Quote from Forum Archives on May 5, 2006, 12:09 pm

Posted by: bigguyhereagain <bigguyhereagain@...>

"The Gift"

 

 

A poor orphan girl named Maria
Was walking to market one day
She stopped for to rest by the roadside
Where a bird with a broken wing lay
A few moments passed till she saw it
For it's feathers were covered with sand
But soon clean and wrapped it was travelling
In the warmth of maria's small hand

 

She happily gave her last peso
On a cage made of rushes and twine
She fed it loose corn from the market
And watched it grow stronger with time

Now the christmas eve service was coming
And the church shone with tinsel and light
And all of the town folks brought presents
To lay by the manger that night
There were diamonds and incense
And perfumes
In packages fit for a king
But for one ragged bird in a small cage
Maria had nothing to bring

 

She waited till just before midnight
So no one would see her go in
And crying she knelt by the manger
For her gift was unworthy of him

 

Then a voice spoke to her through the darkness
Maria, what brings you to me
If the bird in the cage is your offering
Open the door and let me see
Though she trembled, she did as he asked her
And out of the cage the bird flew
Soaring up into the rafters
On a wing that had healed good as new

Just then the midnight bells rang out
And the little bird started to sing
A song that no words could recapture
Whose beauty was fit for a king

 

Now maria felt blessed just to listen
To that cascade of notes sweet and long
As her offerings was lifted to heaven
By the very first nightingale's song

 

"DON'T QUIT"

 

 

When things go wrong as they sometimes will,
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 down a bit,
Rest if you must, but don't you quit.

 

Life is queer with its twists and turns,
As everyone of us sometimes learns,
And many a failure turns about,
When he might have won had he stuck it out.
Don't give up though the pace seems slow,
You may succeed with another blow.

 

Often the goal is nearer than
It seems to a faint and faltering man.
Often the struggler has given up
When he might have captured the victor's cup.
And he learned too late when the night came down
How close he was to the golden crown.

 

Success is failure turned inside out.
The silver tint of the clouds of doubt.
And you can never tell how close you are,
It may be near when it seems so far.
So stick in the fight when you're hardest hit.
It's when things seem worse, that you must not quit.

 

Author Unknown

 

Have a Blessed Day
Dave and Barbara

 

 

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