THE LOVE FILE
Posted by: bigguyhereagain <bigguyhereagain@...>
After eighteen months in the ministry, a pastor went to his
file cabinet to pull out the "Love" file. He discovered he
didn't have one. Impossible! It must be misfiled. He searched
among Faith and Fasting, between Healing and Heaven. Perhaps
it was sandwiched by Christology and Christian Ed. After all,
these have to do with Love don't they? But it wasn't there,
nor was it found after Money or ahead of Missions.
When he stopped to reflect, the Holy Spirit solved the
mystery. The Love file was scattered, yet not misfiled.
Parts of it were found under Patience, Kindness, Humility,
Trust, Hope, Loyalty, and Perseverance. But the pastor
found the greatest part of the Love file, squarely-centered
and deeply-seated, in Forgiveness.
A little boy was spending his Saturday morning playing in his
sandbox.
He had with him his box of cars and trucks, his plastic pail, and a
shiny, red plastic shovel. In the process of creating roads and
tunnels in the soft sand, he discovered a large rock in the middle
of the sandbox. The lad dug around the rock, managing to dislodge it
from the dirt. With no little
bit of struggle, he pushed and nudged the rock across the sandbox by
using his feet. (He was a very small boy and the rock was very huge.)
When the boy got the rock to the edge of the sandbox, however, he
found that he couldn't roll it up and over the little wall.
Determined, the little boy shoved, pushed, and pried, but every time
he thought
he had made some progress, the rock tipped and then fell back into
the sandbox.
The little boy grunted, struggled, pushed, shoved -- but his only
reward was to have the rock roll back, smashing his chubby fingers.
Finally he burst into tears of frustration.
All this time the boy's father watched from his living room window
as the drama unfolded. At the moment the tears fell, a large shadow
fell across the boy and the sandbox. It was the boy's father. Gently
but
firmly he said, "Son, why didn't you use all the strength that you
had available?"
Defeated, the boy sobbed back, "But I did, Daddy, I did! I used all
the strength that I had!"
"No, son," corrected the father kindly. "You didn't use all the
strength you had. You didn't ask me."
With that the father reached down, picked up the rock, and removed
it from the sandbox.
A laugh is just like sunshine
it freshens all the day.
It tips the peak of life with light,
and drives the clouds away.
The soul grows glad that hears it,
and feels its courage strong.
A laugh is just like sunshine
for cheering folks along.
A laugh is just like music
it lingers in the heart,
And where its melody is heard,
the ills of life depart...
Happy thoughts come crowding...
it's joyful notes to greet.
A laugh is just like music
for making living sweet.
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