Short meaningful stories

[Morten]

Two wolves

A Cherokee elder sitting with his grandchildren told them, "In every
life there is a terrible fight - a fight between two wolves.

One is evil: he is fear, anger, envy, greed, arrogance, self-pity, resentment,
and deceit.

The other is good: joy, serenity, humility, confidence,
generosity, truth, gentleness, and compassion."

A child asked,
"Grandfather, which wolf will win?" The elder looked him in the eye.
"The one you feed."

Lesson: Development of good character depends on everyday choices one makes

[Morten]

A GLASS OF MILK

One day, a poor boy who was selling goods from door to door to
pay his way through school, found he had only one thin dime left,
and he was hungry.

He decided he would ask for a meal at the next house. However,
he lost his nerve when a lovely young woman opened the door.
Instead of a meal he asked for a drink of water. She thought he looked
hungry so brought him a large glass of milk.

He drank it slowly, and then asked, "How much do I owe you?"
"You don't owe me anything," she replied."Mother has taught us
never to accept pay for a kindness." He said..... "Then I thank
you from my heart." As Howard Kelly left that house, he not only
felt stronger physically, but his faith in God and man was strong also.
He had been ready to give up and quit.

Year's later that young woman became critically ill. The local
doctors were baffled. They finally sent her to the big city,
where they called in specialists to study her rare disease.
Dr. Howard Kelly was called in for the consultation. When he
heard the name of the town she came from, a strange light
filled his eyes.

Immediately he rose and went down the hall of the hospital to
her room. Dressed in his doctor's gown he went in to see her. He
recognized her at once. He went back to the consultation room
determined to do his best to save her life. From that day he gave special
attention to the case.

After a long struggle, the battle was won. Dr. Kelly requested
the business office to pass the final bill to him for approval.
He looked at it, then wrote something on the edge and the bill
was sent to her room. She feared to open it, for she was sure it
would take the rest of her life to pay for it all. Finally she
looked, and something caught her attention on the side of the bill.
She read these words..... "Paid in full with one glass of milk"

(Signed)
Dr. Howard Kelly.

Tears of joy flooded her eyes as her happy heart prayed: "Thank
You, God, that Your love has spread abroad through human hearts
and hands."

[Morten]

The chef cook and his daughter

A daughter complained to her father about life and how things were so
hard for her. She did not know how she was going to make it and wanted
to give up. She was tired of struggling. It seemed that as soon as one
problem was solved, a new one arose.

Her father, a chef, took her to the kitchen. He filled three pots with
water and placed each on a high fire. Soon the pots came to a boil. In
one he placed carrots, in the second he placed eggs, and the last he
placed ground coffee beans. He let them sit and boil, without saying a
word.
The daughter sucked her teeth and impatiently waited, wondering what he
was doing. In about twenty minutes he turned off the burners. He fished
the carrots out and placed them in a bowl. He pulled the eggs out and
placed them a bowl. Then he ladled the coffee out and placed it in a
bowl. Turning to her he asked. "What do you see?"

"Carrots, eggs, and coffee," she replied.
He brought her closer and asked her to feel the carrots. She did and
noted that they were soft. He then asked her to take an egg and break
it. After pulling off the shell, she observed the hard-boiled egg.
Finally, he asked her to sip the coffee. She smiled as she tasted its
rich aroma.

She said, "What's the point?"
He explained that each of the items had faced the same adversity -
boiling water - but each reacted differently.
The carrot went in strong and hard. But after being subjected to the
boiling water, it softened and became weak.
The egg had been fragile. Its thin outer shell had protected its liquid
interior. But after sitting through the boiling water, its inside became
hardened.
The ground coffee beans were unique, however. After they were in the
boiling water, they had changed the water.

"Which are you?" he asked his daughter. "When adversity knocks on your
door, how do you respond? Do you become weak, like a carrot, hard on the
inside, like an egg, or do you change the circumstances, like the coffee beans?"

Lesson: There are different ways to react to hardship. Don't be weak or suppress things - change circumstances from within.

[Morten]

> >His name was Fleming, and he was a poor Scottish farmer. One day, while
> >trying to make a living for his family, he heard a cry for help coming
> >from a nearby bog. He dropped his tools and ran to the bog.
> >
> >There, mired to his waist in black muck, was a terrified boy,
> >screaming and struggling to free himself.
> >
> >Farmer Fleming saved the lad from what could have been a slow and
> >terrifying death.
> >
> >The next day, a fancy carriage pulled up to the Scotsman's sparse
> >surroundings. An elegantly dressed nobleman stepped out and introduced
> >himself as the father of the boy Farmer Fleming had saved.
> >
> >"I want to repay you," said the nobleman. "You saved my son's life."
> >"No, I can't accept payment for what I did," the Scottish farmer
> >replied, waving off the offer.
> >
> >At that moment, the farmer's own son came to the door of the family
> >hovel.
> >
> >"Is that your son?" the nobleman asked.
> >"Yes," the farmer replied proudly.
> >"I'll make you a deal. Let me provide him with the level of education my
> >son will enjoy. If the lad is anything like his father, he'll no doubt
> >grow to be a man we both will be proud of."
> >
> >And that he did.
> >
> >Farmer Fleming's son attended the very best schools and in time, he
> >graduated from St. Mary's Hospital Medical School in London, and went on
> >to become known throughout the world as the noted Sir Alexander
> >Fleming, the discoverer of Penicillin.
> >
> >Years afterward, the same nobleman's son who was saved from the bog was
> >stricken with pneumonia. What saved his life this time?
> >
> >Penicillin.
> >
> >The name of the nobleman? Lord Randolph Churchill.
> >His son's name? Sir Winston Churchill.
> >
> >Someone once said: What goes around comes around.

[Morten]

>A WELL-KNOWN SPEAKER STARTED OFF HIS SEMINAR BY HOLDING UP A $20
>BILL.
> IN THE ROOM OF 200, HE ASKED, WHO WOULD LIKE THIS $20 BILL? HANDS STARTED
>GOING UP.
> HE SAID, I AM GOING TO GIVE THIS TO ONE OF YOU, BUT FIRST, LET ME DO THIS.
> HE PROCEEDED TO CRUMPLE THE BILL UP. HE THEN ASKED, WHO STILL WANTS
> IT?
> STILL THE HANDS WERE UP IN THE AIR.
> WELL, HE REPLIED, WHAT IF I DO THIS? HE DROPPED IT ON THE GROUND, AND
>STARTED TO GRIND IT INTO THE FLOOR WITH HIS SHOE. HE PICKED IT UP, NOW
>CRUMPLED AND DIRTY. NOW, WHO STILL WANTS IT? STILL HANDS WENT INTO THE AIR.
>
> MY FRIENDS, YOU ALL HAVE LEARNED A VERY VALUABLE LESSON. NO MATTER
> WHAT
> I DID TO THE MONEY, YOU STILL WANTED IT, BECAUSE, IT DID NOT DECREASE IN
>VALUE. IT WAS STILL WORTH 20 DOLLARS.
>
> MANY TIMES IN OUR LIVES, WE ARE DROPPED, CRUMPLED AND GROUND INTO THE DIRT
>BY THE DECISIONS WE MAKE AND THE CIRCUMSTANCES THAT COME OUR WAY. WE FEEL
>THAT WE ARE WORTHLESS, BUT, NO MATTER WHAT HAS HAPPENED OR WHAT WILL
HAPPEN,
>YOU WILL NEVER LOSE YOUR VALUE, DIRTY OR CLEAN, CRUMPLED OR FINELY CREASED,
>YOU ARE STILL PRICELESS TO THOSE WHO LOVE YOU.
> THE WORTH OF OUR LIVES COME NOT IN WHAT WE DO, OR WHO WE KNOW, BUT, BY WHO
>WE ARE. YOU ARE SPECIAL, DON'T EVER FORGET IT!!
> PASS THIS ON TO THOSE YOU CARE ABOUT, EVEN THE ONE WHO SENT IT TO YOU.
> YOU WILL NEVER KNOW THE LIVES IT TOUCHES THE HURTING HEARTS IT SPEAKS TO,
>OR THE HOPE THAT IT CAN BRING.
> ALWAYS COUNT YOUR BLESSINGS, NOT YOUR PROBLEMS.

[Morten]

Is your jar full?

A Professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items 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 golf balls. 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 rolled into the open areas
between the golf balls. He then asked the students again if the jar was
full. They agreed it was.

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

The Professor then produced two cans of beer from under the table and
poured the entire contents into the jar, effectively filling the empty
space between the sand. The students laughed.

"Now," said the Professor, as the laughter subsided, "I want you to
recognize that this jar represents your life.

The golf balls are the important things - your family, your children, your
health, your friends, your favorite passions - 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 golf balls. The same goes for 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 time to get
medical checkups. Take your partner out to dinner. Play another 18. There
will always be time to clean the house, and fix the disposal. Take care of
the golf balls first, the things that really matter. Set your priorities.
The rest is just sand."

When he had finished, there was a profound silence. Then one of the
students raised her hand and with a puzzled expression, inquired what the
beer represented.

The Professor smiled. "I'm glad you asked. It just goes to show you that no
matter how full your life may seem, there's always room for a couple of
beers."

Lesson: When things in your life seem almost to much to handle, when 24 hours in a
day are not enough, remember the mayonnaise jar......and the beer.

[Annboy]

A Story to live by


There was a blind girl who hated herself because she was blind. She hated everyone, except her loving boyfriend. He was always there for her. She told her boyfriend, 'If I could only see the world, I will marry you.'


One day, someone donated a pair of eyes to her. When the bandages came off, she was able to see everything, including her boyfriend.


He asked her, 'Now that you can see the world, will you marry me?' The girl looked at her boyfriend and saw that he was blind. The sight of his closed eyelids shocked her. She hadn't expected that. The thought of looking at them the rest of her life led her to refuse to marry him.


Her boyfriend left in tears and days later wrote a note to her saying: 'Take good care of your eyes, my dear, for before they were yours, they were mine.'


This is how the human brain often works when our status changes. Only a very few remember what life was like before, and was always by their side in the most painful situations.



Life Is a Gift



Today before you say an unkind word - Think of someone who can't speak.



Before you complain about the taste of your food - Think of someone who has nothing to eat.



Before you complain about your husband or wife - Think of someone who's crying out to GOD for a companion.



Today before you complain about life - Think of someone who died too early on this earth.



Before you complain about your children - Think of someone who desires children but they're barren.



Before you argue about your dirty house someone didn't clean or sweep - Think of the people who are living in the streets.



Before whining about the distance you drive - Think of someone who walks the same distance with their feet.



And when you are tired and complain about your job - Think of the unemployed, the disabled, and those who wish they had your job.



But before you think of pointing the finger or condemning another - Remember that not one of us is without sin.



And when depressing thoughts seem to get you down - Put a smile on your face and think: you're alive and still around.