My blog

Hi a few months ago I wrote an article to Baha'i Canada about my blog and what I wrote is my inspiration is about doing this blog and I asked them if they could write something about my blog and they did.

We day

I just went to We day and I heard and learned many amazing things. I saw some famous people like martin sheen and shawn desmond. Then I heard that 1,000,000,000 people live without clean water and if you donate 2,500 penny's that will supply clean water for someone. Why pennies because in Canada the government stopped making penny's so that means that there worthless to us but not the 1,000,000,000 people without clean water. So if you can find penny's under your couch or anywhere donate.This is one thing I learned about we day  I will tell you many more later on.

The Rock of Faith

The Rock of Faith

A man was sleeping at night in his cabin when suddenly he heard a Voice that trembled like the thunder. It was God’s voice and He told the man He had work for him to do. He showed the man a large rock in front of his cabin. God explained that the man was to push against the rock with all his might. This the man did, day after day. For many years he toiled from sun up to sun down, his shoulders set squarely against the cold, massive surface of the unmoving rock, pushing with all his might. 

Each night the man returned to his cabin sore and worn out, feeling that his whole day had been spent in vain. Seeing that the man was showing signs of discouragement, Satan decided to enter the picture by placing thoughts into the man’s weary mind:

            “You have been pushing against that rock for a long time, and it hasn’t budged. Why kill yourself over this? You are never going to move it.”

Thus he gave the man the impression that the task was impossible and that he was a failure. These thoughts discouraged and disheartened the man.

“Why kill myself over this?” the man thought. “I’ll just put in my time, giving just the minimum effort and that will be good enough.”

And that was his plan, until one day he decided to make it a matter of prayer and take his troubled thoughts to God.

“God”, he said, “I have labored long and hard in Your service, putting all my strength to do that which You have asked, yet all this time, I have not even budged that rock by half a millimeter. What is wrong? Why am I failing?”

God responded compassionately.

“My friend, when I asked you to serve Me and you accepted, I told you that your task was to push against the rock with all your strength, which you have done. Never once did I mention to you that I expected you to move it. Your task was to push. And now you come to Me, with your strength spent, thinking that you have failed. But, is that really so? Look at yourself. Your arms are strong and muscled, your back sinewed and brown, your hands are callused from constant pressure, and your legs have become massive and hard. Through opposition you have grown much, and your abilities now surpass that which you used to have. Yet you haven’t moved the rock.

But your calling was to be obedient and to push, and to exercise your faith and trust in My Wisdom.

 This you have done. I, My friend, will now move the rock!”

 

Heart to heart encouragement

Heart to Heart Encouragement

Jean Thompson stood in front of her fifth-grade class on the very first day of school in the Fall and told the children a lie. Like most teachers, she looked at her pupils and said that she loved them all the same, that she would treat them all alike. But that was really impossible because there in front of her, slumped in his seat on the third row, was a boy named Teddy Stoddard.

Mrs. Thompson had watched Teddy the year before and noticed he didn’t play well with the other children, that his clothes were unkempt and that he constantly needed a bath. And Teddy was unpleasant. It got to the point during the first few months that she would actually take delight in marking his papers with a broad red pen, making bold X’s and then marking the F at the top of the paper biggest of all. Because Teddy was a sullen little boy, no one else seemed to enjoy him either.

At the school were Mrs. Thompson taught, she was required to review each child’s records and she put Teddy’s off until last.  When she opened his file, she was in for a surprise. His first-grade teacher wrote, “Teddy is a bright, inquisitive child with a ready laugh. He does his work neatly and has good manners….he is a joy to be around.” His second-grade teacher wrote, “Teddy is an excellent student well-liked by his classmates, but he is troubled because his mother has a terminal illness and life at home must be a struggle.” His third-grade teacher wrote, “Teddy continues to work hard, but his mother’s death has been hard on him. He tries to do his best but his father doesn’t show much interest and his home life will soon affect him if some steps aren’t taken.” Teddy’s fourth-grade teacher wrote, “Teddy is withdrawn and doesn’t show much interest in school. He doesn’t have many friends and sometimes sleeps in class. He is tardy and could become a problem.”

By now Mrs. Thompson realized the problem, but Christmas was coming fast. It was all she could do, with the school play and all, until the day before the holidays began and she was suddenly forced to focus on Teddy Stoddard. Her children brought her presents, all in  ribbon and bright paper, except for Teddy’s, which was clumsily wrapped in the heavy, brown paper of a scissored grocery bag. Mrs. Thompson took pains to open it in the middle of the other presents. Some of the children started to laugh when she found a rhinestone bracelet with some of the stones missing, and a bottle that was one-quarter full of cologne. She stifled the children’s laughter when she exclaimed how pretty the bracelet was, putting it on, and dabbing some of the perfume behind the other wrist. Teddy Stoddard stayed behind just long enough to say, “Mrs. Thompson, oh Mrs. Thompson, you smell just like my mother.”

After the children left she cried for at least an hour. On that very day, she quit teaching reading and writing and speaking. Instead, she began to teach children. Jean Thompson paid particular attention to one they all called “Teddy”. As she worked with him, his mind seemed to come alive. The more she encouraged him, the faster he responded. On days there would be an important test, Mrs. Thompson would remember that cologne. By the end of the year he had become one of the smartest children in the class and….well, he had also become the “pet” of the teacher who had once vowed to love all of her children exactly the same.

A year later she found a note under her door, from Teddy, telling her that of all the teachers he’d had in elementary school, she was his favorite. Six years went by before she got another note from Teddy. He then wrote that he had finished high school, third in his class, and she was still his favorite teacher of all time. Four years after that, she got another letter, saying that while things had been tough at times, he’d stayed in school, had stuck with it, and would graduate from college with the highest of honors. He assured Mrs. Thompson she was still his favorite teacher. Then four more years passed and yet another letter came. This time he explained that after he got his bachelor’s degree, he decided to go a little further. The letter explained that she was still his favorite teacher but that now his name was a little longer. The letter was signed, Theodore F. Stoddard, M.D.

The story doesn’t end there. You see, there was yet another letter that Spring. Teddy said he’d met this girl and was to be married. He explained that his father had died a couple of years ago and he was wondering…well, if Mrs. Thompson might agree to sit in the pew usually reserved for the mother of the groom.

We Day

Hi I got an opportunity  at school to go to this fundraiser call We day. We day started when this 12 year old boy named Craig and he started something that changed the thoughts of a lot of people. There will be 20,000 youth going to see this on November 14 2012 their logo is Me to We. That means that how we can all stop thinking about ourselves and change the lives and thoughts of others. Like Craig he is the best example and someone we can all look to. All he had to do was turn off the TV and get off that couch and change the whole world. I am so excited to go I will tell you all about it.

A Story of Encouragement

A Story of Encouragement-

A group of frogs were traveling through the woods, and two of them fell into a deep pit. All the other frogs gathered around the pit. When they saw how deep the pit was, they told the two frogs that they were as good as dead.

The two frogs ignored the comments and tried to jump up out of the pit with all of their might. The other frogs kept telling them to stop, that they were as good as dead.

Finally one of the frogs took heed to what the other frogs were saying and gave up! He fell down and died. The other frog continued to jump as hard as he could. Once again, the crowd of frogs yelled at him to stop the pain and just die. He jumped even harder and finally made it out.

When he got out, the other frogs said, “Did you not hear us?” The frog explained to them that he was deaf. He thought they were encouraging him the entire time.

 

hidden words

O YE SONS OF SPIRIT!
Ye are My treasury, for in you I have treasured the pearls of My mysteries and the gems of My knowledge. Guard them from the strangers amidst My servants and from the ungodly amongst My people.

Racial Prejudice speech

 I found this speech about racial prejudice I hope you like it.

Racial prejudice is most challenging issue. The oneness of humanity Is the central teaching of the Baha’i Faith and the goal of human existence on this planet. To reach this goal, we will have to make many changes in our society. Our peace and prosperity depend on it. If we don’t change, we will face many dangers. The key is fellowship between black and white. Both are responsible. Education is the fastest way to achieve this goal. We offer the example of the Baha’i community as a model.

Baha’is believe that the oneness of mankind is necessary for a peaceful world. In fact, the Baha’I Faith revolves around race unity it is our main purpose of being on earth.the responsibility for race unity rests on both black and white eliminating their prejudice and trying to be unified.

 

How my trip was

On the weekend I was at a campus called Louhelen and I learned a lot there. I learned a lot about the bahai teachings and the tablet of the Divine plan and why we use it.

Dreams

DREAMS

The first day of school, our professor introduced himself and challenged us to get to know someone we didn't already know. I stood up to look around when a gentle hand touched my shoulder. I turned around to find a wrinkled, little old lady beaming up at me with a smile that lit up her entire being. She said, "Hi handsome. My name is Rose. I'm eighty-seven years old. Can I give you a hug?" I laughed and enthusiastically responded, "Of course you may!" and she gave me a giant squeeze.

"Why are you in college at such a young, innocent age?" I asked. She jokingly replied, "I'm here to meet a rich husband, get married, have a couple of kids." "No seriously," I asked. I was curious what may have motivated her to be taking on this challenge at her age. " I always dreamed of having a college education and now I'm getting one!" she told me.

After class we walked to the student union building and shared a chocolate milkshake. We became instant friends. Every day for the next three months we would leave class together and talk non-stop. I was always mesmerized listening to this "time machine" as she shared her wisdom and experience with me.

Over the course of the year, Rose became a campus icon and she easily made friends wherever she went. She loved to dress up and she reveled in the attention bestowed upon her from the other students. She was living it up.

At the end of the semester we invited Rose to speak at our football banquet. I'll never forget what she taught us. She was introduced and stepped up to the podium. As she began to deliver her prepared speech, she dropped her three by five cards on the floor. Frustrated and a little embarrassed she leaned into the microphone and simply said, "I'm sorry I'm so jittery. I gave up beer for Lent and this whiskey is killing me! I'll never get my speech back in order so let me just tell you what I know."

As we laughed she cleared her throat and began, "We do not stop playing because we are old; we grow old because we stop playing. There are only four secrets to staying young, being happy, and achieving success. You have to laugh and find humor every day. You've got to have a dream. When you lose your dreams, you die. We have so many people walking around who are dead and don't even know it!

There is a huge difference between growing older and growing up. If you are nineteen years old and lie in bed for one full year and don't do one productive thing, you will turn twenty years old. If I am eighty-seven years old and stay in bed for a year and never do anything I will turn eighty-eight. Anybody can grow older. That doesn't take any talent or ability. The idea is to grow up by always finding the opportunity in change. Have no regrets. The elderly usually don't have regrets for what we did, but rather for things we did not do. The only people who fear death are those with regrets." She concluded her speech by courageously singing "The Rose." She challenged each of us to study the lyrics and live them out in our daily lives.

At the year's end Rose finished the college degree she had begun all those years ago. One week after graduation Rose died peacefully in her sleep. Over two thousand college students attended her funeral in tribute to the wonderful woman who taught by example that it's never too late to be all you can possibly be.

These words have been passed along in loving memory of ROSE.

 REMEMBER, GROWING OLDER IS MANDATORY. GROWING UP IS OPTIONAL.

Attitude is everything

Attitude is Everything

Jerry was the kind of guy you love to hate. He was always in a good mood and always had something positive to say. When someone would ask him how he was doing, he would reply, “If I were any better, I would be twins!”

He was a unique manager because he had several waiters who had followed him around from restaurant to restaurant. The reason the waiters followed Jerry was because of his attitude. He was a natural motivator. If an employee was having a bad day, Jerry was there telling the employee how to look on the positive side of the situation.

Seeing this style really made me curious, so one day I went up to Jerry and asked him, “I don’t get it! You can’t be a positive person all of the time. How do you do it?”

Jerry replied, “Each morning I wake up and say to myself, “Jerry, you have two choices today. You can choose to be in a good mood or you can choose to be in a bad mood.”  I choose to be in a good mood. Each time something bad happens, I can choose to be a victim or I can choose to learn from it. I choose to learn from it. Every time someone comes to me complaining, I can choose to accept their complaining or I can point out the positive side of life. I choose the positive side of life.”

“Yeah, right, it’s not that easy,” I protested.

“Yes it is,” Jerry said. “Life is all abou choices. When you cut away all the junk, every situraiton is a choice. You choose how you react to situations. You choodse how people will affect your mood. You choose to be in a good mood or bad mood. The bottom line: “It’s your choice how you live life.”

I reflected on what Jerry said. Soon thereafter, I left the restaurant industry to start my own business. We lost touch, but often thought about him when I made a choice about life instead of reacting to it. Several years later, I heard that Jerry did something you are never supposed to do in a restaurant business: he left the back door open one morning and was held up at gunpoint by three armed robbers. While trying to open the safe, his hand, shaking from nervousness, slipped off the combination. The robbers panicked and shot him. Luckily, Jerry was found relatively quickly and rushed to the local trauma center. After 18 hours of surgery and weeks of intensive care, Jerry was released from the hospital with fragments of the bullets still in his body. I saw Jerry about six months after the accident.

When I asked him how he was, he replied, “If I were any better, I’d be twins. Wanna see may scars?”

I declined to see his wounds, but did ask him what had gone through his mind as the robbery took place.

The first thing that went through my mind was that I should have locked the back door,” Jerry replied. “Then, as I lay on the floor, I remembered that I had two choices: I could choose to live, or I could choose to die. I chose to live.

“Weren’t you scared? Did you lose consciousness?” I asked.

Jerry continued, “The paramedics were great. They kept telling me I was going to be fine. But when they wheeled me into the emergency room and I saw the expressions on the faces of the doctors and nurses, I got really scared. In their eyes, I read, “He’s a dead man.” I knew I needed to take action.”

“What did you do?” I asked,

“Well, there was a big burly nurse shouting questions at me,” said Jerry. “She asked if I was allergic to anything. “Yes,” I replied. The doctors and nurses stopped working as they waited for my reply…. I took a deep breath and yelled, “Bullets!” Over their laughter, I told them, “I am choosing to live. Operate on me as if I am alive, not dead”.

Jerry lived thanks to the skill of his doctors, but also because of his amazing attitude. I learned from him that every day we have the choice to live fully. Attitude, after all, is everything.

How my junior youth was/Hidden Words

O SON OF BEING!

Thy heart is My home; sanctify it for My descent. Thy spirit is My place of revelation; cleanse it for My manifestation.

Today is not my usual day for my junior  youth class but today I tried out another class and see what they teach and how they get kids to join. It was a good experience I enjoyed it a lot. 

Hidden Words

O SON OF MAN!
Bestow My wealth upon My poor, that in heaven thou mayest draw from stores of unfading splendor and treasures of imperishable glory. But by My life! To offer up thy soul is a more glorious thing couldst thou but see with Mine eye.

Hidden Words

  Today I was looking at another Hidden Words and I found this one and it really made me think like the last Hidden Words I posted.



O SON OF MAN!

Thou dost wish for gold and I desire thy freedom from it. Thou thinkest thyself rich in its possession, and I recognize thy wealth in thy sanctity  therefrom. By My life! This is My knowledge, and that is thy fancy; how can My way accord with thine?

 P.S: After you read this read it again go through the prayer slowly and think more about the words that are put in there.

She was 92 Years Old

She is 92 years old, petite, well poised, and proud. She is fully dressed each morning by eight o'clock, with her hair fashionably coifed, and her makeup perfectly applied, in spite of the fact she is legally blind.

Today she has moved to a nursing home. Her husband of 70 years recently passed away, making this move necessary. After many hours of waiting patiently in the lobby of the nursing home, where I am employed, she smiled sweetly when told her room was ready. As she maneuvered her walker to the elevator, I provided a visual description of her tiny room, including the eyelet curtains that had been hung on her window.

"I love it," she stated with the enthusiasm of an eight-year-old having just been presented with a new puppy. "Mrs. Jones, you haven't seen the room...just wait," I said. Then she spoke these words that I will never forget: "That does not have anything to do with it," she gently replied. "Happiness is something you decide on ahead of time. Whether I like my room or not, does not depend on how the furniture is arranged. It is how I arrange my mind. I have already decided to love it. It is a decision I make every morning when I wake up. I have a choice. I can spend the day in bed recounting the difficulty I have with the parts of my body that no longer work, or I can get out of bed and be thankful for the ones that do work. Each day is a gift, and as long as my eyes open, I will focus on the new day and all of the happy memories I have put away...just for this time in my life. Old age is like a bank account. You withdraw from what you have already put in."

I believe - that our background and circumstances may have influenced who we are, but we are responsible for what we become.

I believe - that no matter how good a friend is, they're going to hurt you every once in a while and you must forgive them for that.

I believe - that just because someone doesn't love you the way you want them to doesn't mean they don't love you with all they have.

I believe - that true friendship continues to grow, even over the longest distance. Same goes for true love.

I believe - that it's taking me a long time to become the person I want to be.

I believe - that you should always leave loved ones with loving words. It may be the last time you see them.

I believe - that you can keep going, long after you think you can't.

I believe - that we are responsible for what we do, no matter how we feel.

I believe - that either you control your attitude or it controls you.

I believe - that heroes are the people who do what has to be done when it needs to be done, regardless of the consequences.

I believe - that money is a lousy way of keeping score.

I believe - that my best friend and I can do anything or nothing and have the best time.

I believe -that sometimes the people you expect to kick you when you're down, will be the ones to help you get back up.

I believe -that sometimes when I'm angry I have the right to be angry, but that doesn't give me the right to be cruel.

I believe -that maturity has more to do with what types of experiences you've had and what you've learned from them and less to do with how many birthdays you've celebrated.

I believe - that it isn't always enough to be forgiven by others. Sometimes you have to learn to forgive yourself.

I believe - that no matter how bad your heart is broken the world doesn't stop for your grief.

I believe - that just because two people argue, it doesn't mean they don't love each other. And just because they don't argue, it doesn't mean they do.

I believe - that you shouldn't be so eager to find out a secret. It could change your life forever.

I believe - that two people can look at the exact same thing and see something totally different.

I believe - that your life can be changed in a matter of hours by people who don't even know you.

I believe - that even when you think you have no more to give, when a friend cries out to you, you will find the strength to help.

I believe - that credentials on the wall do not make you a decent human being.

I believe - that the people you care about most in life are taken from you to

...

Hidden Words

A few days ago I was saying my prayers and I came across this prayer saying: O SON OF BEING! Busy not thyself with this world, for with fire We test the gold, and with gold We test Our servants.                              
That prayer really taught me something.

Blessing of thorns

The Blessing Of Thorns

 

  Sandra felt as low as the heels of her shoes as she pushed against a November gust and the florist shop door. Her life had been easy, like a spring breeze. Then in the fourth month of her second pregnancy, a minor automobile accident stole her ease.

 

  During this Thanksgiving week she would have delivered a son.   She grieved over her loss. As if that weren't enough, her husband's company threatened a transfer. Then her sister, whose annual holiday visit she coveted, called saying she could not come.

 

  What's worse, Sandra's friend infuriated her by suggesting her grief was a God-given path to maturity that would allow her to empathize with others who suffer. "She has no idea what I'm feeling," thought Sandra with a shudder.

 

  "Thanksgiving? Thankful for what?" she wondered aloud. For a careless driver whose truck was hardly scratched when he rear- ended her? For an airbag that saved her life but took that of her child?

 

  "Good afternoon, can I help you?"

 

  The shop clerk's approach startled her.

 

  "I....I need an arrangement, "stammered Sandra.  "For Thanksgiving?

 

  Do you want beautiful but ordinary, or would you like to challenge the day with a customer favorite I call the Thanksgiving Special?" asked the shop clerk.  "I'm convinced that flowers tell stories," she continued. Are you looking for something that conveys 'gratitude' this Thanksgiving?

 

  "Not exactly!" Sandra blurted out. "In the last five months, everything that could go wrong has gone wrong. " Sandra regretted her outburst, and was surprised when the shop clerk said, "I have the perfect arrangement for you."

 

  Then the door's small bell rang, and the shop clerk said, "Hi Barbara...let me get your order." She politely excused herself and walked toward a small workroom, then quickly reappeared, carrying an arrangement of greenery, bows, and long-stemmed thorny roses.  Except the ends of the rose stems were neatly snipped...there were no flowers.

 

  "Want this in a box?" asked the clerk.

 

  Sandra watched for the customer's response. Was this a joke? Who would want rose stems with no flowers!?! She waited for laughter, but neither woman laughed. "Yes, please," Barbara replied with an appreciative smile.

 

  "You'd think after three years of getting the special, I wouldn't be so moved by its significance, but I can feel it right here, all over again," she said as she gently tapped her chest.

 

  "Uhh," stammered Sandra, "that lady just left with, uhh... she just left with no flowers!"

 

  "Right...I cut off the flowers. That's the Special... I call it the Thanksgiving Thorns Bouquet.

 

  "Oh, come on, you can't tell me someone is willing to pay for that?" exclaimed Sandra.

 

  "Barbara came into the shop three years ago feeling very much like you feel today," explained the clerk. "She thought she had very little to be thankful for. She had lost her father to cancer, the family business was failing, her son was into drugs, and she was facing major surgery."

 

  "That same year I had lost my husband, "continued the clerk," and for the first time in my life, I had to spend the holidays alone. I had no children, no husband, no family nearby, and too great a debt to allow any travel.

   

  "So what did you do?" asked Sandra. "I learned to be thankful for thorns," answered the clerk quietly. "I've always thanked God for good things in life and never thought to ask Him why those good things happened to me, but when bad stuff hit, did I ever ask! It took time for me to learn that dark times are important.

 

  I always enjoyed the 'flowers' of life, but it took thorns to show me the beauty of God's comfort. You know, the Bible says that God comforts us when we're afflicted, and from His consolation we learn to comfort others.

 

  "Sandra sucked in her breath as she thought about the very thing her friend had tried to tell her. "I guess the truth is I don't want comfort. I've lost a baby and I'm angry with God."

 

  Just then someone else walked in the shop.

  "Hey, Phil!" shouted the clerk to the balding, rotund man.

 

  "My wife sent me in to get our usual Thanksgiving arrangement ..twelve thorny, long-stemmed stems!" laughed Phil as the clerk handed him a tissue-wrapped arrangement from the refrigerator.

 

  "Those are for your wife?" asked Sandra incredulously. "Do you mind me asking why she wants something that looks like that?

 

  "No...I'm glad you asked," Phil replied. "Four years ago my wife and I nearly divorced. After forty years, we were in a real mess, but with the Lord's grace and guidance, we slogged through problem after problem.  He rescued our marriage. Jenny here (the clerk) told me she kept a vase of rose stems to remind her of what she learned from "thorny" times, and that was good enough for me. I took home some of those stems. My wife and I decided to label each one for a specific "problem" and give thanks to Him for what that problem taught us."

 

  As Phil paid the clerk, he said to Sandra, "I highly recommend the Special!"

 

  "I don't know if I can be thankful for the thorns in my life."  Sandra said to the clerk. "It's all too... fresh."

 

  "Well," the clerk replied carefully, "my experience has shown me that thorns make roses more precious. We treasure God's providential care more during trouble than at any other time. Remember, it was a crown of thorns that Jesus wore so we might know His love. Don't resent the thorns."

 

  Tears rolled down Sandra's cheeks. For the first time since the accident, she loosened her grip on resentment. "I'll take those twelve long-stemmed thorns, please," she managed to choke out.

 

  "I hoped you would," said the clerk gently. "I'll have them ready in a minute."

 

  "Thank you. What do I owe you?" asked Sandra.

 

  "Nothing." said the clerk.

 

  "Nothing but a promise to allow God to heal your heart. The first year's arrangement is always on me. "The clerk smiled and handed a card to Sandra.

 

  "I'll attach this card to your arrangement, but maybe you'd like to read it first."

 

  It read:  

  "Dear God, I have never thanked you for my thorns. I have

  thanked you a thousand times for my roses, but never once for my

  thorns. Teach me the glory of the cross I bear; teach me the

  value of my thorns. Show me that I have climbed closer to you

  along the path of pain.  

  Show me that, through my tears, the colors of your rainbow look

  much more brilliant."

 

  ~Author Unknown~

The Quilt

          As I faced my Maker at the last judgment, I knelt before the Lord along with all the other souls.

       

        Before each of us laid our lives like the squares of a quilt in many piles. An Angel sat before each of us sewing our quilt squares together into a tapestry that showed the pattern of our life.

       

        As my angel took each piece of cloth off the pile, I noticed how ragged and empty each of my squares was.  They were filled with giant holes. Each square was labeled with a part of my life that had been difficult, the challenges and temptations I was faced with in everyday life. I saw the pain and difficulties that I endured, which were the largest holes of all.

       

        I glanced around me. Not everyone had such squares. Other than a tiny hole here and there, some other quilts were thick tapestries filled with rich color and the bright hues of worldly success.

        I gazed upon the contrast of my own threadbare life. My angel was sewing these ragged pieces of cloth together, threadbare and empty, like binding air.

       

        Finally the time came when each life was to be displayed, held up to the light, the scrutiny of truth.  The others rose, each in turn, holding up their tapestries. So filled their lives had been. My angel looked upon me, and nodded for me to rise.

       

        My gaze dropped to the ground in shame. I hadn't had earthly achievement. I had love in my life, and laughter. But there had also been trials of illness, and

death, false accusations, vain imaginings, idle fancies, the constant battle with

my insistent self. I had to start over many times. I often struggled with the temptation to quit, only to be given the strength to pick up and begin again.

 I spent many nights on my knees in prayer, asking for help and guidance in my life. Most days were lived with continual pleas for assistance.

       

        And now, I had to face the truth. My life was what it was, and I had to accept it for what it was.

       

        I rose and slowly lifted the combined squares of my life to the light. An awe-filled gasp filled the air. As I looked upon the tapestry before me, light

flooded the many holes, creating an image:  the Face of God.

Our Lord stood before me, with warmth and love in His eyes. He said, "Every time you gave over your life to Me, it became My life, My hardships, and My struggles. Each point of light in your life is when you stepped aside and let Me shine through, until there was more of Me than there was of you."

       

        May all our quilts be threadbare and worn, allowing the light of

God to shine through.

“Set before thine eyes God's unerring Balance and, as one standing in His

Presence, weigh in that Balance thine actions every day, every moment of thy life. Bring thyself to account ere thou art summoned to a reckoning, on the Day when no man shall have strength to stand for fear of God, the Day when the hearts of the heedless ones shall be made to tremble.”

                        Bahá'u'lláh

                        Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah, p.236

“Behold how the sun shines upon all creation, but only surfaces that are pure

and polished can reflect its glory and light. The darkened soul has no portion of the revelation of the glorious effulgence of reality; and the soil of self, unable to take advantage of that light, does not produce growth.”

`Abdu'l-Bahá

                        The Promulgation of Universal Peace, p. 148

“O Lord my God! Assist Thy loved ones to be firm in Thy Faith, to walk in Thy ways, to be steadfast in Thy Cause. Give them Thy grace to withstand the onslaught of self and passion, to follow the light of divine guidance.”

`Abdu'l-Bahá

The tea cup

The Tea Cup

There was a couple who used to go to England to shop in a beautiful antique store. This trip was to celebrate their 25th wedding anniversary. They both liked antiques and pottery, and especially tea-cups.  Spotting an exceptional cup, they asked "May we see that? We've never seen a cup quite so beautiful."

As the lady handed it to them and suddenly the tea-cup spoke, "You don't understand." It said, "I have not always been a tea-cup. There was a time when I was just a lump of red clay. My master took me and rolled me pounded and patted me over and over and I yelled out, Don't do that. I don't like it!  "Let me alone," but he only smiled, and gently said; "Not yet!!"

"Then, WHAM! I was placed on a spinning wheel and suddenly I was spun around and around and around. 'Stop it ! I'm getting so dizzy! I'm going to be sick!' I screamed. But the master only nodded and said, quietly; 'Not yet.' He spun me and poked and prodded and bent me out of shape to suit himself and then......

Then he put me in the oven. I never felt such heat.  I yelled and knocked and pounded at the door. " Help! Get me out of here!" I could see him through the opening and I could read his lips as he shook his head from side to side, 'Not yet'.

"When I thought I couldn't bear it another minute, the door opened. He carefully took me out and put me on the shelf, and I began to cool. Oh, that felt so good! "Ah, this is much better," I thought. 

But, after I cooled he picked me up and he brushed and painted me all over. The fumes were horrible. I thought I would gag. 'Oh, please; Stop it, Stop it!!' I cried. He only shook his head and said. 'Not yet!'

Then suddenly he put me back in to the oven. Only it was not like the first one. This was twice as hot and I just knew I would suffocate. I begged. I pleaded. I screamed. I cried. I was convinced I would never make it. I was ready to give up. Just then the door opened and he took me out and again placed me on the shelf, where I cooled and waited ------- and waited, wondering _What's he going to do to me next?_

An hour later he handed me a mirror and said 'Look at yourself.' And I did.

I said, 'That's not me; that couldn't be me. It's beautiful. I'm beautiful!"'

Quietly he spoke: "I want you to remember, then,' he said, 'I know it hurt to be rolled and pounded and patted, but had I just left you alone, you'd have dried up.

I know it made you dizzy to spin around on the wheel, but if I had stopped, you would have crumbled.

I know it hurt and it was hot and disagreeable in the oven, but if I hadn't put you there, you would have cracked.

I know the fumes were bad when I brushed and painted you all over, but if I hadn't done that, you never would have hardened. You would not have had any color in your life. If I hadn't put you back in that second oven, you wouldn't have survived for long because the hardness would not have held.

Now you are a finished product. Now you are what I had in mind when I first began with

you."

The moral of this story is this:

God knows what He's doing [for each of us ]. He is the potter, and we are His clay. He will mould us and make us, and expose us to just enough pressures of just the right kinds that we may be made into a flawless piece of work to fulfill His good, pleasing and perfect will.

So when life seems hard, and you are being pounded and patted and pushed almost beyond endurance; when your world seems to be spinning out of control; when you feel like you are in a fiery furnace of trials; when life seems to "stink", try this.... Brew a cup of your favorite tea in your prettiest tea cup, sit down and think on this story and then, have a little talk with the Potter.