4 wives

There was a rich merchant who had 4 wives. He loved the 4th wife the most and adorned her with rich robes and treated her to delicacies. He took great care of her and gave her nothing but the best.

He also loved the 3rd wife very much. He’s very proud of her and always wanted to show off her to his friends. However, the merchant is always in great fear that she might run away with some other men.

He too, loved his 2nd wife. She is a very considerate person, always patient and in fact is the merchant’s confidante. Whenever the merchant faced some problems, he always turned to his 2nd wife and she would always help him out and tide him through difficult times.

Now, the merchant’s 1st wife is a very loyal partner and has made great contributions in maintaining his wealth and business as well as taking care of the household. However, the merchant did not love the first wife and although she loved him deeply, he hardly took notice of her.

One day, the merchant fell ill. Before long, he knew that he was going to die soon. He thought of his luxurious life and told himself, “Now I have 4 wives with me. But when I die, I’ll be alone. How lonely I’ll be!”

Thus, he asked the 4th wife, “I loved you most, endowed you with the finest clothing and showered great care over you. Now that I’m dying, will you follow me and keep me company?” “No way!” replied the 4th wife and she walked away without another word.

The answer cut like a sharp knife right into the merchant’s heart. The sad merchant then asked the 3rd wife, “I have loved you so much for all my life. Now that I’m dying, will you follow me and keep me company?” “No!” replied the 3rd wife. “Life is so good over here! I’m going to remarry when you die!” The merchant’s heart sank and turned cold.

He then asked the 2nd wife, “I always turned to you for help and you’ve always helped me out. Now I need your help again. When I die, will you follow me and keep me company?” “I’m sorry, I can’t help you out this time!” replied the 2nd wife. “At the very most, I can only send you to your grave.” The answer came like a bolt of thunder and the merchant was devastated.

Then a voice called out : “I’ll leave with you. I’ll follow you no matter where you go.” The merchant looked up and there was his first wife. She was so skinny, almost like she suffered from malnutrition. Greatly grieved, the merchant said, “I should have taken much better care of you while I could have !”

Actually, we all have 4 wives in our lives

a. The 4th wife is our body. No matter how much time and effort we lavish in making it look good, it’ll leave us when we die.

b. Our 3rd wife ? Our possessions, status and wealth. When we die, they all go to others.

c. The 2nd wife is our family and friends. No matter how close they had been there for us when we’re alive, the furthest they can stay by us is up to the grave.

d. The 1st wife is in fact our soul, often neglected in our pursuit of material, wealth and sensual pleasure.

Guess what? It is actually the only thing that follows us wherever we go. Perhaps it’s a good idea to cultivate and strengthen it now rather than to wait until we’re on our deathbed to lament

Power Within

Every tradition has told U tat U were created in the image and likeness of the creative force.  Tat means tat U have God potential n power to create yr world, n U are.  Maybe U had created things to this point tat are wonderful n worthy of U, n maybe U havent.  The question to consider,” Are the results U have in yr life wat U really want? N are they worthy of U?”  If they’re not worthy of U, then wouldn’t now be the right time to change those?  Because U have the POWER to do tat.

All power is from within and therefore under our control.

c”,)

Boredom

Nowadays, we have 1001 gadgets, appliances dedicated to banishing boredom. Iphone, ps3, laptop, mp3, dvd……
Are we too reliant to these gadgets to fight off boredom?
A bored person does not suffer frm the feeling tat there is nothing to do, but rather frm the feeling tat there is nothing worth doing.
We are less bored than our ancestors were, but were more afraid of boredom.
A certain amt of boredom in our lives is inevitable but not an excuse to feel down/lonely….
Lets start n plan yr activities
c”,)

Promises

Promise yourself to be so strong that nothing can
disturb your peace of mind.

To talk health, happiness, and prosperity to
every person you meet.

To make all your friends feel like there is
something in them.

To look at the sunny side of everything and make your
optimism come true.

To think only of the best, to work only for the best,
and expect only the best.

To be just as enthusiastic about the success of others
as you are about your own.

To forget the mistakes of the past and press on the
greater achievements of the future.

To wear a cheerful countenance at all times and give
every living person you meet a smile.

To give so much time to the improvement of yourself
that you have no time to criticize others.

To be too large for worry, too noble for anger, and too
strong for fear, and to happy to permit the
presence of trouble.

Are U Rich

One day a father and his rich family took his son on a trip to the country with the firm purpose to show him how poor people can be. They spent a day and a night on the farm of a very poor family. When they got back from their trip, the father asked his son, “How was the trip?” “Very good Dad!” “Did you see how poor people can be?” the father asked. “Yeah!” “And what did you learn?”

The son answered, “I saw that we have a dog at home, and they have four. We have a pool that reaches to the middle of the garden; they have a creek that has no end. We have imported lamps in the garden; they have the stars. Our patio reaches to the front yard; they have a whole horizon.” When the little boy was finished, his father was speechless. His son added, “Thanks, Dad, for showing me how ‘poor’ we are!”

Isn’t it true that it all depends on the way you look at things? If you have love, friends, family, health, good humor and a positive attitude towards life — you’ve got everything! You can’t buy any of these things. You may have all the material possessions you can imagine, provisions for the future, etc.; but if you are poor of spirit, you have nothing!

Temper

There once was a little boy who had a bad temper. His father gave him a bag of nails and told him that every time he lost his temper, he must hammer a nail into the back of the fence.

The first day, the boy had driven 37 nails into the fence. Over the next few weeks, as he learned to control his anger, the number of nails hammered daily gradually dwindled down. He discovered it was easier to hold his temper than to drive those nails into the fence.

Finally the day came when the boy didn’t lose his temper at all. He told his father about it and the father suggested that the boy now pull out one nail for each day that he was able to hold his temper. The days passed and the boy was finally able to tell his father that all the nails were gone.

The father took his son by the hand and led him to the fence. He said, “You have done well, my son, but look at the holes in the fence. The fence will never be the same. When you say things in anger, they leave a scar just like this one. You can put a knife in a man and draw it out. It won’t matter how many times you say I’m sorry the wound is still there. A verbal wound is as bad as a physical one.”

Think

If there is a future there is time for mending:

Time to see your troubles coming to an ending.

Life is never hopeless however great your sorrow:

If you’re looking forward to a new tomorrow.

If there is time for wishing then there is time for hoping:

When through doubt and darkness you are blindly groping.

Though the heart be heavy and hurt you may be feeling:

If there is time for praying there is time for healing.

So if through your window there is a new day breaking:

Thank God for the promise, though mind and soul be aching,

If with harvest over there is grain enough for gleaning:

There is a new tomorrow and life still has meaning.

Struggles

A man found a cocoon of a butterfly.  One day, a small opening appeared.  He sat and watched the butterfly for serval hrs as it struggled to force its body thru tat 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, underdeveloped wings.

The man continued to watch the butterfly because he expected tat at any moment , the wings would enlarge and expand to be able to support the body, which could contract in time.

Neither happened!  In fact, the butterfly spent the rest of its life crawling ard wit a swollen body and underdeveloped wings.  It never was able to fly.

Wat the man, in his kindness and haste, did not understand was tat the restricting cocoon and the struggle required for the butterfly to get thru the tiny opening were nature way of forcing fluid frm the body of butterfly into its wings so tat it would be ready for flight once it achieved its freedom frm the cocoon.

Sometimes, struggles are exactly wat we need in our lives.  If we go thru our lives without any obstacles, it would cripple us.

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

Packaging

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?

Don’t We All

Paul parked in front of the mall wiping off his car.  He had just come from the car wash and was waiting for his wife to get out of work.
Coming in his way from across the parking lot was what society would consider a bum.
From the looks of him, he had no car, no home, no clean clothes, and no money. There are times when you feel generous but there are other times that you just don’t want to be bothered. This was one of those “don’t want to be bothered times.”
“I hope he doesn’t ask me for any money,” Paul thought.
He didn’t.
He came and sat on the curb in front of the bus stop but he didn’t look like he could have enough money to even ride the bus.
After a few minutes he spoke.
“That’s a very pretty car,” he said.
He was ragged but he had an air of dignity around him. His scraggly blond beard keep more than his face warm.
Paul said, “thanks,” and continued wiping off his car.
He sat there quietly as Paul worked. The expected plea for money never came.
As the silence between them widened something inside said, “ask him if he needs any help.” Paul was sure that he would say “yes” but Paul held true to the inner voice.
“Do you need any help?” Paul asked.
He answered in three simple but profound words that Paul shall never forget.
We often look for wisdom in great men and women. We expect it from those of higher learning and accomplishments.

Paul expected nothing but an outstretched grimy hand. He spoke the three words that shook Paul.
“Don’t we all?” he said.
Paul was feeling high and mighty, successful and important, above a bum in the street, until those three words hit Paul like a shotgun.
Don’t we all?
I needed help. Maybe not for bus fare or a place to sleep, but I needed help. Paul reached into his wallet and gave him not only enough for bus fare, but enough to get a warm meal and shelter for the day.

Those three little words still ring true. No matter how much you have, no matter
how much you have accomplished, you need help too. No matter how little you
have, no matter how loaded you are with problems, even without money or
a place to sleep, you can give help.

Even if it’s just a compliment, you can give that.
You never know when you may see someone that appears to have it all.
They are waiting on you to give them what they don’t have. A different perspective on life, a glimpse at something beautiful, a respite from daily chaos, that only you through a torn world can see.
Maybe the man was just a homeless stranger wandering the streets. Maybe he was more than that.

Maybe he was sent by a power that is great and wise, to minister to a soul too comfortable in themselves.

Maybe God looked down, called an Angel, dressed him like a bum, then said, “go minister to that man cleaning the car, that man needs help.”

Don’t we all?