Wings of a Bird

There is a story about the way birds first got their wings. The story goes that initially they were made without them. Then God made the wings, set them down before the wingless birds, and said to them, "Take up these burdens and carry them."

The birds had sweet voices for singing, and lovely feathers that glistened in the sunshine, but they could not soar in the air. When asked to pick up the burdens that lay at their feet, they hesitated at first. Yet soon they obeyed, picked up the wings with their beaks, and set them on their shoulders to carry them. For a short time the load seemed heavy and difficult to bear, but soon, as they continued to carry the burden and to fold the wings over their hearts, the wings grew attached to their little bodies. They quickly discovered how to use them and were lifted by the wings high into the air. The weights had become wings.

This is a parable for us. We are the wingless birds, and our duties and tasks are the wings God uses to lift us up and carry us heavenward. We look at our burdens and heavy loads, and try to run from them, but if we will carry them and tie them to our hearts, they will become wings. And on them we can then rise and soar toward God.

The heavy burdens when lifted cheerfully with love in our hearts will surely become a blessing to us. God intends for our tasks to be our helpers; to refuse to bend our shoulders to carry a load is to miss the new opportunity for growth. No matter how overwhelming, any burden God has lovingly placed with His own hands on our shoulders is a blessing.

A Touching Incident

A rich businessman in a town had signs printed and placed all over the town. They stated that if any person in the town who owed debts, would come to his office on a certain day between nine and twelve in the morning, he would pay those debts. Naturally, that promise was the talk of the town. But very few believed it. They thought there was a catch somewhere. The day came. The business man sat in his office at nine. Bu ten, no one had come. At eleven, a man was seen walking up and down outside, occasionally looking up at the office door. Finally he seemed to take courage and open it. He put his head in and asked, "Is it true that you will pay any person's debt?""That's right," the rich man replied. "Are you in debt?" "I certainly am," the caller answered. "Do you have along the bills and statements to proveit?" The visitor produced the documents and the business man wrote out a check covering all of them. Before twelve o'clock, two other men came and had their debts paid. People outside could not believe it. But now there was no time left to have their bills paid.

If people don't believe in the goodness of man, how can they believe in the goodness of God?

Sprinkle Joy

"Sprinkle joy," said Ralph Waldo Emerson. And at least one little creature seems to do just that.

There is a small bird in the northwest part of the United States called the ouzel, or the American Dipper. This unusual bird lives around fast rushing water, sometimes nesting behind water falls. It has been seen flying in and out of white water rapids of mountain rivers that crash and splash through steep and rocky canyons. It loves the violent, noisy, chaotic life of the rugged river environment.

And through it all, it sings! When rain falls in sheets, when wind blows in a violent fury, when other birds huddle in sheltered nooks against the rage of the storm, the dipper frolics in the tempest and blissfully sings.

Don't you love to be around people like that? People who don't wait for circumstances to change or for happy times to come before they laugh and sing? People who can be happy in the confusion and chaos of life?

These people do not expect life to make them happy. Nor do they spend time looking for joy - instead, they decide to give it away. Like that remarkable little bird, they can be found in the midst of life's turbulence, enthusiastic and hopeful.

These resilient people teach us an important lesson about survival. They show us that people who "sprinkle joy" grow stronger. Sprinkled joy immunizes them against despair during difficult and tumultuous times. They actually weather storms better because of a lifetime habit of approaching difficulties with a glad heart.

Love & Time

There was an island where all the feelings lived: Happiness, Sadness, Knowledge, and all of the others, including Love. One day it was announced to the feelings that the island would sink, so all constructed boats and left. Except for Love.

Love was the only one who stayed. Love wanted to hold out until the last possible moment.

When the island had almost sunk, Love decided to ask for help.

Richness was passing by Love in a grand boat. Love said,
"Richness, can you take me with you?"
Richness answered, "No, I can't. There is a lot of gold and silver in my boat. There is no place here for you."

Love decided to ask Vanity who was also passing by in a beautiful vessel. "Vanity, please help me!"
"I can't help you, Love. You are all wet and might damage my boat," Vanity answered.

Sadness was close by so Love asked, "Sadness, let me go with you."
"Oh . . . Love, I am so sad that I need to be by myself!"

Happiness passed by Love, too, but she was so happy that she did not even hear when Love called her.

Suddenly, there was a voice, "Come, Love, I will take you." It was an elder. So blessed and overjoyed, Love even forgot to ask the elder where they were going. When they arrived at dry land, the elder went her own way. Realizing how much was owed the elder,

Love asked Knowledge, another elder, "Who Helped me?"
"It was Time," Knowledge answered.
"Time?" asked Love. "But why did Time help me?"
Knowledge smiled with deep wisdom and answered, "Because only Time is capable of understanding how valuable Love is."

The Mouse, the Frog, and the Hawk

A Mouse who lived on the land, by an unlucky chance, formed an intimate acquaintance with a Frog, who lived, for the most part, in the water. One day, the Frog was intent on mischief. He tied the foot of the Mouse tightly to his own. Thus joined together, the Frog led his friend the Mouse to the meadow where they usually searched for food.

 After this, he gradually led him towards the pond in which he lived, until reaching the banks of the water, he suddenly jumped in, dragging the Mouse with him. The Frog enjoyed the water amazingly, and swam croaking about, as if he had done a good deed.

 The unhappy Mouse was soon sputtered and drowned in the water, and his poor dead body floating about on the surface. A Hawk observed the foating Mouse from the sky, and dove down and grabbed it with his talons, carrying it back to his nest.

 The Frog, being still fastened to the leg of the Mouse, was also carried off a prisoner, and was eaten by the Hawk.

Moral: "Choose your allies carefully"

The Touchstone

When the great library of Alexandria burned, the story goes, one book was saved. But it was not a valuable book; and so a poor man, who could read a little, bought it for a few coppers.

 The book wasn't very interesting, but between its pages there was something very interesting indeed. It was a thin strip of vellum on which was written the secret of the "Touchstone"!

 The touchstone was a small pebble that could turn any common metal into pure gold. The writing explained that it was lying among thousands and thousands of other pebbles that looked exactly like it. But the secret was this: The real stone would feel warm, while ordinary pebbles are cold.

 So the man sold his few belongings, bought some simple supplies, camped on the seashore, and began testing pebbles. He knew that if he picked up ordinary pebbles and threw them down again because they were cold, he might pick up the same pebble hundreds of times. So, when he felt one that was cold, he threw it into the sea. He spent a whole day doing this but none of them was the touchstone. Yet he went on and on this way. Pick up a pebble. Cold - throw it into the sea. Pick up another. Throw it into the sea.

 The days stretched into weeks and the weeks into months. One day, however, about mid afternoon, he picked up a pebble and it was warm. He threw it into the sea before he realized what he had done. He had formed such a strong habit of throwing each pebble into the sea that when the one he wanted came along, he still threw it away.

 So it is with opportunity. Unless we are vigilant, it's easy to fail to recognize an opportunity when it is in hand and it's just as easy to throw it away.

The Potter at Work

A potter was at making pots, he stepped on his pedal rhythmically, turning his "table" slowly. He took a lump of clay and in minutes, the lump of "clay" began to change form. His seasoned fingers shaped the clay into a "beautiful" vase (minus the colours )

On both sides of the potter were two shelves of "Finished" vases, some were long and slender, while some were short and stout, with most of them somewhere in between.

A young kid stepped out, and reached for one of the vases on left shelf. "Don't touch" shouted the potter, send the kid rearing backwards to the comforting arms of his mother.

"You can touch those on that shelf, as long you don't break it", as he pointed to the right shelf of vases.

At this point most of the "spectators" were getting their brains "fried", thinking what's the difference between the vases on the left and right shelf.

"Those have not gone through the "fire" yet" as he pointed to the vases on his left shelf. The potter explained to his audience the art of pottery. "There is more to making vases than "shaping" clay into beautiful shapes"

"If I don't use my fingers to "force" the lump of clay to "shape-up" and continued to "stretch" it and "pull" it up, this lump of "mud' will never see the daylight as a beautiful vase. "If they don't go through the "fire", they will be unable to "last".
"Those on the right shelf can be handled, because they had been "baked" in my oven at high temperatures." "The fire adds the final touch to their lasting beauty" concluded the potter.

Our life can be liken to a lump of "clay", just as it is, a lump. But no matter what, Life will definitely put her "skillful" "fingers" into work on this lump of "clay". The "Shape-up", "Stretching" and "Pull" process are kind of painful, but it is something you must go through in order to grow.

In life, I believe that we will have to go through the "Fire" (rejection, failure ). Yes, it is not going to be comfortable, it is not going to be easy, and sometimes how we wish that we could get out of that "oven" to avoid the "heat", but if we could just hold on to the view of the "Finished Vase", we will arrive there.

When Life is "Stretching", "Pulling", & "Burning" you, just bare in mind that it is transforming you, from a lump of "clay" to a beautiful "vase".