Blog Archives - Grace Drops

The Secret Santa

12/20/2013

© Patty Fitts. All Rights Reserved.

This story occurred when my husband had been transferred from Massachusetts to Florida. We had already had several transfers, and I didn’t want to move again, especially since all my family is in Mass., and I had a job that I loved. We moved away from a small town that was truly a “Currier and Ives” setting at Christmas, from the town Christmas tree decorating to the candlelight processional from town center to the white steepled church. Florida was NOT a Christmas-y setting as far as I was concerned!

About a month before the first Christmas that I had to spend in Florida, a large box with a postmark that I didn’t recognize arrived at my house. Inside was a beautiful balsam Christmas wreath that smelled of all the Christmasses I’d ever known. No card, no identification to let me know where it came from. It remained a mystery. The next week, a second box arrived with mulling spices for cider, hot chocolate and a note from Secret Santa. A different strange postmark was on this box, still of a town where I didn’t know anyone.

Week three brought a “Christmas Traditions in New England” book from a third different town.

Week four brought a candle and “snowman making kit.”

It took a full year for me to finally discover that my friends at the job I left in Massachusetts got together to make sure I had a New England Christmas. They drove all over the state to mail the box from areas that I wouldn’t recognize, and each one I asked about it innocently denied any knowledge of the “plot” until they all decided to send me a note together. That Christmas left a “warm fuzzy” feeling for weeks, and even now makes me feel so loved and blessed when I speak of it almost 14 years later!

Maryellen Sullivan. All Rights Reserved. Reprinted from Grace Drops, Volume 5 (2007).

The Interview

12/18/2013

© Patty Fitts. All Rights Reserved.

A human resources interviewer was reaching he end of an interview with a newly graduated engineer from MIT. “And what is your salary requirement?” the HR person asked the engineer?

The engineer thought for a moment and said, “One-hundred fifty thousand a year, but that number is negotiable depending on the benefits offered.”

The HR specialist said, “Well how would you feel about a package that offers six weeks of vacation your very first year, 15 paid holidays, complete medical coverage including dental and vision, and a retirement fund that will match up to 50 percent of your salary—and a company car for you every two years, you get to pick the make and model, how about a red BMW?”

The engineer’s eyes were wide with excitement, “Wow,” he said, “Are you kidding?”

The HR specialist said, “Yes, I am. But you started it.”

One of the challenges of the modern generation is dealing with “expectations.” Young people coming out of colleges and universities these days carry unrealistic expectations into their careers, their marriages and new families. There is a tendency to want to start out at the point their parents took decades to achieve. Sometimes it works and sometimes it leads to disappointment and cynicism.

© 2007, John C. Fitts, III. All Rights Reserved. Reprinted from Grace Drops, Volume 5 (2007).

The Pencil's Tale

12/16/2013

© Patty Fitts. All Rights Reserved.

An old pencil maker took his newest pencil aside, just before he was about to pack him into a box.

“There are five things you need to know,” he said to his pencil, “before I send you out into the world. Always remember these five things—never forget them—and you will become the best pencil you can be!

“The first thing is to remember that you will be able to do many great things, but only if you put yourself in someone else’s hands.

“From time to time you will experience a painful sharpening, but remember that this will make you a better pencil.

“Also, keep in mind that you will be able to correct any mistakes you might make along the way.

“And the most important part of you is what’s on the inside.

“And remember this, as well, upon every surface that you are used, you must leave your mark. No matter what else happens, you must continue to write.”

The pencil listened carefully and promised he would remember these five things so that he could live his life with heart and purpose.

Reprinted from Grace Drops, Volume 5 (2007).

Uncanny Confidence

12/12/2013

© Patty Fitts. All Rights Reserved.

Two men crashed in their private plane on a deserted South Pacific Island. Both survived. One of the men brushed himself off and then proceeded to run all over the island to see if they had any chance of survival.

When he returned, he rushed up to the other man and screamed, “This island is uninhabited, there is no food, there is no water……we are going to die!”

The other man leaned back against the fuselage of the wrecked plane, folded his arms, and responded, “No, we’re not. I make over $250,000 a week.”

The first man grabbed his friend and shook him. “Listen, we are on an uninhabited island. There is no food, no water, and we are going to die!”

The other man, unruffled, again responded, “No, we are not! I make over $250,000 a week!”

Mystified, the first man, taken aback with such an answer, repeated loudly and slowly: “For….the….last…..time….I’m…..telling....you….WE…..ARE….DOOMED! There is NO...ONE...ELSE...ON...THE....ISLAND! There....is....NO....FOOD.....OR.... WATER! I repeat: WE...ARE...GOING...TO...DIE...A....SLOW...DEATH!”

Still unfazed, the other man looked the first man in the eyes and said, “Do not make me say this again. I TITHE. My pastor will find us!”

Reprinted from Grace Drops, Volume 5 (2007).

A Lesson on Seeking Praise

12/9/2013

© Patty Fitts. All Rights Reserved.

Once, during Napoleon’s rule, a successful field marshal asked for an audience with the leader and the leader agreed to the meeting.

When the field marshal arrived, he brought news of a great victory, and how he had been instrumental in achieving it. In fact, the field marshal went on and on about his accomplishments in great detail.

Napoleon listened carefully without once interrupting—but at the end of the man’s report, Napoleon said nothing.

The officer was disappointed, of course; he had hoped for some enthusiasm and praise.

And so the officer began to reiterate that which he had just said. While he rambled, Napoleon again listened intently. And the field marshal was sure that this time he would get the praise he was due.

But when he officer had finally finished, Napoleon had for him just one question: “What did you do the next day?”
. . . .

Ask Larry Coker, coach of the Miami Hurricanes, if he is secure in what he has accomplished. His team has been ranked in the top twenty-five teams in the country every week since 1999. Suddenly, with a loss to the Louisville Cardinals, his ability and probably even his character are in question. (Notice I did not use another well-known coach as an example today. I do not know many Hurricane fans.)

We must find our security in something other than what we’ve done lately. Who we are is far more important that what we’ve done.

© 2007, John C. Fitts, III. All Rights Reserved. Reprinted from Grace Drops, Volume 5 (2007).

About Dirt

12/7/2013

© Patty Fitts. All Rights Reserved.

Recently I went to a retreat for chaplains who gathered for reflection and mutual encouragement. During the morning session we came to a point where the facilitator gave us an assignment. Based upon insights from a poem, we were to go outside and spend thirty minutes contemplating the elements of creation and let God speak to us. I inwardly groaned and immediately thought to myself, “what a waste. I can never get anything out of this.”

So I decided to get as far away from everyone else as possible. I walked a couple of blocks away to a small park, with a playground, benches, a large tree with its branches bent to the ground, a little grass, but mostly dirt. I sat and looked at the dirt. I began to think about dirt.

Dirt can really be messy. It leaves tracks on carpets and makes stains on clothes. Dirt needs to be cleaned up and often leaves traces that remind us of its power. I started thinking about my journey and how often I had made mistakes, times of failure and disappointment, and the traces on my soul that reminded me of those times. Dirt reminded me of my humanity and frailty. The dirt was beginning to get to me.

Then I looked up and around. I saw the trees branches touching the ground. I remembered that my wife often would bend the limb of a plant down and put a brick on it to enable the branch to send shoots down into the dirt that would become the roots of a new plant, drawing life from the dirt.

I looked at the playground built on the dirt. While messy, the soft dirt cushioned the fall of children as they came shooting down the slide, or sometimes fell from the swings. The dirt on the clothes and knees of children were marks of a fun filled day.

My eyes drifted to the blades of green grass that grew in the mid distance and waved in the gentle breeze. The greenness hid the dark shade of dirt from which the grass sprang. The dirt also contained nutrients that sustained the life of plants and grass.

What a wonderful picture of our humanity! The mistakes, failures, and inadequacies of our lives can be messy and they can’t be avoided. We overcome all that because the same human nature produces the growth, the fun, the life affirming spirit that makes life worth living.

I went back to the meeting and shared the dirt with the others.

© 2007, John C. Fitts, III. All Rights Reserved. Reprinted from Grace Drops, Volume 5 (2007).

Overcoming Attitude

12/6/2013

© Patty Fitts. All Rights Reserved.

There once was a woman who woke up one morning, looked in the mirror and notice she had only three hairs on her head.

“Well,” she said, “I think I’ll braid my hair today.” So she did and she had a wonderful day.

The next day she woke up, looked in the mirror and saw that she had only two hairs on her head.

“H-m-m-m,” she said, “I think I’ll part my hair down the middle today.” So she did and had a grand day.

The next day she woke up, looked in the mirror and noticed that she had only one hair on her head.

“Well,” she said, “today I’m going to wear my hair in a pony tail.” So she did and she had a fun, fun day.

The next day she woke up, looked in the mirror and noticed that there wasn’t a single hair on her head.

“Yeah!” she exclaimed, “I don’t have to fix my hair today!”

Attitude is Everything!

Reprinted from Grace Drops, Volume 5 (2007).

Parable of the Spoons

12/4/2013

© Patty Fitts. All Rights Reserved.

A holy man was having a conversation with the Lord one day and said, "Lord, I would like to know what Heaven and Hell are like."

The Lord led the holy man to two doors. He opened one of the doors and the holy man looked in. In the middle of the room was a large round table. In the middle of the table was a large pot of stew which smelled delicious and made the holy man's mouth water. The people sitting around the table were thin and sickly. They appeared to be famished. They were holding spoons with very long handles that were strapped to their arms, and each found it possible to reach into the pot of stew and take a spoonful, but because the handle was longer than their arms, they could not get the spoons back into their mouths. The holy man shuddered at the sight of their misery and suffering. The Lord said, "You have seen Hell."

They went to the next room and opened the door. It was exactly the same as the first one. There was the large round table with the large pot of stew which again made the holy man's mouth water. The people were equipped with the same long-handled spoons, but here the people were well nourished and plump, laughing and talking. The holy man said, "I don't understand."

"It is simple," said the Lord," it requires but one skill. You see, they have learned to feed each other. While the greedy think only of themselves."

Reprinted from Grace Drops, Volume 5 (2007).