Prayer is Love; I want to Love.
I said a prayer for you
today
and know God must have
heard.
I felt the answer in my
heart,
although He spoke no word!
I didn’t ask for wealth or
fame,
I knew you wouldn’t mind.
I asked him to send
treasures,
of a far more lasting kind!
I asked that He be near you,
at the start of each new
day;
to grant you health and
blessings
and friends to share your
way!
I asked for happiness for you,
in all things great and small.
But it was for His loving care,
I prayed the most of all!
Easy access to more than four hundred Prayers including, multiple prayers written by the Saints.
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A young man was getting ready to graduate from University. 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 the car 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 beautifully wrapped gift box. Curious, but somewhat disappointed, the young man opened the box and found a lovely, leather-bound Bible, with the young man’s name embossed in gold. Angrily, he raised his voice to his father and said, “With all your money you give me a Bible?” He then stormed out of the house, leaving the Bible.
Many years passed and the young man was very successful in business. He had a beautiful home and a wonderful family, but realising his father was very old, he thought perhaps he should go to see him. He had not seen him since that graduation day. Before he could make the 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 of things.
When he arrived at his father’s house, sudden sadness and regret filled his heart. He began to search through 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 was reading, a car key dropped from the back of 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 WITH THANKS”.
How often do we miss out because we put ourselves first? Are we really more important than anyone else? Understanding and patience, they are great virtues!
God is a loving God. Having God as a friend is more valuable than any possible material wealth. But to love God we must love everyone and be a little humble. Our rewards will be great.
Six-year-old Brandon decided one Saturday morning to make his parents pancakes. He found a big bowl and spoon, pulled a chair to the counter, opened the cupboard and slid out the heavy flour canister, spilling it on the floor!
He scooped some of the flour into a bowl with his hands, mixed in most of a cup of milk and added some sugar, leaving a trail of flour on the floor, which by now had a few tracks left by his kitten.
Soon Brandon was covered with flour and getting very frustrated! All he had wanted to do was something good for Mom and Dad but instead, everything was going very badly!
Brandon didn’t know what to do next, whether to put his mix into the oven or on top of the stove ring and he didn’t know how the stove worked!
Suddenly, he saw his kitten licking from the bowl of mix and as he reached to push her away, he knocked the egg carton to the floor. Frantically, as he tried to clean up his monumental mess, he slipped on the eggs, getting his pyjamas wet, white and sticky.
Just then, he saw Dad standing at the door and big crocodile tears welled up in his eyes. He was sure a scolding was coming, maybe even a spanking. But his father quietly looked around and then, walking through the mess, picked up his crying son, hugged him and kissed him.
A very beautiful story, full of love and guidance.
The love aspects are relatively obvious to see and feel; we must never let love die.
The guidance! Well, think of the numerous occasions when we started out with good intentions but, disaster after disaster followed. For some of us, the disasters appear to repeat themselves every day! However, despite our disappointments, we mustn’t forget that God our Father is watching, knows our love-intentions and remains at the ready to pick us up.
During the waning years of the Great Depression of the 1930’s, in a small southeastern Kansas community, I used to stop by Mr Miller’s roadside stand for farm-fresh produce as the season made it available. Food and money were still extremely scarce and bartering was used extensively.
One particular day, Mr Miller was bagging some early potatoes for me. I noticed a small boy, delicate of bone and feature, ragged but clean, hungrily apprising a basket of freshly picked green peas. I paid for my potatoes but was also drawn to the display of fresh green peas. I am a pushover for creamed peas and new potatoes. Pondering the peas, I couldn’t help overhearing the conversation between Mr Miller and the ragged boy next to me.
“Hello Barry, how are you today?”
“H’lo, Mr Miller. Fine, thank ya. Jus’ admirin’ them peas…sure look good.”
“They are good, Barry. How’s your Ma?”
“Fine. Gittin’ stronger alla’ time.”
“Good. Anything I can help you with?”
“No, Sir. Jus’ admirin’ them peas.”
“Would you like to take some home?”
“No, Sir. Got nuthin’ to pay for ’em with.”
“Well, what have you to trade me for some of those peas?”
“All I got’s my prize marble here.”
“Is that right? Let me see it.”
“Here ’tis. She’s a dandy.”
“I can see that. Hmmmm, only thing is this one is blue and I sort of go for red. Do you have a red one like this at home?”
“Not ‘zackley …..but, almost.”
“Tell you what. Take this bag of peas home with you and next trip this way let me look at that red marble.”
“Sure will. Thanks, Mr Miller.”
Mrs Miller, who had been standing nearby, came over to help me. With a smile, she said, “There are two other boys like him in our community, all three are in very poor circumstances. Jim just loves to bargain with them for peas, apples, tomatoes or whatever. When they come back with their red marbles, and they always do, he decides he doesn’t like red after all and he sends them home with a bag of produce for a green marble or an orange one, perhaps.”
I left the stand, smiling to myself, impressed with this man. A short time later I moved to Colorado but I never forgot the story of Mr Millar, the boys and their bartering. Several years went by, each more rapid than the previous one. Just recently I had occasion to visit some old friends in that Idaho community and while I was there learned that Mr Miller had died.
They were having his viewing that evening and knowing my friends wanted to go, I agreed to accompany them. Upon our arrival at the mortuary, we fell into line to meet the relatives of the deceased and to offer whatever words of comfort we could. Ahead of us in line were three young men. One was in an army uniform and the other two wore nice haircuts, dark suits and white shirts – very professional looking. They approached Mrs Miller, standing smiling and composed, by her husband’s casket. Each of the young men hugged her, kissed her on the cheek, spoke briefly with her and moved on to the casket. Her misty light blue eyes followed them as, one by one, each young man stopped briefly and placed his own warm hand over the cold pale hand in the casket. Each left the mortuary, awkwardly, wiping his eyes.
Our turn came to meet Mrs Miller. I told her who I was and mentioned the story she had told me about the marbles. Eyes glistening, she took my hand and led me to the casket. “Those three young men who just left were the boys I told you about. They just told me how they appreciated the things Jim ‘traded’ them. Now, at last, when Jim could not change his mind about colour or size – they came to pay their debt”.
“We’ve never had a great deal of the wealth of this world,” she confided, “but right now, Jim would consider himself the richest man in Idaho.” With loving gentleness, she lifted her husband’s lifeless fingers. Resting underneath were three exquisitely shined, red marbles!
The helping hand of a stranger; how many have you encountered in your life?
Perhaps, we forget to count!