would feel if it had been her son rather than theirs who had suffered the disability.

She wrote the following poem entitled "Broken" after the young man woke up from his coma.

Broken written by Melanie

I didn't yet know you
That Monday this past January
When you turned eighteen.
I first heard your name
On Tuesday night
When you were already
Broken.


They say it wasn't the driver's fault.
I'm glad for him.
How could he go through life
Plagued by the guilt
Of having been the reason
For your being
Broken?


If only you hadn't been
On the soccer team...
If only you'd gotten
A ride home that night...
If only it hadn't been
Raining so terribly hard...
But it was,
And so you were
Broken.


I began praying for you
That very night.
With tears
And with all my heart
I begged our God
To restore you
To the way you were
Before you were
Broken.


I finally met you
Two months later.
You lay, perhaps asleep,
Your father at your side,
In hospital number three
Since the night you were
Broken.


Little by little,
In steps tinier than a baby's,
Your condition has improved.
Sometimes I left your room
In tearful discouragement,
And sometimes
In exuberant rejoicing.
Each time, though,
You remained behind, still
Broken.


Your body hasn't yet
Regained its former strength and skill.
Your mind hasn't yet
Regained all its clarity.
Yet throughout
This long, hard journey,
The faith and hope
Of those who love you-
And your own spirit-
Haven't been
And cannot be
Broken.

Life is precious - Treasure it!

REMEMBERING YOU

Prayer is not a "spare wheel" that you pull out when in trouble,
but it is a "steering wheel" that directs the right path throughout.

Do you know why a Car's WINDSHIELD is so large & the Rearview Mirror is so small?
Because our PAST is not as important as our FUTURE. Look Ahead and Move on.

All things in life are temporary. If going well, enjoy it, they will not last forever.
If going wrong, don't worry, they can't last long either.

Often when we lose hope and think this is the end, GOD smiles from above and says,
"Relax, sweetheart, it's just a bend, not the end!

When GOD solves your problems, you have faith in HIS abilities;
when GOD doesn't solve your problems HE has faith in your abilities.

When you pray for others, God listens to you and blesses them,
and sometimes, when you are safe and happy, remember that someone has prayed for you.

WORRYING does not take away tomorrows' TROUBLES, it takes away today's peace.

Many thanks to Mr Krishnan who sent me this post.

THE CHAPATI

A woman baked chapati for members of her family and an extra one for a hungry passerby. She kept the extra chapati on the Window-sill, for whosoever would take it away. Everyday, a hunchback came and took away the chapati. Instead of expressing gratitude, he muttered the following words as he went his way: "The evil you do remains with you: The good you do, comes back to you!" This went on, day after day. Everyday, the hunch-back came, picked up the chapati and uttered the words: "The evil you do, remains with you: The good you do, comes back to you!" The woman felt irritated. "Not a word of gratitude," she said to herself...

"Everyday this hunchback utters this jingle! What does he mean? "One day, exasperated, she decided to do away with him. "I shall get rid of this hunchback," she said. And what did she do? She added poison to the Chapatti she prepared for him! As she was about to keep it on the window sill, her hands trembled. "What is this I am doing?" she said Immediately, she threw the chapati into the fire, prepared another one and kept it on the window- sill. As usual, the hunchback came, picked up the chapati and muttered the words: "The evil you do, remains with you: The good you do, comes back to you!" The hunchback proceeded on his way, blissfully unaware of the war raging in the mind of the woman.

Everyday, as the woman placed the chapati on the window-sill, she offered a prayer for her son who had gone to a distant place to seek his fortune. For many months, she had no news of him.. She prayed for his safe return. That evening, there was a knock on the door. As she opened it, she was surprised to find her son standing in the doorway. He had grown thin and lean. His garments were tattered and torn. He was hungry, starved and weak.
As he saw his mother, he said, "Mom, it's a miracle I'm here. While I was but a mile away, I was so famished that I collapsed. I would have died, but just then an old hunchback passed by. I begged of him for a morsel of food, and he was kind enough to give me a whole chapati."As he gave it to me, he said, "This is what I eat everyday: today, I shall give it to you, for your need is greater than mine!" " As the mother heard those words, her face turned pale.

She leaned against the door for support. She remembered the poisoned chapati that she had made that morning. Had she not burnt it in the fire, it would have been eaten by her own son, and he would have lost his life! It was then that she realized the significance of the words:"The evil you do remains with you: The good you do, comes back to you!"

Do good and; Don't ever stop doing good, even if it’s not appreciated at that time.


If you like this, share it with others and I bet you so many lives would be affected.

Have a wonderful day.

*Thanks to Mr. Krishnan who sent me this beautiful story.

I Attend to My Ship

There is a story of about a sea captain who in his retirement skippered a boat taking day-trippers to Islands. On one trip, the boat was full of young people. They laughed at the old captain when they saw him say a prayer before sailing out, because the day was fine and the sea was calm.



However they weren't long at sea when a storm suddenly blew up and the boat began to pitch violently. The terrified passengers came To the captain and asked him to join them in prayer.

But he replied, "I say my prayers when it's calm. When it's rough, I attend to my ship."

Here is a lesson for us......

If we cannot and will not seek God in quiet moments of our lives, we are not likely to find Him when trouble strikes. We are more likely to panic.
But if we have learnt to seek Him and trust him in quiet moments, then most certainly we will find Him when the going gets rough.

A PRAYER A DAY KEEPS US MINDFUL

*Thanks to Mr. Krishnan who sent me this post.