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WITandWISDOM(tm) - January 23, 2007 ISSN 1538-8794 ~~~~~~~ THOUGHTS: Our scientific power has outrun our spiritual power. We have guided missiles and misguided men. - Martin Luther King Jr., Strength to Love, 1963 Source: Quotes of the Day, http://www.quotationspage.com/qotd.html ~~~~~~~ SPECIAL THOUGHTS: "I Realized I Could Help" The author wishes to remain anonymous Edited by Shmuel Greenbaum Recently, a woman who worked in my office building fell ill. Since she didn’t speak English, and I spoke her language, I told her I would take her to the hospital. The nurse arrived with a translator, and I was asked to leave the room. I had to wait to take my friend home, so I went to get myself something to eat from the vending machines in the waiting room. I noticed a young mother there with four small children. One had a large wound on his face. She was on her cell phone, and seemed very distraught. She was trying to reach a doctor to help her child, and also trying to contact her husband to tell him to come to the hospital. Four children are a lot to handle under the best of circumstances. My only child spent much of her life in and out of hospitals with severe health problems. I know how terrifying it can be. As I stood at the vending machines, I realized I could help. I asked the oldest child if he could help me work the vending machine, explaining that I was having trouble getting it to operate. He immediately came to my assistance. I then asked if he could choose something healthy to eat (I helped a little with that.) The mother told the children to stop annoying me and to come back to her. I went to her, showed her my identification badge from work so she would know my name, and explained a little about my daughter’s history. I assured the mother that I was there to help, and that the children were absolutely delightful. I then asked each child to choose something to eat from the vending machine for himself. Then we went to the drink machine, where we each chose healthy drinks. Then I asked the oldest boy to choose a snack and drink for his mother, since she was still busy on the phone. We all sat down in the waiting room and had our snacks. The mother came to me, hugged me, and began to cry. She said she had no money to repay me. I told her there was nothing to repay, that when my daughter was ill, someone had always appeared to help me. This time it was my turn. We talked about how frustrating it is to handle these things alone. I assured her that my husband always seemed to be away when our daughter was ill, but that it was not intentional. I suggested that when she eventually reached her husband, that she should not blame him for not being there. When I left to return to my friend, the injured boy reached up to hug me. Then he asked, "The next time I get hurt, will you come to the hospital to help me?" I assured him I would if his mother called. As I left, the mother said to the children, "Do you see that lady? That is one of G-d’s helpers on earth. She is an angel." What a joy it was to be of service that evening. Source: Kind Words, mailto:Kindness-subscribe@PartnersInKindness.org ~~~~~~~ THIS & THAT: One Sunday, the Minister was giving a sermon on baptism and in the coarse of his sermon he was illustrating the fact that baptism should take place by sprinkling and not by immersion. He pointed out some instances in the Bible. He said that when John the Baptist baptized Jesus in the River Jordan, it didn’t mean in - it meant close to, round about, or nearby. And again when it says in the Bible that Philip baptized the eunuch in the river, it didn’t mean in - it meant close to, round about, or nearby. After the service, a man came up to the minister and told him it was a great sermon, one of the best he had ever heard, and that it had cleared up a great many mysteries he had encountered in the Bible. "For instance," he said, "the story about Jonah getting swallowed by the whale has always bothered me. Now I know that Jonah wasn’t really in the whale, but close to, round about, or nearby—swimming in the water. Then there is the story about the three young Hebrew boys who were thrown into the furious furnace, but were not burned. Now I see that they were not really in the fire, just close to, round about, or nearby—just keeping warm. But the hardest of all the stories for me to believe has always been the story of Daniel getting thrown into the lions’ den. But now I see that he wasn’t really in the lions’ den, but close to, round about, or nearby—like at the zoo. The revealing of these mysteries have been a real comfort to me. Now I am gratified to know that I won’t be in Hell, but close to, round about, or nearby. And next Sunday, I won’t have to be in church, just close to, round about, or nearby. Thanks. You have really put my mind at ease. By A. Todd Coget Source: SermonCentral Weekly Newsletter, http://www.sermoncentral.com/newsletter_subscribe.asp ~~~~~~~ KEEP SMILING: During a storm, my wife's car became stuck in a snow bank. Our obstetrician saw her spinning her wheels, trying to get out. When he offered to help, my wife could not resist telling him, "Okay, Doctor, now when I count to three, PUSH!" Source: Pulpit Supply, http://lively.ca/mailman/listinfo/pulpitsupply_lively.ca ~~~~~~~ TRIVIA: This comes from a WITandWISDOM reader in regard to yesterday’s story about Jesse and Frank James: “This is a true story about Jesse and Frank James who once stopped at my great aunt's house and had a meal. When they finished their meal the James boys asked to go out a back window so the neighbors wouldn't talk. My great aunt was so impressed by the good manners Jesse and Frank showed during their short visit, that she named first two sons after the James boys; Frank James Brown born 1882 and Jesse James Brown born 1883. This all happened in northern MO in Atchison Co.”- By Margaret Harke