LOVE LETTERS FROM HEAVEN
Posted by: bigguyhereagain <bigguyhereagain@...>
following an automobile accident. Ours had been a long, happy
marriage, and his death left me deeply depressed. As time passed,
instead of being grateful for all the wonderful years we'd shared,
I became engulfed in self pity. Often I pray, "Lord, why didn't
you take me first?"
I felt more confined and alone than ever before. "If only George
were here," I despaired, "He would chase away the sadness with
words of wisdom and encouragement."
to visit. Unfortunately, she was leaving on a trip and couldn't
come. I understood, but as I hung up the phone, tears started to
flow. I moved to the window to sit in my favorite chair with Duke,
my beloved cat, curled up in my lap. "Dear God," I prayed, weeping,
"Please give me the strength to get through this hour."
in the bedroom, and with my leg in a cast, it would be too hard to
retrieve. Then I remembered my small travel Bible. Hadn't I seen it
on the living room bookshelf? I found it and opened it, surprised
to discover that it was George's old travel Bible instead of mine.
They looked alike, and I thought I'd given his Bible away.
a letter fell into my lap. Carefully I unfolded the yellowed pages.
It was a love letter from George. In it, he expressed his deep
affection for me. His words of comfort went straight to my lonely
heart.
In the back pages, I found more notes from George. According to the
date, he'd written these in the hospital prior to an early surgery.
He must have feared that he would not return home. After he recovered
from the surgery, the letter and notes were forgotten.
George's words of comfort were hidden and exactly when I'd need them
the most. Laughing some and crying some, I spent the rest of the
afternoon basking in the company of both my husband's letters and my
Lord. I never felt less alone, and now I knew for certain that I never
would be.
his successor. Instead of choosing one of his assistants or his children,
he decided to do something different. He called young people in the kingdom
together one day.
He said, "It is time for me to step down and choose the next emperor. I
have decided to choose one of you." The children were shocked, but the
emperor continued.
"I am going to give each one of you a seed today - one very special seed. I
want you to plant the seed, water it, and come back here one year from
today with what you have grown from this one seed. I will then judge the
plants that you bring, and the one I choose will be the next emperor."
One boy, named Ling, was there that day and he, like the others, received a
seed. He went home and excitedly, told his mother the story. She helped him
get a pot and planting soil, and he planted the seed and watered it,
carefully. Everyday, he would water it and watch to see if it had grown.
After about three weeks, some of the other youths began to talk about their
seeds and the plants that were beginning to grow. Ling kept checking his
seed, but nothing ever grew. Three weeks, four weeks, five weeks went by.
Still nothing. By now, others were talking about their plants, but Ling
didn't have a plant and he felt like a failure. Six months went by--still
nothing in Ling's pot.
He just knew he had killed his seed. Everyone else had trees and tall
plants, but he had nothing. Ling didn't say anything to his friends,
however. He just kept waiting for his seed to grow. A year finally went by
and all the youths of the kingdom brought their plants to the emperor for
inspection. Ling told his mother that he wasn't going to take an empty pot.
But his mother asked him to be honest about what happened. Ling felt sick
to his stomach, but he knew his mother was right. He took his empty pot to
the palace.
When Ling arrived, he was amazed at the variety of plants grown by the
other youths. They were beautiful--in all shapes and sizes. Ling put his
empty pot on the floor and many of the other children laughed at him. A few
felt sorry for him and just said, "Hey, nice try."
When the emperor arrived, he surveyed the room and greeted the young
people. Ling just tried to hide in the back. "My, what great plants, trees,
and flowers you have grown," said the emperor. "Today, one of you will be
appointed the next emperor!"
All of a sudden, the emperor spotted Ling at the back of the room with his
empty pot. He ordered his guards to bring him to the front. Ling was
terrified.
"The emperor knows I'm a failure! Maybe he will have me killed!"
When Ling got to the front, the Emperor asked his name.
"My name is Ling," he replied.
All the kids were laughing and making fun of him. The emperor asked
everyone to quiet down. He looked at Ling, and then announced to the crowd,
"Behold your new emperor! His name is Ling!"
Ling couldn't believe it. Ling couldn't even grow his seed. How could he be
the new emperor?
Then the emperor said, "One year ago today, I gave everyone here a seed. I
told you to take the seed, plant it, water it, and bring it back to me
today. But I gave you all boiled seeds that would not grow. All of you,
except Ling, have brought me trees and plants and flowers. When you found
that the seed would not grow, you substituted another seed for the one I
gave you. Ling was the only one with the courage and honesty to bring me a
pot with my seed in it. Therefore, he is the one who will be the new
emperor!"
If you plant honesty, you will reap trust. If you plant goodness, you will
reap friends. If you plant humility, you will reap greatness. If you plant
perseverance, you will reap victory. If you plant consideration, you will
reap harmony. If you plant hard work, you will reap success. If you plant
forgiveness, you will reap reconciliation. If you plant openness, you will
reap intimacy. If you plant patience, you will reap improvements. If you
plant faith, you will reap miracles. But if you plant dishonesty, you will
reap distrust. If you plant selfishness, you will reap loneliness. If you
plant pride, you will reap destruction. If you plant envy, you will reap
trouble. If you plant laziness, you will reap stagnation. If you plant
bitterness, you will reap isolation. If you plant greed, you will reap
loss. If you plant gossip, you will reap enemies. If you plant worries, you
will reap wrinkles. If you plant sin, you will reap guilt.
So, be careful what you plant, now; it will determine what you will reap
tomorrow. The seeds you now scatter will make life worse or better for you
or for the ones who will come after you. Yes, someday, you will enjoy the
fruits or you will pay for the choices you plant today.
Believe or not, it's up to you.
When the road you're trudging seems all uphill.
When the funds are low and the debts are high,
And you want to smile but you have to sigh.
When care is pressing you down a bit,
Rest! if you must - but never quit.
As every one of us sometimes learns.
And many a failure turns about
When he might have won if he'd stuck it out.
Stick to your task, though the pace seems slow -
You may succeed with just one more blow.
The silver tint of the clouds of doubt.
And you never can tell how close you are,
It may be near when it seems afar.
So stick to the fight when you're hardest hit -
It's when things seem worst that YOU MUST NOT QUIT!
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