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Leave It To The Professionals

3/24/2016

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Picture© Patty Fitts. All Rights Reserved.
A woman was at work when she received a phone call that her daughter was very sick with a fever. She left her work and stopped by the pharmacy to get some medication for her daughter. When returning to her car she found that she had locked her keys in the car. She was in a hurry to get home to her sick daughter, she didn't know what to do, so she called her home and told the baby sitter what had happened and that she did not know what to do.

The baby sitter told her that her daughter was getting worse. She said, "You might find a coat hanger and use that to open the door." The woman looked around and found an old rusty coat hanger that had been thrown down on the ground possibly by someone else who at some time or other had locked their keys in their car. Then she looked at the hanger and said, "I don't know how to use this."  So she bowed her head and asked God to send her some help. Within five minutes an old rusty car pulled up, with a dirty, greasy, bearded man who was wearing an old biker skull rag on his head. The woman thought, "Great God! This is what you sent to help me?"

But, she was desperate, so she was also very thankful. The man got out of his car and asked her if he could help. She said "Yes, my daughter is very sick. I stopped to get her some medication and I locked my keys in my car, I must get home to her. Please, can you use this hanger to unlock my car."

He said, "SURE."  He walked over to the car, and in less than one minute the car was opened. She hugged the man and through her tears she said, "THANK YOU SO MUCH! You are a very nice man."

The man replied, "Lady, I am not a nice man. I just got out of prison today. I was in prison for car theft and have only been out for about an hour. The woman hugged the man again and with sobbing tears cried out loud, “THANK YOU, GOD, FOR SENDING ME A PROFESSIONAL!”

Reprinted from Grace Drops, Volume 8 (2010).


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Biscuits

3/23/2016

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Picture© Patty Fitts. All Rights Reserved.
When I was a kid, my Mom liked to make breakfast food for dinner every now and then.  And I remember one night in particular when she had made breakfast after a long, hard day at work. On that evening so long ago, my mom placed a plate of eggs,
sausage, and extremely burned biscuits in front of my Dad. I remember waiting to see if anyone noticed! Yet all my Dad did was reach for his biscuit, smile at my mom and ask     me how my day was at school. I don't remember what I told him that night, but I do remember watching him smear butter and jelly on that biscuit and eat every bite!
 
When I got up from the table that evening, I remember hearing my Mom apologize to my dad for burning the biscuits. And I'll never forget what he said: "Honey, I love burned biscuits."
 
Later that night, I went to kiss Daddy good night and I asked him if he really liked his biscuits burned. He wrapped me in his arms and said, "Your Momma put in a hard day at work today and she's real tired. And besides -- a little burnt biscuit never hurt anyone!"
 
You know, life is full of imperfect things . . . and imperfect people. I'm not the best at hardly anything, and I forget birthdays and anniversaries just like everyone else.
What I've learned over the years is that learning to accept each other’s faults -- and choosing to celebrate each other’s differences is one of the most important keys to creating a healthy, growing, and lasting relationship.
 
And that's my prayer for you today. That you will learn to take the good, the bad, and the ugly parts of your life and lay them at the feet of God. Because in the end, He's the only One who will be able to give you a relationship where a burnt biscuit isn't a  deal-breaker!
 
We could extend this to any relationship. In fact, understanding is the base of any relationship, be it a husband-wife or parent-child or friendship!
 
"Don't put the key to your happiness in someone else's pocket -- keep it in your own."
 
So please pass me a biscuit, and yes, the burnt one will do just fine!
 
Reprinted from Grace Drops, Volume 8 (2010).

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A Sioux Indian Story

3/22/2016

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Picture© Patty Fitts. All Rights Reserved.
I’ve long enjoyed the following story, often referred to as “A Sioux Indian Story”:
 
"My grandfather took me to the fish pond on the farm when I was about seven, and he told me to throw a stone into the water. He told me to watch the circles created by the stone. Then he asked me to think of myself as that stone person.
 
'You may create lots of splashes in your life but the waves that come from those splashes will disturb the peace of all your fellow creatures,' he said. 'Remember that you are responsible for what you put in your circle and that circle will also touch many other circles. You will need to live in a way that allows the good that comes from your circle to send the peace of that goodness to others. The splash that comes from anger or jealousy will send those feelings to other circles. You are responsible for both.'
 
That was the first time I realized each person creates the inner peace or discord that flows out into the world. We cannot create a peaceful world if we are riddled with inner conflict, hatred, doubt, or anger. We radiate the feelings and thoughts that we hold inside, whether we speak them or not. Whatever is splashing around inside of us is spilling out into the world, creating beauty or discord with all other circles of life."
 
The story reminds us that for the good of others, and ourselves, we often need an “attitude adjustment.” Just as the power of grace can spread and change the world in which we live, so can the power of the negative. It is much easier to slip into the negative mode. Like gravity, the negative downward pull of our selfish nature is very powerful. Grace can overcome, but not without effort and intent.
 
Reprinted from Grace Drops, Volume 8 (2010).

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Does Evil Exist?

3/16/2016

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Picture © Patty Fitts. All Rights Reserved.
A University professor at a well-known institution of higher learning challenged his students with this question: "Did God create everything that exists?" A student bravely replied, "Yes he did!"

The professor answered, "If God created everything; then God created evil. And, since evil exists, and according to the principal that our works define who we are, then we can assume God is evil."

The students became quiet and did not answer the professor's hypothetical definition. The professor, quite pleased with himself, boasted to the students that he had proven faith in God was a myth.

Another student raised his hand and said, "May I ask you a question, professor?"

"Of course", replied the professor. The student asked, "Professor, does cold exist?"

"What kind of question is this? Of course it exists. Have you never been cold?  
    
The other students snickered at the young man's question. The young man replied, "In fact sir, cold does not exist. According to the laws of physics, what we consider cold is in reality the absence of heat. Every body or object is susceptible to study when it has or transmits energy, and heat is what makes a body or matter have or transmit energy. Absolute zero (-460 F) is the total absence of heat; and all matter becomes inert and incapable of reaction at that temperature. Cold does not exist. We have created this word to describe how we feel if we have no heat."

The student continued, "Professor, does darkness exist?" The professor responded, "Of course it does."

The student replied, "Once again you are wrong sir, darkness does not exist either. Darkness is in reality the absence of light. Light we can study, but not darkness. In fact, we can use Newton's prism to break white light into many colors and study the various wave lengths of each color. You cannot measure darkness. A simple ray of light can break into a world of darkness and illuminate it. How can you know how dark a certain space is? You measure the amount of light present. Isn't this correct? Darkness is a term used by man to describe what happens when there is no light present."

Finally, the young man asked the professor, "Sir, does evil exist?"

Now uncertain, the professor responded, "Of course, as I have already said. We see it everyday. It is in the daily examples of man's inhumanity to man. It is in the multitude of crime and violence everywhere in the world. These manifestations are nothing else but evil.

To this the student replied, "Evil does not exist, sir, or at least it does not exist unto itself. Evil is simply the absence of God. It is just like darkness and cold, a word that man has created to describe the absence of God. God did not create evil. Evil is the result of what happens when man does not have God's love present in his heart. It's like the cold that comes when there is no heat, or the darkness that comes when there is no light."
​
The professor sat down. The young man's name? Albert Einstein.
 
Reprinted from Grace Drops, Volume 8 (2010).

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Don't Talk to the Parrot

3/15/2016

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Picture© Patty Fitts. All Rights Reserved.
Mrs. Davidson’s dishwasher quit working so she called a repairman. Since she had to go to work the next day, she told him, “I’ll leave the key under the mat. Fix the dishwasher, leave the bill on the counter, and I’ll mail you the check. By the way, don’t worry about my Doberman dog. He won’t bother you. But, whatever you do, do NOT under ANY circumstances talk to my parrot!”
 
When the repairman arrived at Mrs. Davidson’s apartment the next day, he discovered the biggest and meanest looking Doberman he had ever seen, but just as she had said, the dog just lay there on the carpet, watching the repairman go about his business. However, the parrot drove him nuts the whole time with his incessant yelling, cursing, and name-calling.
 
Finally, the repairman couldn’t contain himself any longer and yelled, “Shut up, you stupid bird!”
 
To which the parrot replied, “Get him, Spike!”
 
Reprinted from Grace Drops, Volume 8 (2010).

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Free Tire Repair

3/14/2016

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Picture© Patty Fitts. All Rights Reserved.
It was in St. Petersburg, FL, on an ominously gray morning, with dark, puffy clouds racing across the sky and meteorologists warning of tornadoes, Cindy B. Smith pulled in to the tire store to deal with a leaky valve stem.

"You know what it's like when you walk in one of those stores. You know they're going to find all kinds of things that are wrong. I just told them, I cannot afford to buy a tire. Period."

The tire was still holding air, but only because her boyfriend jammed paper into the valve stem to slow the leak.

"It's probably going to be about an hour and a half," said the blond, broad-shouldered man at the Tire Kingdom store at 16th Street and 15th Avenue N.

"That's fine. I have nowhere to go,'' said Smith, 46, having already dropped off her 7-year-old son at school. Smith, a St. Petersburg native, was laid off in January from an educational software company. A University of Florida graduate, she taught special education for several years at Riviera Middle School in St. Petersburg. She has been monitoring the job market, firing out resumes, but has had no luck so far.

Twenty minutes later, as Smith sat in the waiting room, reading the newspaper and watching TV reports about the bad weather, the big guy re-emerged.

"I moved you up in line. Don't want you out in the bad weather," he said.

"That was so sweet of you," Smith said. "What do I owe you?"
The big guy smiled. "Goodbye."

"No, really, how much do I owe you?"

He smiled again. "Someday, maybe you'll need tires," he said. "And maybe you'll come back."

Tears in her eyes, Smith managed to say something about "making my day," then walked out into the gray morning.

"There are so many good people in the world who truly do good things and don't expect anything in return," Smith said. ''Maybe sometimes we need to look within ourselves to find that something so insignificant to me might mean the world to somebody else."
 
Author: Pat Farnan, St. Petersburg Times. Reprinted with permission.  


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    Author

    John Fitts is a retired hospital chaplain and a contributor & publisher of Grace Drops. John lives in Palm Harbor, Florida with his artist wife, Patty. 
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