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WITandWISDOM(tm) - December 25, 2000 ~~~~~~~ THOUGHTS: Believe me, every heart has its secret sorrows, which the world knows not; and oftentimes we call a man cold when he is only sad. - Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Source: Peter's Pearls, www.peterspearls.com.au via http://www.witandwisdom.org ~~~~~~~ SPECIAL THOUGHTS: THE DOLL AND A WHITE ROSE A parable by Verna A. Bailey Gibson, December 1998, members.xoom.com/vag53/doll.htm Used by permission I hurried into the local department store to grab some last minute Christmas gifts. I looked at all the people and grumbled to myself. I would be in here forever and I just had so much to do. Christmas was beginning to become such a drag. I kind a wished that I could just sleep through Christmas. But I hurried the best I could through all the people to the toy department. Once again I kind of mumbled to myself at the prices of all these toys. And wondered if the grandchildren would even play with them. I found myself in the doll aisle. Out of the corner of my eye I saw a little boy, about 5, holding a lovely doll. He kept touching her hair and he held her so gently. I could not seem to help myself. I just kept looking over at the little boy and wondered whom the doll was for. I watched him turn to a woman, and he called his aunt by name and said, "Are you sure I don't have enough money?" She replied a bit impatiently, "You know that you don't have enough money for it." The aunt told the little boy not to go anywhere, that she had to go get some other things and would be back in a few minutes. And then she left the aisle. The boy continued to hold the doll. After a bit I asked the boy whom the doll was for. He said, "It is the doll my sister wanted so badly for Christmas. She just knew that Santa would bring it to her." I told him that maybe Santa was going to bring it. He said, "No, Santa can't go where my sister is . . . I have to give the doll to my Mamma to take to her." I asked him where his sister was. He looked at me with the saddest eyes and said, "She has gone to be with Jesus." "My Daddy says that Mama is going to have to go be with her." My heart nearly stopped beating. Then the boy looked at me again and said, "I told my Daddy to tell Mama not to go yet. I told him to tell her to wait till I got back from the store". Then he asked me if I wanted to see his picture. I told him I would love to. He pulled out some pictures he had taken at the front of the store. He said "I want my Mamma to take this with her so she don't ever forget me." "I love my Mama so very much and I wish she did not have to leave me." "But Daddy says she will need to be with my sister." I saw that the little boy had lowered his head and had grown so very quiet. While he was not looking, I reached into my purse and pulled out a handful of bills. I asked the little boy, "Shall we count that money one more time? " He grew excited and said, "Yes, I just know it has to be enough." So I slipped my money in with his, and we began to count it. Of course it was plenty for the doll. He softly said, "Thank you, Jesus, for giving me enough money." Then the boy said "I just asked Jesus to give me enough money to buy this doll, so Mama can take it with her, to give to my sister." "And He heard my prayer." "I wanted to ask Him for enough to buy my Mama a white rose, but I didn't ask Him, but He gave me enough to buy the doll and a rose for my Mama." "She loves white roses so very, very much." In a few minutes the aunt came back, and I wheeled my cart away. I could not keep from thinking about the little boy as I finished my shopping in a totally different spirit than when I had started. Submitted by Alice Bryan ~~~~~~~ THIS & THAT: A WOMAN'S GUIDE TO MEN'S GIFTS Part 2 of 2 [Dec 22 & 25] With Christmas coming, this is surely going to be a big help! Rule #8: Buy men label makers. Almost as good as cordless drills. Within a couple of weeks there will be labels absolutely everywhere. Socks. Shorts. Cups. Saucers. Door. Lock. Sink. You get the idea. No one knows why. Rule #9: Never buy a man anything that says "some assembly required" on the box. It will ruin his Special Day and he will always have parts left over. Rule #10: Good places to shop for men include Northwest Iron Works, Parr Lumber, Home Depot, John Deere, Valley RV Center, and Les Schwab Tire. (NAPA Auto Parts and Sears' Clearance Centers are also excellent men's stores. It doesn't matter if he doesn't know what it is. "From NAPA Auto, eh? Must be something I need. Hey! Isn't this a starter for a '68 Ford Fairlane? Wow! Thanks.") Rule #11: Men enjoy danger. That's why they never cook - but they will barbecue. Get him a monster barbecue with a 100-pound propane tank. Tell him the gas line leaks. "Oh the thrill! The challenge! Who wants a hamburger?" Rule #12: Tickets to a Red Wing/Lions/Pistons/Tigers game are a smart gift. However, he will not appreciate tickets to "A Retrospective of 19th Century Quilts." Everyone knows why. Rule #13: Men love chainsaws. Never, ever, buy a man you love a chainsaw. If you don't know why - please refer to Rule #8 and what happens when he gets a label maker. Rule #14: It's hard to beat a really good wheelbarrow or an aluminum extension ladder. Never buy a real man a step ladder. It must be an extension ladder. No one knows why. Source: The Funnies, andychaps_the-funnies-subscribe@egroups.com via http://www.witandwisdom.org ~~~~~~~ KEEP SMILING: A little girl was sitting on her grandfather's lap as he read her a bedtime story. From time to time, she would take her eyes off the book and reach up to touch his wrinkled cheek. She was alternately stroking her own cheek, then his again. Finally she spoke up, "Grandpa, did God make you?" "Yes, sweetheart," he answered, "God made me a long time ago." "Oh," she paused, "Grandpa, did God make me too?" "Yes, indeed honey," he said, "God made you just a little while ago." Feeling their respective faces again, she observed, "God's getting better at it, isn't he?" Source: Monday Fodder dgaufaaa@iohk.com?subject=Subscribe_Monday_Fodder via http://www.witandwisdom.org ~~~~~~~ TRIVIA: THEN AND NOW Though our popular media tend to focus on negative news events and conditions, Americans have more opportunities than ever for living well, according to recent surveys by the Cato Institute in Washington, D.C. Compared to 1900, here are some of the improvements cited from the surveys: Four times as many people are getting high school diplomas. More than 70% of Americans have at least one automobile, a telephone, cable TV, etc. - all modern conveniences that save time and energy and are taken for granted. Accidental deaths have dropped 61 % despite all the additional cars and airplanes and the millions of people using them. The average work week is 30% shorter (35 hours now vs. 50 hours a week in 1909.) We are spending twice as much time in leisure activities as our ancestors in 1900. And of course, we're living longer due to advances in medicine and disease prevention. 100 years ago you could look forward to only reaching age 48 - a child born today has a life expectancy of almost 80 years. Source: Pathways to Health, ISSN 1091-6229, (c) Copyright 2000 by Scott Publishing, Inc. Submitted by Marvin Blehm |