faithful.finds

I dreamt that I went to Heaven and an angel was showing me around. We walked side-by-side inside a large workroom filled with angels. My angel guide stopped in front of the first section and said, ‘This is the Receiving Section. Here, all petitions to God said in prayer are received.’

I looked around in this area, and it was terribly busy with so many angels sorting out petitions written on voluminous paper sheets and scraps from people all over the world.

Then we moved on down a long corridor until we reached the second section.

The angel then said to me, “This is the Packaging and Delivery Section. Here, the graces and blessings the people asked for are processed and delivered to the living persons who asked for them.”  I noticed again how busy it was there. There were many angels working hard at that station, since so many blessings had been requested and were being packaged 

for delivery to Earth.

Finally at the farthest end of the long corridor we stopped at the door of a very small station. To my great surprise, only one angel was seated there, idly doing nothing. “This is the Acknowledgment Section,” my angel friend quietly admitted to me. He seemed embarrassed.

“How is it that there is no work going on here?” I asked.

“So sad,” the angel sighed. “After people receive the blessings that they asked for, very few send back acknowledgments.”

“How does one acknowledge God’s blessings?” I asked.

“Simple,” the angel answered. Just say, “Thank you, Lord.”

“What blessings should they acknowledge?” I asked.

“If you have food in the refrigerator, clothes on your back, a roof overhead and a place to sleep you are richer than 75% of this world.”

“If you have money in the bank, in your wallet, and spare change in a dish, you are among the top 8% of the world’s wealthy, and if you get this on your own computer, you are part of the 1% in the world who has that opportunity.”

“If you woke up this morning with more health than illness.. You are more blessed than the many who will not even survive this day.”“If you have never experienced the fear in battle, the loneliness of imprisonment, the agony of torture, or the pangs of starvation… You are ahead of 700 million people in the world.”

“If you can attend a church without the fear of harassment, arrest, torture or death you are envied by, and more blessed than, three billion people in the world.”

“If your parents are still alive and still married…. you are very rare.”

“If you can hold your head up and smile, you are not the norm, you’re unique to all those in doubt and despair…….”

“Ok,” I said. “What now? How can I start?”

The Angel said, “If you can read this message, you just received a double blessing in that someone was thinking of you as very special and you are more blessed than over two billion people in the world who cannot read at all.”

1. 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.

2. Why is a car’s WINDSHIELD so large & the Rear View Mirror so
small? Because our PAST is not as important as our FUTURE. So, Look Ahead
and Move on.

3. Friendship is like a BOOK. It takes few seconds to burn, but it
takes years to write.

4. 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.

5. Old Friends are Gold! New Friends are Diamond! If you get a
Diamond, don’t forget the Gold! Because to hold a Diamond, you always need a
Base of Gold!

6. 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!

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

8. A blind person asked St. Anthony: “Can there be anything worse
than losing eye sight?” He replied: “Yes, losing your vision!”

9. 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.

10. WORRYING does not take away tomorrow’s TROUBLES, it takes away
today’s PEACE.

T HI N K

There was a blind girl who hated herself because she was blind.
She hated everyone, except her loving boyfriend.
He was always there for her. She told her boyfriend,
‘If I could only see the world, I will marry you.’

One day,  someone donated a pair of eyes to her.
When the bandages came off, she was
able to see everything, including her boyfriend.
He asked her, Now that you can see the world,
will you marry me?’

The girl looked at her boyfriend and saw that he was blind.
The sight of his closed eyelids shocked her.
She hadn’t expected that. The thought of
looking at them the rest of her life
led her to refuse to marry him.

Her boyfriend left in tears and days later wrote
a note to her saying: ‘Take good care of
your eyes, my dear, for before
they were yours, they were mine.’

This is how the human brain often works when our
status changes.
Only a very few remember what life was like before,
and who was always by their side in the
most painful situations.

Life Is a Gift
Today before you say an unkind word - Think of someone who can’t speak.

Before you complain about the taste of your food - Think of someone who has
nothing to eat.

.
Before you complain about your husband or wife - Think of someone
who’s crying out for a companion.

Today before you complain about life - Think of someone who went
too early to heaven.

Before whining about the distance you drive
Think of someone who walks the same distance with their feet.

And when you are tired and complain about your job -
Think of the unemployed, the disabled, and those
who wish they had your job.

And when depressing thoughts seem to get you down - Put a smile on your face and think: you’re alive and still around.

Something to think about….

I HAD A FRIEND VISIT THIS MORNING. 
HE ARRIVED EARLY, SAT DOWN WITH ME AND CHATTED FOR A WHILE ABOUT HOW THINGS WERE CURRENTLY GOING FOR ME IN MY LIFE. 

AFTER VERY CAREFULLY AND COMPASSIONATELY 
LISTENING TO ALL THAT I HAD TO SAY,HE STOOD UP, WALKED OVER TO ME, LEANED OVER AND GENTLY HELD ME FOR AWHILE. 

THEN, AFTER REASSURING ME NOT TO WORRY, THAT EVERYTHING WOULD WORK OUT FOR ME AND BE JUST FINE, HE ASKED ME IF I KNEW OF ANYONE ELSE THAT COULD USE A VISIT FROM HIM. 

I IMMEDIATELY THOUGHT OF YOU MY FRIEND. 

I GAVE HIM YOUR NAME AND HE KNEW WHERE YOU LIVED. HE GAVE ME ANOTHER REASSURING HUG, THANKED ME AND I WALKED WITH HIM TO MY FRONT DOOR. HE TOLD ME THAT HE WAS ON HIS WAY TO YOUR PLACE.

AFTER A FEW OF THE USUAL SUNDAY EVENING HYMNS, THE CHURCH’S PASTOR SLOWLY STOOD UP, WALKED OVER TO THE PULPIT AND, BEFORE HE GAVE HIS SERMON FOR THE EVENING, HE BRIEFLY INTRODUCED A GUEST MINISTER WHO WAS IN THE SERVICE THAT EVENING.

IN THE INTRODUCTION, THE PASTOR TOLD THE CONGREGATION THAT THE GUEST MINISTER WAS ONE OF HIS DEAREST CHILDHOOD FRIENDS AND THAT HE WANTED HIM TO HAVE A FEW MOMENTS TO GREET THE CHURCH AND SHARE WHATEVER HE FELT WOULD BE APPROPRIATE FOR THE SERVICE WITH THAT, AN ELDERLY MAN STEPPED UP TO THE PULPIT AND BEGAN TO SPEAK.

‘A FATHER, HIS SON, AND A FRIEND OF HIS SON WERE SAILING OFF THE PACIFIC COAST ’ HE BEGAN.

‘WHEN A FAST APPROACHING STORM BLOCKED ANY ATTEMPT TO GET BACK TO THE SHORE…. THE WAVES WERE SO HIGH, THAT EVEN THOUGH THE FATHER WAS AN EXPERIENCED SAILOR, HE COULD NOT KEEP THE BOAT UPRIGHT AND THE THREE WERE SWEPT INTO THE OCEAN AS THE BOAT CAPSIZED.’

 THE OLD MAN HESITATED FOR A MOMENT, MAKING EYE CONTACT WITH TWO TEENAGERS WHO WERE, FOR THE FIRST TIME SINCE THE SERVICE BEGAN, LOOKING SOMEWHAT INTERESTED IN HIS STORY. 

 THE AGED MINISTER CONTINUED WITH HIS STORY, ‘GRABBING A RESCUE LINE, THE FATHER HAD TO MAKE THE MOST EXCRUCIATING DECISION OF HIS LIFE: TO WHICH BOY WOULD HE THROW THE OTHER END OF THE LIFE LINE. HE ONLY HAD SECONDS TO MAKE THE DECISION. THE FATHER KNEW THAT HIS SON WAS A CHRISTIAN AND HE, ALSO, KNEW THAT HIS SON’S FRIEND WAS NOT.

THE AGONY OF HIS DECISION COULD NOT BE MATCHED BY THE TORRENT OF WAVES.  

AS THE FATHER YELLED OUT, ‘I LOVE YOU, SON!’ HE THREW OUT THE LIFE LINE TO HIS SON’S FRIEND. BY THE TIME THE FATHER HAD PULLED THE FRIEND BACK TO THE CAPSIZED BOAT, HIS SON HAD DISAPPEARED BENEATH THE RAGING SWELLS INTO THE BLACK OF NIGHT. HIS BODY WAS NEVER RECOVERED.

BY THIS TIME, THE TWO TEENAGERS WERE SITTING UP STRAIGHT IN THE PEW, ANXIOUSLY WAITING FOR THE NEXT WORDS TO COME OUT OF THE OLD MINISTER’S MOUTH.

 ‘THE FATHER,’ HE CONTINUED, ‘KNEW HIS SON WOULD STEP INTO ETERNITY WITH JESUS AND HE COULD NOT BEAR THE THOUGHT OF HIS SON’S FRIEND STEPPING INTO AN ETERNITY WITHOUT JESUS.. THEREFORE, HE SACRIFICED HIS SON TO SAVE THE SON’S FRIEND.’

HOW GREAT IS THE LOVE OF GOD THAT HE SHOULD DO THE SAME FOR US.. OUR HEAVENLY FATHER SACRIFICED HIS ONLY BEGOTTEN SON THAT WE COULD BE SAVED….. I URGE YOU TO ACCEPT HIS OFFER TO RESCUE YOU AND TAKE A HOLD OF THE LIFE LINE HE IS THROWING OUT TO YOU IN THIS SERVICE.’

WITH THAT, THE OLD MAN TURNED AND SAT BACK DOWN IN HIS CHAIR AS SILENCE FILLED THE ROOM.

THE PASTOR AGAIN WALKED SLOWLY TO THE PULPIT AND DELIVERED A BRIEF SERMON WITH AN INVITATION AT THE END. HOWEVER, NO ONE RESPONDED TO THE APPEAL.

WITHIN MINUTES AFTER THE SERVICE ENDED, THE TWO TEENAGERS WERE AT THE OLD MAN’S SIDE.

‘THAT WAS A NICE STORY,’ POLITELY STATED ONE OF THEM, ‘BUT I DON’T THINK IT WAS VERY REALISTIC FOR A FATHER TO GIVE UP HIS ONLY SON’S LIFE IN HOPES THAT THE OTHER BOY WOULD BECOME A CHRISTIAN.’

WELL, YOU’VE GOT A POINT THERE,’ THE OLD MAN REPLIED, GLANCING DOWN AT HIS WORN BIBLE. A BIG SMILE BROADENED HIS NARROW FACE.

HE ONCE AGAIN LOOKED UP AT THE BOYS AND SAID, ‘IT SURE ISN’T VERY REALISTIC, IS IT? BUT, I’M STANDING HERE TODAY TO TELL YOU THAT STORY GIVES ME A GLIMPSE OF WHAT IT MUST HAVE BEEN LIKE FOR GOD TO GIVE UP HIS SON FOR ME.

YOU SEE…

I WAS THAT FATHER AND YOUR PASTOR IS MY SON’S FRIEND.’

Grandma, some ninety plus years, sat feebly on the patio bench.. She didn’t move, just sat with her head down staring at her hands.

When I sat down beside her she didn’t acknowledge my presence and the longer I sat I wondered if she was OK.

Finally, not really wanting to disturb her but wanting to check on her at the same time, I asked her if she was OK. She raised her head and looked at me and smiled. ‘Yes, I’m fine, thank you for asking,’ she said in a clear voice strong.

‘I didn’t mean to disturb you, grandma, but you were just sitting here staring at your hands and I wanted to make sure you were OK,’ I explained to her.

‘Have you ever looked at your hands,’ she asked. ‘I mean really looked at your hands?’

I slowly opened my hands and stared down at them. I turned them over, palms up and then palms down. No, I guess I had never really looked at my hands as I tried to figure out the point she was making.

Grandma smiled and related this story:

‘Stop and think for a moment about the hands you have, how they have served you well throughout your years.  These hands, though wrinkled shriveled and weak have been the tools I have used all my life to reach out and grab and embrace life.

‘They braced and caught my fall when as a toddler I crashed upon the floor.

They put food in my mouth and clothes on my back. As a child, my mother taught me to fold them in prayer.  They tied my shoes and pulled on my boots. They held my husband and wiped my tears when he went off to war.

‘They have been dirty, scraped and raw, swollen and bent.  They were uneasy and clumsy when I tried to hold my newborn son. Decorated with my wedding band they showed the world that I was married and loved someone special.

They  wrote my letters to him and trembled and shook when  I buried my parents and  spouse.

‘They  have held my children and grandchildren, consoled neighbors, and shook in fists of anger when I didn’t understand.

They have covered my face, combed my hair, and washed and cleansed the rest of my body. They have been sticky and wet, bent and broken, dried and raw. And to this day when not much of anything else of me works real well these hands hold me up, lay me down, and again continue to fold in prayer.

‘These hands are the mark of where I’ve been and the ruggedness of life.

But more importantly it will be these hands that God will reach out and take when he leads me home. And with my hands He will lift me to His side and there I will use these hands to touch the face of God.

I will never look at my hands the same again. But I remember God reached out and took my grandma’s hands and led her home. When my hands are hurt or sore or when I stroke the face of my children and husband I think of grandma. I know she has been stroked and caressed and held by the hands of God.

I, too, want to touch the face of God and feel His hands upon my face.

- Healed

“The butterfly counts not months but moments, and has time enough.” ~ Rabindranath Tagore

On Sunday I saw a butterfly! The thing is… I honestly could not tell you the last time I actually saw a butterfuly or even one with such Beauty, Growth or Fullness. It was a day of joy and happiness, yet also one with many tears. It was my ‘Final Splash Pool Party’ and my friend T.J. looked at me and said, “Hey Cass, look! A butterfly just landed, walked over and climbed into my cup.” I looked at him in amazement and smiled. He held up the cup and the eloquent butterfly fluttered away. I was in awe as I gazed at the phenonmenon God created and watched it float further and further away… until in an instant it blended in with the clear blue sky! I call it, “Grace at it’s finest.” The truth is… it wasn’t until a dear girlfriend of mine said, “Cass did you know a butterfly signifies ‘change’ and that when they appear in your life there is generally something changing or about to change.” I was silent… 1. because I was celebrating a new chapter in my life and 2. a man recently came into her life from our most recent trip together in Vegas and he was in town, spontaneously visiting from Texas that day! The faithful meaning of change immediately hit our hearts and we both could not believe what we had just seen… a butterfuly, asking us to accept the changes in our lives casually as she does, to unquestioningly embrace chance and to keep our faith as we undergo transitions in our lives. Today… I know we both will wholeheartedly own the responsibility to make our way in faith, accept the change that comes and emerge from our transitions as brilliantly as the butterfly.

~ As a symbol of transformation; the butterfly represents everlasting life, stemming from it’s various stages of life.

1. Birth (the caterpillar),
2. Death (the chrysalis), and finally,
3. Resurrection (the butterfly).

Sometimes in life, you find special friends;
Friends who change your life
just by being a huge part of it.
Friends who makes you laugh
until you can’t stop;
Friends who make you believe
that there really is faith, hope and love in the world. 
Friends who convince you
that there really is an unlocked door…

and Friends telling you to open it!