BLACK DOT

A small town chamber of commerce invited a speaker to address its annual dinner. The community’s economy was bad, people were discouraged, and they wanted this motivational speaker to give them a boost.

During her presentation, the speaker took a large piece of white paper and made a small black dot at the center with a marking pen. Then she held the paper up before the group and asked them what they saw.

One person quickly replied, “I see a black dot.”

“Okay, what else do you see?”

Others joined in agreement: “A black dot.”

“Don’t you see anything besides the dot?” – she asked.

A resounding “No” came from the audience.

“What about the sheet of paper?” – asked the speaker. “I am sure you have all seen it”, she said, “But you have chosen to overlook it.”

“In life, we also tend to overlook and take for granted many wonderful things that we have or happen around us and focus our attention and energy on small, dotlike failures and disappointments. The so called ‘problems’ that we have are usually like the black dot on the paper. They are small and insignificant if we can widen our horizon and look at the whole picture.”

Are you one of the person who focus your attention and energy on dot-like problems?

a pretty girl seeking a rich husband

A reply from CEO of J.P. Morgan to a pretty girl seeking a rich husband

Allegrei A. Fernando

A young and pretty lady posted this on a popular forum: 

Title: What should I do to marry a rich guy? 

I'm going to be honest of what I'm going to say here. 

I'm 25 this year. I'm very pretty, have style and good taste. I wish to marry a guy with $500k annual salary or above. 

You might say that I'm greedy, but an annual salary of $1M is considered only as middle class in New York. 

My requirement is not high. Is there anyone in this forum who has an income of $500k annual salary? Are you all married? 

I wanted to ask: what should I do to marry rich persons like you? 

Among those I've dated, the richest is $250k annual income, and it seems that this is my upper limit. 

If  someone is going to move into high cost residential area on the west of  New York City Garden(?), $250k annual income is not enough. 

I'm here humbly to ask a few questions: 
1) Where do most rich bachelors hang out? (Please list down the names and addresses of bars, restaurant, gym) 
2) Which age group should I target? 
3)  Why most wives of the riches are only average-looking? I've met a few  girls who don't have looks and are not interesting, but they are able to  marry rich guys. 

4) How do you decide who can be your wife, and who can only be your girlfriend? (my target now is to get married) 

Ms. Pretty 

A philosophical reply from CEO of J.P. Morgan: 

Dear Ms. Pretty, 
I  have read your post with great interest. Guess there are lots of girls  out there who have similar questions like yours. Please allow me to  analyse your situation as a professional investor. 

My annual income is more than $500k, which meets your requirement, so I hope everyone believes that I'm not wasting time here. 

From the standpoint of a business person, it is a bad decision to marry you. The answer is very simple, so let me explain. 

Put  the details aside, what you're trying to do is an exchange of "beauty"  and "money" : Person A provides beauty, and Person B pays for it, fair  and square. 

However, there's a deadly problem here, your beauty  will fade, but my money will not be gone without any good reason. The  fact is, my income might increase from year to year, but you can't be  prettier year after year. 

Hence from the viewpoint of economics,  I am an appreciation asset, and you are a depreciation asset. It's not  just normal depreciation, but exponential depreciation. If that is your  only asset, your value will be much worse 10 years later. 

By the terms we use in Wall Street, every trading has a position, dating with you is also a "trading position". 
If  the trade value dropped we will sell it and it is not a good idea to  keep it for long term - same goes with the marriage that you wanted. It  might be cruel to say this, but in order to make a wiser decision any  assets with great depreciation value will be sold or "leased". 

Anyone  with over $500k annual income is not a fool; we would only date you,  but will not marry you. I would advice that you forget looking for any  clues to marry a rich guy. And by the way, you could make yourself to  become a rich person with $500k annual income.This has better chance  than finding a rich fool.

Hope this reply helps. 

signed, 
J.P. Morgan CEO

  

Never judge anyone….. because you never know how their life is & what they’re going through.

A doctor entered the hospital in hurry after being called in for an  urgent surgery. He answered the call asap, changed his clothes &  went directly to the surgery block.

He found the boy’s father pacing in the hall waiting for the doctor.
On seeing him, the dad yelled: “Why did you take all this time to  come? Don’t you know that my son’s life is in danger? Don’t you have  any sense of responsibility?”

The doctor smiled & said: “I am sorry, I wasn’t in the  hospital & I came as fast as I could after receiving the call…… And  now, I wish you’d calm down so that I can do my work”

“Calm down?! What if your son was in this room right now, would you calm down? If your own son dies now what will you do??” said the father angrily
The doctor smiled again & replied: “I  will say what Job said in the Holy Book 
“From dust we came & to  dust we return, blessed be the name of God”. Doctors cannot prolong  lives. Go & intercede for your son, we will do our best by God’s  grace”
“Giving advises when we’re not concerned is so easy” Murmured the father.

The surgery took some hours after which the doctor went out happy, “Thank goodness!, your son is saved!” And without waiting for the father’s reply he carried on his way running. “If you have any questions, ask the nurse!!”

“Why is he so arrogant? He couldn’t wait some minutes so  that I ask about my son’s state” Commented the father when seeing the  nurse minutes after the doctor left.

The nurse answered, tears coming down her face: “His son died  yesterday in a road accident, he was at the burial when we called him  for your son’s surgery. And now that he saved your son’s life, he left  running to finish his son’s burial.”


MORAL : "Never judge anyone….. because you never know how their life is & what they’re going through.

  

MOMMY

Jonny brought a gun to school,
He told his friends that it was cool,
And when he pulled the trigger back,
A shot rang out with a 'crack'.
Mommy, I was a good girl,
I did what I was told, I went to school,
I got straight As',
I even got the gold!
But Mommy, when I went to school that day,
I never said goodbye,
I'm sorry Mommy, I had to go,
But Mommy, please don't cry.
When Johnny shot the gun,
He hit me and another,
And all because Johnny,
Got a gun from his older brother.
Mommy, please tell Daddy That I love him very much,
And please tell Chris; my boyfriend; 
That it wasn't just a crush.
And tell my little sister; That she is the only now,
And tell my dear sweet Grandmother; I'll be waiting for her now,
And tell my wonderful friends; That they always were the best, 
Mommy, I'm not the first, I'm no better then the rest.
Mommy, tell my teachers; I won't show up for class,
And never to forget this, And please don't let this pass.
Mommy, why'd it have to be me?
No one deserves this, Mommy,
warn the others, Mommy, I left without a kiss.
And Mommy, tell the doctors; I know they really did try,
I think I even saw a doctor,
Trying not to cry.
Mommy, I'm slowly dying,
With a bullet in my chest,
But Mommy, please remember, I'm in heaven with the rest.
Mommy, I ran as fast as I could, When I heard that crack,
Mommy, listen to me if you would, I won't be coming back.
I wanted to go to college, I wanted to try things that were new,
I guess I'm not going with Daddy; On that trip to the zoo.
I wanted to get married,
I had goals for which I'd strive,
I wanted to be an actress, Mommy, I wanted to be alive.
But Mommy, I must go now, The time is getting late,
Mommy, tell my boyfriend, I'm sorry, but I had to cancel the date.
I love you Mommy, I always have,
I know; you know it's true,
and Mommy all I wanted to say is,
"Mommy, I love you"

LETTER FROM AFRIEND IN HELL

One day a woman named Louise fell asleep in her bed, and dreamed a very fitful dream. She dreamed that someone in Hell wrote a letter to her, and it was to be delivered to her by a messenger. The messenger passed between the lakes of burning fire and brimstone that occupies Hell, and found his way to the door that would lead him to the outside world. Louise dreamed that the messenger walked to her house, came inside, and gently but firmly woke Louise up. He gave her the message, saying only that a friend had wrote it to her from Hell. Louise, in her dream, with trembling hands took the letter and read:

My Friend,
I stand in Judgment now,
And feel that you're to blame somehow.
On earth, I walked with you day by day,
And never did you point the way.
You knew the Lord in truth and glory,
But never did you tell the story.
My knowledge then was very dim;
You could have led me safe to Him.
Though we lived together on the earth,
You never told me of the second birth,
And now I stand this day condemned,
Because you failed to mention Him.
You taught me many things, that's true,
I called you "friend" and trusted you,
But I learn now that it's too late,
You could have kept me from this fate.
We walked by day and talked by night,
And yet you showed me not the Light.
You let me live, and love, and die,
You knew I'd never live on high.
Yes, I called you a "friend" in life,
And trusted you through joy and strife.
And yet on coming to the end,
I cannot, now, call you "My Friend."
MarshaAfter reading the letter, Louise awoke. The dream was still so real in her mind and sweat dropped from her body in pools. She swore she could still smell the acrid smell of brimstone and smoke from her room. As she contemplated the meaning of her dream, she realized that as a Christian, she has failed in her duty to "go out to all the world and preach the gospel." As she thought of that, she promised herself that the next day, she would call Marsha and invite her to church with her.
The next morning she called Marsha and this was the conversation:
Yes, Bill, Is Marsha there?
Louise, you don't know?
No, Bill, know what?
Marsha WAS KILLED LAST NIGHT IN A CAR ACCIDENT. I thought you had known.

AKING AND HIS SLAVE

A king once had a slave who, in all
circumstances said:
"My king, do not be discouraged
because everything God does is
perfect, no mistakes..."
One day, they went hunting and a
wild animal attacked the king, the
slave managed to kill the animal
but couldn't prevent his majesty

losing a finger.
Furious and without showing
gratitude, the King said; "if God
was good, I would not have been
attacked and lost one finger!"
The slave replied: "Despite all
these things, I can only tell you
that God is good and everything
he does is perfect, He is never
wrong!"
Outraged by the response, the
king ordered the arrest of his
slave.
Later, he left for another hunt and
was captured by savages who use
human for sacrifice.
In the altar, the savages found out
that the king didn't have one
finger in place so he was released
because he was considered not
"complete" to be offered to the
gods...
On his return to the palace, he
authorized the release of his slave
saying; "My friend, God was really
good to me! I was almost killed
but for lack of a single finger I
was let go!
But I have a question: if God is so
good, why did He allow me to put
you in jail?"
He reply: "My king, if I had gone
with you, I would have been
sacrificed for you because I have
no missing finger."
MORAL LESSON:
Remember, everything God does
is perfect, He is never wrong...
Often we complain about life, and
the negative things that happen
to us, forgetting that nothing is
random, and that everything has a
purpose.
Hit LIKE if God is 100% perfect.
Do you trust in God?
YES or NO

Dont Miss A Date With Your Mother

Dont Miss A Date With Your Mother

After 21 years of marriage, my wife
wanted me to take another woman
out to dinner and a movie. She said I
love you but I know this other woman
loves you and would love to spend
some time with you.

The other woman that my wife
wanted me to visit was my MOTHER,
who has been a widow for 19 years,
but the demands of my work and my
three children had made it possible to
visit her only occasionally.
That night I called to invite her to go
out for dinner and a movie.
"What's wrong, are you well," she
asked?
"I thought that it would be pleasant to
be with you," I responded. "Just the
two of us."
She thought about it for a moment,
and then said, "I would like that very
much."
That Friday after work, as I drove over
to pick her up I was a bit nervous.
When I arrived at her house, I noticed
that she, too, seemed to be nervous
about our date. She waited in the
door with her coat on. She had curled
her hair and was wearing the dress
that she had worn to celebrate her
last wedding anniversary.
She smiled from a face that was as
radiant as an angel's.
"I told my friends that I was going to
go out with my son, and they were
impressed, "she said, as she got into
the car. They can't wait to hearabout
our meeting". We went to a restaurant
that, although not elegant, was very
nice and cozy. My mother took my
arm as if she were the First Lady. After
we sat down, I had to read the menu.
Half way through the entries, I lifted
my eyes and saw Mom sitting there
staring at me. A nostalgic smile was
on her lips "It was I who used to have
to read the menu when you were
small," she said.
"Then it's time that you relax and let
me return the favor," I responded.
During the dinner, we had an
agreeable conversation - nothing
extraordinary, but catching up on
recent events of each other's life. We
talked so much that we missed the
movie.
As we arrived at her house later, she
said, "I'll go out with you again, but
only if you let me invite you." I agreed.
"How was your dinner date?" asked
my wife when I got home. "Very nice.
Much more so than I could have
imagined," I answered.
A few days later, my mother died. It
happened so suddenly that I did not
get to do anything for her.
Some time later, I received an
envelope with a copy of a restaurant
receipt from the same place where
mother and I had dined.
An attached note said: "I paid this bill
in advance. I wasn't sure that I could
be there; but nevertheless, I paid for
two plates - one for you and the other
for your wife. You will never know
what that night meant for me. I love
you, son."
At that moment, I understood the
importance of saying in time: "I LOVE
YOU!" and to give our loved ones the
time that they deserve. Nothing in life
is more important than your family.
Give them the time they deserve,
because these things cannot be put
off till "some other time."

If your mum means more
Press LIKE and comment "I LOVE YOU MUM" in capital letters

ABUSED

She sat at the corner of her room, hoping to not see the door open. BAMM!!! The door flies open, hitting her face. SMACK! Her mother slaps her in the face. She starts crying, for she is only 4 years old. "What the hell are you doin, dumb kid?" Her mother yells in her face. She fells the spit hit her face. "Get out your lazy butt and get to school. No food for you!"
She gets to school 10 minutes early and bigger kids starts to yell at her "Get away! You stink like crap!" They grabbed her by the hand and was pulled behind the school. She tried to let go, but was to weak because she had no food and never did. They pulled her pants, that she wore every single day, down and stuck a pencial up her butt and she yelled. They all ran away and she just pulled the oencial out and ran to class, hoping her mother wont see her because her mother drives around the school, looking to see if she has any friends. Which she doesn't.
The teacher walked around the room and looked at the little girls arm and saw bruises, but did not want to ask. She ran one whole mile to get to her small, jacked up house and was sweating. She was 1 minute and 3 seonds late and her mother grabbed her by her bruised face and sqeezed it, pulled it into the house. She started to hit her... and hit her... and hit her over-and-over again.
9:04 p.m.
Her mother came in and smacked her face. She grabbed her by the hair and pulled her to the kitchen and told her to lay on the stove. "DO IT NOW!!" Her mother yelled. Neigbors hears the yelling, but just turns off the lights. And she did it, but her mother was not satisfied. Her body was black with smoke steaming out. She looked up. Her mother hit her one last time and everything went to darkness...

BLACK
She was gone forever. The stone lied there. It read:
wangoi
R.I.P.

SAY I LOVE YOU IN TIME

Daniel: I guess we are the left overs in this world.
Jasmine: I think so.. All of my friends have boyfriends & we are the only 2 persons left in this world without any special someone in our lives.
Daniel: Yup! I don't know what to do.
Jasmine: I know! We'll play a game.
Daniel: What game?
Jasmine: I'll be your girlfriend for 30 days & you will be my boyfriend.
Daniel: That's a great plan in fact, I don't have anything to do for the following weeks..

DAY 1:
They watched their first movie together & were both touched in the romantic film.

DAY 4:

They went to the beach & had a picnic... Daniel & Jasmine had their quality time together.


DAY 12:

Daniel invited Jasmine to a circus and they went to a Horror House.. Jasmine was scared

and she tried to touch Daniel's hand but by accident she touched someone else's and they both laughed..

DAY 14:

They saw a fortune teller down the road and asked for their future. The fortune teller said: "My darlings, please don't waste the time of your lives... spend your time together happily." Then tears flow from the teller's eyes.

DAY 20:

Jasmine invited Daniel to go to the hill and they saw a meteor... Jasmine mumbled something.

DAY 28:

They rode on a bus and because of the bumpy road, Jasmine gave her first kiss to Daniel by accident.

DAY 29:

11:37 pm
Daniel & Jasmine were sitting in the park where they first decided to play this game...

Daniel: I'm tired Jasmine............. do you want any drinks? I'll buy you one.. I'll just go down the road..

Jasmine: Apple juice would be fine,thanks.

Daniel: Wait for me...

20 minutes later... a stranger approched Jasmine.

Stranger: Are you a friend of Daniel?

Jasmine: Yes, why? What happened?

Stranger: A reckless drunken driver ran over Daniel & he is critical in the hospital.

11:57pm

The doctor came out from the emergency room & handed out an apple juice & a letter to Jasmine.

Doctor: We found this in Daniel's pocket.

Jasmine read the letter which says:

Jasmine, this past few days, I realized you are really a cute girl & I am falling for you.. your cherished smile, your everything when we played this game.. & before this game ends, I would like you to be my girlfriend for the rest of my life. I love you, Jasmine...

Jasmine crumples the paper & shouted..

"Daniel! I don't want you to die...I love you... Remember that night we saw a meteor? I mumbled something.. I wished that we would be together forever & never end this game. Please don't leave me, Daniel... I love you, you cannot do this to me

Then the clock strikes 12

Daniel's heart stop pumping


THEN IT WAS THE 30th DAY...

************************************************************************************
Always love your loved ones & show them how you feel before it's too late.. You will never know when they will be gone from your embrace.. If you were given a time to bestow petals of everlasting compassion & love to your love ones, today is the day. Love them while they are still here...

RULES OF L;IFE

On the rules of life for graduates.

Some have said this was from Bill Gates talk to high school graduates
but probably he did not say this unless he quoted Sykes.

RULE 1.

Life is not fair; get used to it.

RULE 2.

The world won't care about your self-esteem. The world will expect you
to accomplish something BEFORE you feel good about yourself.

RULE 3.

You will NOT make 40 thousand dollars a year right out of high school OR
college. You won't be a vice-president with a car phone, until you earn
both.

RULE 4.

If you think your teacher is tough, wait until you get a boss. He
doesn't have tenure.

RULE 5.

Flipping burgers is not beneath your dignity. Your grandparents had a
different word for burger flipping; they called it opportunity.

RULE 6.

If you mess up, it's not your parents' fault, so don't whine about your
mistakes, learn from them.

RULE 7.

Before you were born, your parents weren't as boring as they are now.
They got that way from paying your bills, cleaning your clothes and
listening to you talk about how cool you are. So before you save the
rain forest from the parasites of your parents' generation, try
"delousing" the closet in your own room.

RULE 8.

Your school may have done away with winners and losers, but life has
not. In some schools they have abolished failing grades; they'll give
you as many times as you want to get the right answer. This doesn't bear
the slightest resemblance to ANYTHING in real life.

RULE 9.

Life is not divided into semesters. You don't get summers off and very
few employers are interested in helping you find yourself. Do that on
your own time.

RULE 10.

Television is NOT real life. In real life people actually have to leave
the coffee shop and go to jobs.

RULE 11.

Be nice to nerds. Chances are you'll end up working for one.

 

MEAN MOM

I had the meanest mother in the whole world. While other kids ate
candy for breakfast, I had to have cereal, eggs or toast. When others had cokes and candy for lunch, I had to eat a sandwich. As you can guess, my supper was different than the other kids' also.

But at least, I wasn't alone in my sufferings. My sister and two
brothers had the same mean mother as I did.

My mother insisted upon knowing where we were at all times. You'd think we were on a chain gang. She had to know who our friends were and where we were going. She insisted if we said we'd be gone an hour, that we be gone one hour or less--not one hour and one minute. I am nearly ashamed to admit it, but she actually struck us. Not once, but each time we had a mind of our own and did as we pleased. That poor belt was used more on our seats than it was to hold up Daddy's pants. Can you imagine someone actually hitting a child just because he disobeyed? Now you can begin to see how mean she really was.

We had to wear clean clothes and take a bath. The other kids always wore their clothes for days. We reached the height of insults because she made our clothes herself, just to save money. Why, oh why, did we have to have a mother who made us feel different from our friends?

The worst is yet to come. We had to be in bed by nine each night
and up at eight the next morning. We couldn't sleep till noon like our friends. So while they slept-my mother actually had the nerve to break the child-labor law. She made us work. We had to wash dishes, make beds, learn to cook and all sorts of cruel things. I believe she laid awake at night thinking up mean things to do to us.

She always insisted upon us telling the truth, the whole truth and
nothing but the truth, even if it killed us- and it nearly did.

By the time we were teen-agers, she was much wiser, and our life became even more unbearable. None of this tooting the horn of a car for us to come running. She embarrassed us to no end by making our dates and friends come to the door to get us. If I spent the night with a girlfriend, can you imagine she checked on me to see if I were really there. I never had the chance to elope to Mexico. That is if I'd had a boyfriend to elope with. I forgot to mention, while my friends were dating at the mature age of 12 and 13, my old fashioned mother refused to let me date until the age of 15 and 16. Fifteen, that is, if you dated only to go to a school function. And that was maybe twice a year.

Through the years, things didn't improve a bit. We could not lie
in bed, "sick" like our friends did, and miss school. If our friends
had a toe ache, a hang nail or serious ailment, they could stay home from school. Our marks in school had to be up to par. Our friends' report cards had beautiful colors on them, black for passing, red for failing. My mother being as different as she was, would settle for nothing less than ugly black marks.

As the years rolled by, first one and then the other of us was put
to shame. We were graduated from high school. With our mother behind us, talking, hitting and demanding respect, none of us was allowed the pleasure of being a drop-out.

My mother was a complete failure as a mother. Out of four
children, a couple of us attained some higher education. None of us have ever been arrested, divorced or beaten his mate. Each of my brothers served his time in the service of this country. And whom do we have to blame for the terrible way we turned out? You're right, our mean mother. Look at the things we missed. We never got to march in a protest parade, nor to take part in a riot, burn draft cards, and a million and one other things that our friends did.

She forced us to grow up into God-fearing, educated, honest adults. Using this as a background, I am trying to raise my three
children. I stand a little taller and I am filled with pride when my
children call me mean.

Because, you see, I thank God,
He gave me the meanest mother in the whole world.

 

Judge by the Looks

A lady in a faded gingham dress and her husband, dressed in a homespun threadbare suit, stepped off the train in Boston, and walked timidly without an appointment into the president's outer office. The secretary could tell in a moment that such backwoods, country hicks had no business at Harvard and probably didn't even deserve to be in Cambridge. She frowne

"We want to see the president," the man said softly.
"He'll be busy all day," the secretary snapped.
"We'll wait," the lady replied.
For hours, the secretary ignored them, hoping that the couple would finally become discouraged and go away. They didn't. And the secretary grew frustrated and finally decided to disturb the president, even though it was a chore she always regretted to do. "Maybe if they just see you for a few minutes, they'll leave," she told him. And he sighed in exasperation and nodded. Someone of his importance obviously didn't have the time to spend with them, but he detested gingham dresses and homespun suits cluttering up his outer office. The president, stern-faced with dignity, strutted toward the couple.
The lady told him, "We had a son that attended Harvard for one year. He loved Harvard. He was happy here. But about a year ago, he was accidentally killed. And my husband and I would like to erect a memorial to him, somewhere on campus". The president wasn't touched he was shocked.
"Madam," he said gruffly, "we can't put up a statue for every person who attended Harvard and died. If we did, this place would look like a cemetery."
"Oh, no," the lady explained quickly, "we don't want to erect a statue. We thought we would like to give a building to Harvard.
The president rolled his eyes. He glanced at the gingham dress and
homespun suit, then exclaimed, "A building! Do you have any earthly idea how much a building costs? We have over seven and a half million dollars in the physical plant at Harvard." For a moment the lady was silent.
The president was pleased. He could get rid of them now.
The lady turned to her husband and said quietly, "Is that all it costs to start a University? Why don't we just start our own?" Her husband nodded. The president's face wilted in confusion and bewilderment.
Mr. and Mrs. Leland Stanford walked away, traveling to Palo Alto, California where they established the University that bears their name, a memorial to a son that Harvard no longer cared about!

smoke signal that summons the grace of God.

The only survivor of a shipwreck washed up on a small, uninhabited island. He prayed feverishly for God to rescue him, and every day he scanned the horizon for help, but none seemed forthcoming. Exhausted, he eventually managed to build a little hut out of driftwood to protect him from the elements, and to store his few possessions. But then one day, after scavenging for food, he arrived home to find his little hut in flames, the smoke rolling up to the sky. The worst had happened; everything was lost. He was stung with grief and anger. "God, how could you do this to me!" he cried.
Early the next day, however, he was awakened by the sound of a ship that was approaching the island. It had come to rescue him. "How did you know I was here?" asked the weary man of his rescuers. "We saw your smoke signal," they replied.
It is easy to get discouraged when things are going bad. But we shouldn't lose heart, because God is at work in our lives, even in the midst of pain and suffering.
Remember next time your little hut is burning to the ground- - it just may be a smoke signal that summons the grace of God.

The Father's Eyes

The Father's Eyes

Bob Richards, the former pole-vault champion, shares a moving story about a skinny young boy who loved football with all his heart. Practice after practice, he eagerly gave everything he had. But being half the size of the other boys, he got absolutely nowhere. At all the games, this hopeful athlete sat on the bench and hardly ever played.
This teenager lived alone with his father, and the two of them had a very special relationship. Even though the son was always on the bench, his father was always in the stands cheering. He never missed a game.
This young man was still the smallest of the class when he entered high school. But his father continued to encourage him but also made it very clear that he did not have to play football if he didn't want to.
But the young man loved football and decided to hang in there He was determined to try his best at every practice, and perhaps he'd get to play when he became a senior. All through high school he never missed a practice nor a game but remained a bench-warmer all four years.
His faithful father was always in the stands, always with words of encouragement for him.
When the young man went to college, he decided to try out for the football team as a "walk-on." Everyone was sure he could never make the cut, but he did. The coach admitted that he kept him on the roster because he always puts his heart and soul to every practice, and at the same time, provided the other members with the spirit and
hustle they badly needed.
The news that he had survived the cut thrilled him so much that he rushed to the nearest phone and called his father. His father shared his excitement and was sent season tickets for all the college games.
This persistent young athlete never missed practice during his four years at college, but he never got to play in a game. It was the end of his senior football season, and as he trotted onto the practice field shortly before the big playoff game, the coach met him with a
telegram.
The young man read the telegram and he became deathly silent. Swallowing hard, he mumbled to the coach, "My father died this morning. Is it all right if I miss practice today?" The coach put his arm gently around his shoulder and said, "Take the rest of the week off, son. And don't even plan to come back to the game on Saturday."
Saturday arrived, and the game was not going well. In the third quarter, when the team was ten points behind, a silent young man quietly slipped into the empty locker room and put on his football gear. As he ran onto the sidelines, the coach and his players were astounded to see their faithful teammate back so soon. "Coach, please let me play. I've just got to play today," said the young man. The coach pretended not to hear him. There was no way he wanted his worst player in this close playoff game. But the young man persisted, and finally feeling sorry for the kid, the coach gave in. "All right," he said. "You can go in."
Before long, the coach, the players and everyone in the stands could not believe their eyes. This little unknown, who had never played before was doing everything right. The opposing team could not stop him. He ran, he passed, blocked, and tackled like a star. His team began to triumph. The score was soon tied. In the closing seconds of the game, this kid intercepted a pass and ran all the way for the winning touchdown.
The fans broke loose. His teammates hoisted him onto their shoulders. Such cheering you never heard. Finally, after the stands had emptied and the team had showered and left the locker room, the coach noticed that this young man was sitting quietly in the corner all alone The coach came to him and said,"Kid, I can't believe it. You were fantastic! Tell me what got into you? How did you do it?"
He looked at the coach, with tears in his eyes, and said, "Well, you knew my dad died, but did you know that my dad was blind?" The young man swallowed hard and forced a smile, "Dad came to all my games, but today was the first time he could see me play, and I wanted to show him I could do it!"
Like the athlete's father, God is always there cheering for us. He's always reminding us to go on. He's even offering us His hand for He knows what is best, and is willing to give us what we need and not simply what we want. God has never missed a single game. What a joy to know that life is meaningful if lived for the Highest. Live for HIM for He's watching us in the game of life!

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