The important things in life

A philosophy professor stood before his class with some items on the table in front of him. When the class began, wordlessly he picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with rocks, about 2 inches in diameter.

He then asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed that it was.

So the professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles, of course, rolled into the open areas between the rocks.

He then asked the students again if the jar was full. They agreed it was.

The professor picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else.
He then asked once more if the jar was full. The students responded with a unanimous “Yes.”

“Now,” said the professor, “I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life. The rocks are the important things – your family, your partner, your health, your children – things that if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full.

The pebbles are the other things that matter – like your job, your house, your car.

The sand is everything else. The small stuff.”

“If you put the sand into the jar first,” he continued “there is no room for the pebbles or the rocks. The same goes for your life.

If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff, you will never have room for the things that are important to you. Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness. Play with your children. Take your partner out dancing. There will always be time to go to work, clean the house, give a dinner party and fix the disposal.

Take care of the rocks first – the things that really matter. Set your priorities. The rest is just sand.”

The Butterfly

A man found a cocoon of a butterfly. One day a small opening appeared. He sat and watched the butterfly for several hours as it struggled to force its body through that little hole. Then it seemed to stop making any progress. It appeared as if it had gotten as far as it could, and it could go no further.
So the man decided to help the butterfly. He took a pair of scissors and snipped off the remaining bit of the cocoon.
The butterfly then emerged easily. But it had a swollen body and small, shriveled wings.
The man continued to watch the butterfly because he expected that, at any moment, the wings would enlarge and expand to be able to support the body, which would contract in time.
Neither happened! In fact, the butterfly spent the rest of its life crawling around with a swollen body and shriveled wings. It never was able to fly.
What the man, in his kindness and haste, did not understand was that the restricting cocoon and the struggle required for the butterfly to get through the tiny opening were God's way of forcing fluid from the body of the butterfly into its wings so that it would be ready for flight once it achieved its freedom from the cocoon.

Sometimes struggles are exactly what we need in our lives. If God allowed us to go through our lives without any obstacles, it would cripple us.

We would not be as strong as what we could have been. We could never fly!

I asked for Strength.........
And God gave me Difficulties to make me strong.
I asked for Wisdom.........
And God gave me Problems to solve.
I asked for Prosperity.........
And God gave me Brain and Brawn to work.
I asked for Courage.........
And God gave me Danger to overcome.
I asked for Love.........
And God gave me Troubled people to help.
I asked for Favors.........
And God gave me Opportunities.
I received nothing I wanted ........
I received everything I needed!

The unexpected one's

A young man was getting ready to graduate college. For
     many months he had admired a beautiful sports car in a dealer's
     showroom, and knowing his father could well afford it, he told
him that was all he wanted.

     As Graduation Day approached, the young man awaited
     signs that his father had purchased the car. Finally, on the
morning  of his graduation his father called him into his private
  study. His father told him how proud he was to have such a fine
son, and  told him how much he loved him. He handed his son
a beautiful   wrapped gift box.

     Curious, but somewhat disappointed the young man
     opened the box and found a lovely, leather-bound Bible. Angrily,
he raised his voice at his father and said, "With all your money you
give  me  a Bible?" and stormed out of the house, leaving the holy
book.

     Many years passed and the young man was very successful in
business.
     He had a beautiful home and wonderful family, but realized his
     father was very old, and thought perhaps he should go to him. He
had   not seen him since that graduation day. Before he could make
     arrangements, he received a telegram telling him his father had
     passed away, and willed all of his possessions to his son. He
needed   to come home immediately and take care things.
When he arrived at  his father's house, sudden sadness and
regret filled his heart.

     He began to search his father's important papers and
     saw the still new Bible, just as he had left it years ago. With
tears,  he opened the Bible and began to turn the pages. As he
read those   words, a car key dropped from an envelope
taped behind the Bible.
It  had a tag with the dealer's name, the same dealer who had the
sports  car he had desired. On the tag was the date of his graduation,
     and the words...PAID IN FULL. 

     How many times do we miss God's blessings because they are not
     packaged as we expected? 

Determination

In 1883, a creative engineer named John Roebling was inspired by an idea to build a spectacular bridge connecting New York with the Long Island. However bridge building experts throughout the world thought that this was an impossible feat and told Roebling to forget the idea. It just could not be done. It was not practical. It had never been done before.

Roebling could not ignore the vision he had in his mind of this bridge. He thought about it all the time and he knew deep in his heart that it could be done. He just had to share the dream with someone else. After much discussion and persuasion he managed to convince his son Washington, an up and coming engineer, that the bridge in fact could be built.

Working together for the first time, the father and son developed concepts of how it could be accomplished and how the obstacles could be overcome. With great excitement and inspiration, and the headiness of a wild challenge before them, they hired their crew and began to build their dream bridge.

The project started well, but when it was only a few months underway a tragic accident on the site took the life of John Roebling. Washington was injured and left with a certain amount of brain damage, which resulted in him not being able to walk or talk or even move.
 

"We told them so."
"Crazy men and their crazy dreams."
"It`s foolish to chase wild visions."

Everyone had a negative comment to make and felt that the project should be scrapped since the Roeblings were the only ones who knew how the bridge could be built. In spite of his handicap Washington was never discouraged and still had a burning desire to complete the bridge and his mind was still as sharp as ever.

He tried to inspire and pass on his enthusiasm to some of his friends, but they were too daunted by the task. As he lay on his bed in his hospital room, with the sunlight streaming through the windows, a gentle breeze blew the flimsy white curtains apart and he was able to see the sky and the tops of the trees outside for just a moment.

It seemed that there was a message for him not to give up. Suddenly an idea hit him. All he could do was move one finger and he decided to make the best use of it. By moving this, he slowly developed a code of communication with his wife.

He touched his wife's arm with that finger, indicating to her that he wanted her to call the engineers again. Then he used the same method of tapping her arm to tell the engineers what to do. It seemed foolish but the project was under way again.

For 13 years Washington tapped out his instructions with his finger on his wife's arm, until the bridge was finally completed. Today the spectacular Brooklyn Bridge stands in all its glory as a tribute to the triumph of one man's indomitable spirit and his determination not to be defeated by circumstances. It is also a tribute to the engineers and their team work, and to their faith in a man who was considered mad by half the world. It stands too as a tangible monument to the love and devotion of his wife who for 13 long years patiently decoded the messages of her husband and told the engineers what to do.

Perhaps this is one of the best examples of a never-say-die attitude that overcomes a terrible physical handicap and achieves an impossible goal.

Often when we face obstacles in our day-to-day life, our hurdles seem very small in comparison to what many others have to face. The Brooklyn bridge shows us that dreams that seem impossible can be realized with determination and persistence, no matter what the odds are.

Even the most distant dream can be realized with determination and persistence.

The sailboat

A young man once dreamt of owning his own sailboat. He would daydream of traveling around the world, with a small crew and visiting different ports along the way. Finally, after years of hard work, and sacrifice, the man was able to buy a beautiful boat. He showed his friends and family his new pride and joy and asked those close to him to be his crew. He loved the attention, the freedom and the pride of his accomplishment. He kept the boat well maintained. Actually, he took better care of it than himself. Over the years, folks started to associate him with this boat. So much so they began to refer to him as, "The Guy with the Boat." Some remembered him before the boat. However, they didn't care who he was as long as they were able to sail freely with him and take full advantage of his hospitality. The young man thought that life could be worse. I'm happy and my friends and family are happy and that's all that matters. Eventually, he became known as "The Wonderful Guy with the Boat". The man with it all!

Years quickly past and both man and boat began to weather with age. In his heart of hearts he sadly realized that the boat wasn't as seaworthy as it used to be and that trying to keep it maintained in the fashion he had come accustom was becoming tedious work. Both small and large tasks were overwhelming and extremely time consuming. And as the boat began to deteriorate, most of his maintenance went unnoticed. Ironically, he had just purchased a new lifeboat a few months before. He decided to set sail for one final voyage . . . this time he sailed alone. He thought he would visit a new and exciting port. He set course to an exotic island, a place he would remember for the rest of his life. He sailed for days and finally he could see the vague outline of the island on the horizon. As he got closer, he noticed his boat started to take on water. Just a little bit at first then much more. The more he pumped and bailed, the more water the boat took on. He was too far from the island to continue sailing and too attached to his boat to admit it was no long seaworthy and sinking. He was so close to his beautiful island and unable to reach it in the boat he had meticulously maintained and treasured for so many years. He was dangerously alone.
As his boat continued to sink he sat at the helm and reminisced about his maiden voyage, his past adventures and reflected on his lost dream. Being the dedicated captain and committed man that he was, he knew no other way but to go down with his boat. After all, what would my family and friends think? Abandoning my boat would be a dishonor. To have anyone think I'm a failure would be a fate worse that my impending fate. And, a commitment is a commitment no matter how grave the consequences. He thought, "It's what any good man would do, right?" So he cut loose the lifeboat and went down with his treasured old boat with no one around to acknowledge his bravery, selflessness and generosity. As man and boat disappeared beneath the surface, the lifeboat remained afloat, eventually drifting to the shore of his exotic island where his true friends had gathered to thank him for all of his years of generosity, sacrifice and love. As for his fair-weather friends they never asked of his whereabouts and went on with their lives.

The moral of the story: Never underestimate the power of true friendship and a reliable lifeboat. Both could save your life.