The Red Marbles- A must read story

 

I was at the corner grocery store buying some early potatoes. I noticed a small boy, delicate of bone and feature, ragged but clean, hungrily appraising a basket of freshly picked green peas.

I paid for my potatoes but was also drawn to the display of fresh green peas. I am a pushover for creamed peas and new potatoes.

Pondering the peas, I couldn't help overhearing... the conversation between Mr.. Miller (the store owner) and the ragged boy next to me.

'Hello Barry, how are you today?'

'Hello, Mr. Miller. Fine, thank ya. Just' admiring' them peas. They sure look good..'

'They are good, Barry.. How's your Ma?'

'Fine. Getting' stronger all the' time.'

'Good. Anything I can help you with?'

'No, Sir.

Just admiring  them peas.'

'Would you like to take some home?' asked Mr. Miller.

'No, Sir. Got nothing to pay for 'them with.'

'Well, what have you to trade me for some of those peas?'

'All I got's my prize marble here.'

'Is that right? Let me see it' said Miller.

'Here 'tis. She's a dandy.'

'I can see that. Hmm mmm, only thing is this one is blue and I sort of go for red. Do you have a red one like this at home?' the store owner asked..

'Not exactly but almost.'

'Tell you what. Take this sack of peas home with you and next trip this way let me look at that red marble'. Mr. Miller told the boy.

'Sure will. Thanks Mr. Miller.'

Mrs... Miller, who had been standing nearby, came over to help me.

With a smile she said, 'There are two other boys like him in our community, all three are in very poor circumstances.. Jim just loves to bargain with them for peas, apples, tomatoes, or whatever..

When they come back with their red marbles, and they always do, he decides he doesn't like red after all and he sends them home with a bag of produce for a green marble or an orange one, when they come on their next trip to the store.'

I left the store smiling to myself, impressed with this man. A short time later I moved to Colorado , but I never forgot the story of this man, the boys, and their bartering for marbles.

Several years went by, each more rapid than the previous one. Just recently I had occasion to visit some old friends in that Idaho community and while I was there learned that Mr. Miller had died. They were having his visitation that evening and knowing my friends wanted to go, I agreed to accompany them. Upon arrival at the mortuary we fell into line to meet the relatives of the deceased and to offer whatever words of comfort we could.

Ahead of us in line were three young men. One was in an army uniform and the other two wore nice haircuts, dark suits and white shirts...all very professional looking. They approached Mrs. Miller, standing composed and smiling by her husband's casket.

Each of the young men hugged her, kissed her on the cheek, spoke briefly with her and moved on to the casket. Her misty light blue eyes followed them as, one by one, each young man stopped briefly and placed his own warm hand over the cold pale hand in the casket. Each left the mortuary awkwardly, wiping his eyes...

Our turn came to meet Mrs. Miller. I told her who I was and reminded her of the story from those many years ago and what she had told me about her husband's bartering for marbles. With her eyes glistening, she took my hand and led me to the casket.

'Those three young men who just left were the boys I told you about.

They just told me how they appreciated the things Jim 'traded' them. Now, at last, when Jim could not change his mind about color or size.....they came to pay their debt.'

'We've never had a great deal of the wealth of this world,' she confided, 'but right now, Jim would consider himself the richest man in Idaho ..'

With loving gentleness she lifted the lifeless fingers of her deceased husband. Resting underneath were three exquisitely shined red marbles.

The Moral:

We will not be remembered by our words, but by our kind deeds. Life is not measured by the breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath.

Today I wish you a day of ordinary miracles ~ A fresh pot of coffee you didn't make yourself...An unexpected phone call from an old friend.... Green stoplights on your way to work....

The fastest line at the grocery store....

A good sing-along song on the radio..

Your keys found right where you left them.

★¨`*•♫.•Pass it on!! Give someone else a reason to smile. ♫•* ★

World suicide prevention day

 

Bright and determined, Ahila’s* biggest concern was to pass her 10th standard exams with good marks. Then came lockdown. Her father’s petty shop was forced to shut. To survive, the family borrowed money. Lockdown stretched on, and their debt grew.

 

Threatened by the money lender, her father tried to work keeping the shop open, but was arrested twice. Without money, feeling completely hopeless and helpless the family decided to end their lives. Ahila, her two little sisters and her parents all took rat killer poison, hoping their worries would be over. Instead they became extremely sick. After two days they came to CMC. By now Ahila was in a coma and one sister died in another hospital. 

The parents, and her second sister began to recover. But Ahila had acute liver failure. CMC’s Hepatology team saved her life with a new treatment: Plasma Exchange (PLEX). They gave the first cycle while Ahila was still unconscious. After a few days, her parents were asked to talk to her. Ahila opened her eyes briefly and then tears rolled down her closed eyes, the first sign that she was going to be okay.

 

Helping Hands, Hope Dawns

Soon Ahila was completely out of the coma. The Hepatology Department raised funds to take care of the family’s debt. Another group offered to pay for Ahila’s tuition fees. She went on to complete her exams with first class. When we met her, she said confidently, “I am going to build houses for the poor when I grow up!”

Attempting suicide can make things worse. Ahila’s mother told us, “I never knew how harmful the decision to take our lives was. We lost one daughter and almost lost Ahila”.

Today is World Suicide Prevention Day. Be aware of those around you. Take a minute and reach out to someone. You could change the course of their life.

 

Warm regards

Moral story- Be patient 🤹‍♂️Trust Life🧚‍♂️

 Excellent 👌 Moral

The little boy came from school on Saturday and told his father, my teacher has given us home-work to Hug 10 people and tell them - "Be patient, trust life and I Love you".

The Dad said - "OK, we will go to the Mall tomorrow morning and do it".

The child woke up all spirited up in the morning, got ready. Went to his Dad and said - "lets go!!"

The father said - "there is Heavy rainfall, I fear nobody might be there".

The Child still insisted. So the Father drove in the horrible rainy weather to the Mall.

They stood in the mall for 1 hour, and the little boy hugged 9 people.

His father then said - "now lets go, its raining heavily and we shouldn't get stuck!"

Sad the son went along with his father's orders. As they where driving past, the child pointed at a random house. Said - "please dad, just 1 person is remaining, I will go to that house and complete my homework"!

The father smiled and pulled the car over.

The child went to the door and began to ring the bell and pound the door strongly with his knuckles. He kept waiting. Finally the door was opened gently.

A lady came out with a very sad look and gently asked:

"What can I do for you, son?

With radiant eyes and a bright smile the child said:

"Ma'am my teacher has told to Hug 10 people and tell them - "Be patient, trust life and I Love you".

I have hugged 9. May I hug you and pass the message to you.

The Lady embraced him, and started crying profusely.

On seeing that the Boy's father came out of the car. He went to the lady and asked - "Any problem madam?"

She composed herself, took them inside, gave them a cup of tea and then told his father -

"My husband died a while ago leaving me totally alone in this world. Today morning the loneliness took over me. Since morning I have been thinking that this is the end of the road for me.

Then I took a chair and a rope to my bedroom and decided to end my life. As I was seeing the world for one last time, I begged for forgiveness to GOD and then heard this knock. I thought to leave it. But then nobody comes to visit me.

When I opened the door, I couldn't believe what my eyes saw this little child. And when he said , "Be patient, trust life and I Love you".

I knew it was a message from God.

Suddenly I realized I don't want to die anymore, and have decided to make something productive of my life.

*REMEMBER - Give positive thoughts to people.*

*Tell them you stand by them.*

*And even if nothing, just listen to them.*

You could be the medium that saves a life.!

Story-👨‍👩‍👦‍👦 We are the temple of God ⛪

 👪💏

“A few days ago a Kentucky garbage man noticed no trash cans were being put out at an elderly woman's house on his route for two straight weeks. He was concerned enough to share the address with his supervisor.  She found the name of the woman at the address and called her:  “Ms. Smith, we noticed you haven't put out your cans for a while.  Are you ok?”  Ms. Smith replied:  “I’m ok.  But my caretaker was so afraid of the virus that she stopped coming.  I can’t get to the store.  I don’t have any trash because I’ve run out of food. And I don’t have any family to help me.”  After a long pause, the caller said:  “You do now.  We are your family.”

She let her truck driver know of the sad news.  The next day, on his day off, he knocked on her door and asked her to make up a grocery list.  “Ms. Smith— the list is too short.”  She added a few more items.  “Ms. Smith, this list is still too short. Would you mind if I looked into your fridge?”  She relented.  He opened the fridge and it was bare.  Empty.  

An hour later, he brought in dozens of bags of groceries for a woman he hardly knew.  

Tears.  An air-hug that met social distancing protocol.  And the garbage man walked out of the house of this woman who was physically immobile, but levitating.  A garbage man decided he’d reach out to someone and church broke out. His supervisor shared the creed with this elderly woman:  “You have a family now.”

I miss our services of worship.  I miss that it’s silent now.  I'm sick to my stomach we had to push back are start-back date to gather.

But church?  Church is happening all around us.  It’s a phone-call.  It’s a bag of groceries.  It happens anytime someone tells another person who is Jesus in his best disguise:  “You have a family now.”  Real church is not defined by a service of worship, but by servants of Christ.  

Keep being church.  That’s all you have to do.”

~Author Unknown

Exactly as we are the temple of God.

*I Corinthians 3:16*

Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?

♥️♥️Love Programming 💗💗

Technical Support: Yes, how can I help you?

Customer: Well, after much consideration, I’ve decided to install Love. Can you guide me through the process?

Tech Support: Yes. I can help you. Are you ready to proceed?

Customer: Well, I’m not very technical, but I think I’m ready. What do I do first?

Tech Support: The first step is to open your Heart. Have you located your Heart?

Customer: Yes, but there are several other programs running now. Is it okay to install Love while they are running?

Tech Support: What programs are running?

Customer: Let’s see, I have Past Hurt, Low Self-Esteem, Grudge, and Resentment running right now.

Tech Support: No problem, Love will gradually erase Past Hurt from your current operating system. It may remain in your permanent memory but will no long disrupt other programs. Love will eventually override Low Self-Esteem with a module of its own called High Self-Esteem. However, you have to completely turn off Grudge and Resentment. Those programs prevent Love from being properly installed. Can you turn those off?

Customer: I don’t know how to turn them off. Can you tell me how?

Tech Support: With pleasure. Go to your start menu and select Forgiveness. Do this as many times as necessary until Grudge and Resentment have been completely erased.

Customer: Okay, done! Love has started installing itself. Oops! I have an error message already. It says, “Error- Program not run on external components.” What should I do?

Tech Support: Don’t worry. In nontechnical terms, it simply means you have to Love yourself before you can Love others. Pull down Self-Acceptance; then click on the following files: Forgive Self, Realize Your Worth, and Acknowledge Your Limitations.

Customer: Got it. Hey! My heart is filling up with new files. Smile is playing on my monitor and Peace and Contentment are copying themselves all over my Heart. Is this normal?

Tech Support: Yes, that means Love is installed and running. One more thing before we hang up. This Love program is freeware. You’re welcome to share it with others. Please pass it along!

*The Parable of the Coffee Bottle*

A young couple had neighbours who were senior citizens, the husband around 80 years old, and the wife about 5 years younger. 

The young couple were very fond of the elderly couple and made it a point to visit them and have coffee with them every Sunday.

They observed that the old lady would bring the coffee bottle to her husband to be opened, every time.

The thoughtful young man gifted the lady a gadget, without her husbands knowledge, to easily open the bottle, and showed her how to use it.

On their next visit, the old lady once again brought the bottle for her husband to open! The young couple was amazed! Had she forgotten about the gadget?! 

When the opportunity arose to be alone with the old lady, they quizzed her about this. Her reply made them speechless......

She said: "Oh, I can open the bottle myself, even without your gadget! But I get him to open it so he feels he is still stronger than I am and thus the man of our home.......that he remains useful to me as always; that I still depend on him; that togetherness is the main ingredient of any marriage....we don't have many more years of life in us, and togetherness is of utmost importance......"

*Moral*: Never underestimate the wisdom of the elderly. Our parents/grandparents may not be bringing in money any longer, but their guidance alone is priceless. You may have a fruitless tree in your garden, but at least it gives you shade......you will not cut it off, now, will you? Looking after the elderly and infirm should be looked upon as a *blessing*.

Wonderful story - Do good dont stop doing good!!

A woman baked chapatti (roti) for members of her family and an extra one for a hungry passerby. She kept the extra chapatti on the window sill, for whosoever would take it away. Every day, a hunchback came and took away the chapatti. 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. Every day, the hunchback came, picked up the chapatti 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 chapatti into the fire, prepared another one and kept it on the window sill. As usual, the hunchback came, picked up the chapatti 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. Every day, as the woman placed the chapatti 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 chapatti. 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 chapatti 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 is not appreciated at that time.

 !Wonderful story….with POWERFUL lesson

Are you tired of living in this world??

#spreadlove_spreadpeace 

Imagine you were born in 1900.

When you're 14, World War I begins and ends when you're 18 with 22 million dead.

Soon after a global pandemic, the Spanish Flu, appears, killing 50 million people. And you're alive and 20 years old.

When you're 29 you survive the global economic crisis that started with the collapse of the New York Stock Exchange, causing inflation, unemployment and famine.

When you're 33 years old the nazis come to power.

When you're 39, World War II begins and ends when you're 45 years old with a 60 million dead. In the Holocaust 6 million Jews die.

When you're 52, the Korean War begins.

When you're 64, the Vietnam War begins and ends when you're 75.

A child born in 1985 thinks his grandparents have no idea how difficult life is, but they have survived several wars and catastrophes.

Today we have all the comforts in a new world, amid a new pandemic. But we complain because we need to wear masks. We complain because we must stay confined to our homes where we have food, electricity, running water, wifi, even Netflix! None of that existed back in the day. But humanity survived those circumstances and never lost their joy of living.

A small change in our perspective can generate miracles. We should be thankful that we are alive. We should do everything we need to do to protect and help each other.

Be safe 🙏

Interesting scientific facts

“Drink water from the spring where horses drink. The horse will never drink bad water.

Lay your bed where the cat sleeps.

Eat the fruit that has been touched by a worm.

Boldly pick the mushroom on which the insects sit.

Plant the tree where the mole digs.

Build your house where the snake sits to warm itself.

Dig your fountain where the birds hide from heat.

Go to sleep and wake up at the same time with the birds – you will reap all of the days golden grains.

Eat more green – you will have strong legs and a resistant heart, like the beings of the forest.

Swim often and you will feel on earth like the fish in the water.

Look at the sky as often as possible and your thoughts will become light and clear.

Be quiet a lot, speak little – and silence will come in your heart, and your spirit will be calm and full of peace.”

Saint Seraphim of Sarov

via Emily Olga Dillon

Stay Strong- motivated thoughts

A while back I read a story of a visiting pastor who attended a men's breakfast in the middle of a rural farming area of the country. The group had asked an older farmer, decked out in bib overalls, to say grace for the morning breakfast.

"Lord, I hate buttermilk", the farmer began. The visiting pastor opened one eye to glance at the farmer and wonder where this was going.

The farmer loudly proclaimed, "Lord, I hate lard." Now the pastor was growing concerned.

Without missing a beat, the farmer continued, "And Lord, you know I don't much care for raw white flour". The pastor once again opened an eye to glance around the room and saw that he wasn't the only one feeling uncomfortable.

Then the farmer added, "But Lord, when you mix them all together and bake them, I do love warm fresh biscuits. So Lord, when things come up that we don't like, when life gets hard, when we don't understand what you're saying to us, help us to just relax and wait until you are done mixing. It will probably be even better than biscuits.  Amen."

Within that prayer there is great wisdom for all when it comes to complicated situations like we are experiencing in the world today.

Stay strong, my friends, because our LORD is mixing several things that we don't really care for, but something even better is going to come when HE is done with it.