REMEMBER THE LOVE

No one knew the pain, the emptiness . . . and it kept growing. Everyday -- in every room -- at every turn -- a remembrance of the loss. Each relic had its own degree of alienation and reality.

Dead! Gone! Life would never be the same!!

Daily I was dying. Memory had become an enemy that reminded me of the life I once had. Like a magnet my mind kept dragging me to a life that once was and would never be again.

One day, in remorse and pain, I murmured “take away the pain . . . take away the memories”. Suddenly there was a soft voice that said. “I can take the pain, but I will have to erase all the memories of the person you cared about. To remove the pain, I will have to remove the love.”
Remove the love . . . ?

It was then I understood for the first time. I had loved and been loved. To ask that the good times be removed from my memories would also remove the best part of my life. Worse than that, it would say that the one I cared about never existed. I could choose to focus on the loss or dwell on the love.

I chose love!

From that day I began to live again. Memories have become “rays of sunshine”. I think of my gain rather than my loss. A hundred reminders and a hundred ways to see how I was blessed. An empty chair became a reminder of happy times and of laughter. A picture could only mimic the fun and foolishness that happened that day. A room became a sanctuary of someone I once had and still have in my heart.

No one could take those memories away. I could enjoy them daily. Now I remember the love and in remembering the love . . . I am loved all over again!

Author unknown

ARE YOU LIKE AN ANGEL OR SOMETHING?

I hope the answer is yes, are you like an angel or something?
Psalm 55:22"Friends are God's way of taking care of us."

This following, are you like an angel or something, was written by a Metro Denver Hospice physician:



I just had one of the most amazing experiences of my life, and want toshare my story with my family and dearest friends.I was driving home from a meeting this evening about 5, stuck in traffic on Colorado Blvd., and my car started to choke and splutter and die, I barely managed to coast, cursing, into a gas station, glad only that I would not be blocking traffic and would have a somewhat warm spot to wait for the tow truck. It wouldn't even turn over. Before I could make the call, I saw a woman walking out of the "quickie mart" building, and it looked like she had perhaps slipped on some ice and fell, so I got out to see if she was okay.When I got there, it looked more like she had been overcome by sobs than that she had fallen; she was a young woman who looked really haggard with dark circles under her eyes. She dropped something as I helped her up, I picked it up to give it to her.. it was a nickel.At that moment, everything came into focus for me: the crying woman, the ancient Suburban crammed full of stuff with 3 kids in the back (1 in a car seat), and the gas pump reading $4.95.I asked her if she was okay and if she needed help, and she just keptsaying " don't want my kids to see me crying," so we stood on the other side of the pump from her car. She said she was driving to California and things were very hard for her right now. So I asked, "And you were praying?" That made her back away from me a little, but I assured her I was not a crazy person and said, "He heard you, and He sent me."I took out my card and swiped it through the card reader on the pump so she could fill up her car completely, and while it was fueling, walked next door to a McDonald's and bought 2 big bags of food, some gift certificates for more, and a big cup of coffee. She gave the food to the kids in the car, who attacked it like wolves, and we stood by the pump eating fries and talking a little.She told me her name, and that she lived in Kansas City. Her boyfriend left 2 months ago and she had not been able to make ends meet. She knew she wouldn't have money to pay rent Jan 1, and finally in desperation finally called her parents, with whom she had not spoken in about 5 years. They lived in California and they said she could come live with them and try to get on her feet there.So she packed up everything she owned in the car. She told the kids they were going to California for Christmas, but not that they were going to live there.I gave her my gloves, a little hug and said a quick prayer with her for safety on the road. As I was walking over to my car, she said, "So, are you like an angel or something?"This definitely made me cry. I said, "Sweetie, at this time of year angels are really busy, so sometimes God uses regular people."It was so incredible to be a part of someone else's divine intervention. And of course, you guessed it, when I got in my car it started right away and got me home with no problem. I'll put it in the shop tomorrow to check, but I suspect the mechanic won't find anything wrong.Sometimes angels fly close enough to you that you can hear the flutterof their wings...Psalms 55:22 "Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and He shall sustain thee.He shall never suffer the righteous to be moved."

THE TOUCH OF THE MASTER'S HAND

'Twas battered and scarred, and the auctioneer

Thought it scarcely worth his while

To waste much time on the old violin,

But held it up with a smile.

"What am I bidden, good folks," he cried,

"Who'll start the bidding for me?"

"A dollar, a dollar," then, two! Only two?

"Two dollars, and who'll make it three?"

"Three dollars, once; three dollars, twice;

Going for three..."

But no, From the room, far back, a grey-haired man

Came forward and picked up the bow;

Then, wiping the dust from the old violin,

And tightening the loose strings,

He played a melody pure and sweet

As a caroling angel sings.

The music ceased, and the auctioneer,

With a voice that was quiet and low,

Said: "What am I bid for the old violin?"

And he held it up with the bow.

"A thousand dollars, and who'll make it two?

Two thousand! And who'll make it three?

Three thousand, once; three thousand, twice;

And going and gone," said he.

The people cheered, but some of them cried,

"We do not quite understand

What changed its worth?" Swift came the reply:

The touch of the master's hand."

And many a man with life out of tune,

And battered and scarred with sin,

Is auctioneered cheap to the thoughtless crowd,

Much like the old violin.

A "mess of potage", a glass of wine;

A game - he travels on.

He is "going" once, and "going" twice,

He's "going" and almost "gone".

But the Master comes and the foolish crowd

Never can quite understand

The worth of a soul and the change that's wrought

By the touch of the Master's hand.

~Myra B. Welch

Shirley and Marcy

A mom was concerned about her kindergarten son
walking to school. He didn't want his mother to walk with him.

She wanted to give him the feeling that he had some
independence but yet know that he was safe. So she had an idea of how to
handle it.

She asked a neighbor if she would please follow him
to school in the mornings, staying at a distance, so he probably
wouldn't notice her. She said that since she was up early with her toddler
anyway, it would be a good way for them to get some exercise as well, so she
agreed. The next school day, the neighbor and her little girl set out
following behind Timmy as he walked to school with another neighbor girl he knew.

She did this for the whole week. As the t wo walked and chatted,
kicking stones and twigs, Timmy' s little friend noticed the
same lady was following them as she seemed to do every day all week.

Finally she said to Timmy, 'Have you noticed that lady following us to
school all week? Do you know her?'

Timmy nonchalantly replied, 'Yeah, I know who she is.'

The little girl said, 'Well, who is she?'

'That's just Shirley Goodnest,' Timmy replied, 'and her daughter
Marcy.'

'Shirley Goodnest? Who is she and why is she following us?' 'Well,'
Timmy explained, 'every night my Mom makes me say the 23rd
Psalm with my prayers, 'cuz she worries about me so much. And in the
Psalm, it says, 'Shirley Goodnest and Marcy shall follow me all the days of
my life', so I guess I'll just have to get used to it!'

The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make His face to shine upon
you, and be gracious unto you; the Lord lift His countenance upon you, and
give you peace.

May Shirley Goodnest and Marcy be with you today and
always.

DOES GOD EXIST?

This is one of the best explanations of why God allows pain and suffering that I have seen. It's an explanation other people will understand.

A man went to a barbershop to have his hair cut and his beard trimmed. As the barber began to work, they began to have a good conversation. They talked about so many things and various subjects.

When they eventually touched on the subject of God, the barber said: "I don't believe that God exists." "Why do you say that?" asked the customer. "Well, you just have to go out in the street to realize that God doesn't exist. Tell me, if God exists, would there be so many sick people? Would there be abandoned children? If God existed, there would be neither suffering nor pain. I can't imagine a loving a God who would allow all of these things."

The customer thought for a moment, but didn't respond because he didn't want to start an argument. The barber finished his job and the customer left the shop.

Just after he left the barbershop, he saw a man in the street with long, stringy, dirty hair and an untrimmed beard. He looked dirty and un-kept. The customer turned back and entered the barber shop again and he said to the barber: "You know what? Barbers do not exist."

"How can you say that?" asked the surprised barber. "I am here, and I am a barber. And I just worked on you!" "No!" the customer exclaimed. "Barbers don't exist because if they did, there would be no people with dirty long hair and untrimmed beards, like that man outside." "Ah, but barbers DO exist! What happens is, people do not come to me."

"Exactly!"- affirmed the customer. "That's the point! God, too, DOES exist! What happens, is, people don't go to Him and do not look for Him. That's why there's so much pain and suffering in the world."