STONE

TWO FRIENDS WERE WALKING
THROUGH THE DESERT.
DURING SOME POINT OF THE
JOURNEY, THEY HAD AN
ARGUMENT; AND ONE FRIEND
SLAPPED THE OTHER ONE
IN THE FACE.

THE ONE WHO GOT SLAPPED
WAS HURT, BUT WITHOUT
SAYING ANYTHING,
WROTE IN THE SAND.

TODAY MY BEST FRIEND
SLAPPED ME IN THE FACE.

THEY KEPT ON WALKING,
UNTIL THEY FOUND AN OASIS,
WHERE THEY DECIDED
TO TAKE A BATH.

THE ONE WHO HAD BEEN
SLAPPED GOT STUCK IN THE
MIRE AND STARTED DROWNING,
BUT THE FRIEND SAVED HIM.

AFTER HE RECOVERED FROM
THE NEAR DROWNING,
HE WROTE ON A STONE:

'TODAY MY BEST FRIEND
SAVED MY LIFE'

THE FRIEND WHO HAD SLAPPED
AND SAVED HIS BEST FRIEND
ASKED HIM,

'AFTER I HURT YOU,
YOU WROTE IN THE SAND AND NOW,

YOU WRITE ON A STONE, WHY?'

THE FRIEND REPLIED
'WHEN SOMEONE HURTS US
WE SHOULD WRITE IT DOWN
IN SAND, WHERE WINDS OF
FORGIVENESS CAN ERASE IT AWAY.

BUT, WHEN SOMEONE DOES
SOMETHING GOOD FOR US,
WE MUST ENGRAVE IT IN STONE
WHERE NO WIND
CAN EVER ERASE IT'

LEARN TO WRITE
YOUR HURTS IN
THE SAND AND TO
CARVE YOUR
BENEFITS IN STONE.

THEY SAY IT TAKES A

MINUTE TO FIND A SPECIAL
PERSON,

AN HOUR TO
APPRECIATE THEM,

A DAY
TO LOVE THEM,

BUT THEN ,

AN ENTIRE LIFE
TO FORGET THEM.

TAKE THE TIME TO LIVE!

DO NOT VALUE THE THINGS
YOU HAVE IN YOUR LIFE,

BUT VALUE WHO YOU HAVE IN YOUR LIFE!

'BE KINDER THAN NECESSARY,

FOR EVERYONE YOU MEET IS FIGHTING SOME KIND OF BATTLE'

We Have the Power - We are cracked Vessels

You know we all have Power from the least among us, across the board. We all have Power. It is the power to Influence, to hurt, to inspire, to love, to make peace, to affirm, to tear down. What do we do with the power we have? I have had some hurts lately and they made me feel really bad. I admit I am sensitive to the power that others around me have. There is that saying: it not you, it's me. But it is me...I am sensitive. On the other hand it is you, too! Even a child has the ability to wound us, to hurt our feelings. It might be our boss. It may be a significant other. A lot of times we don't even realize that we have hurt another person or that we have been wounded. But the last couple of days I knew I was wounded. IT HURT! When people were saying to me: Are you alright. I was saying: NO. I was acutely aware of the pain. But you know what? There is an anecdote to this hurt.
And what happened was I was walking down the street and I saw an acquaintance riding by on a bicycle, in the street. I said hello as he sailed by and as I stepped into the street. A few feet away, he jammed on his breaks realizing that he had not recognized me at first. He did stop to acknowledge me. He really stopped and he began to engage me in conversation. In the course of that conversation as we caught up about what was going on in our lives, I was able to share that I am currently in a Masters program studying English at Rutgers-Newark. Our conversation led to this person getting in touch with their own desire to go back to school. He asked me a lot of questions about what he might persue and where. I had the information he needed. He had some reservations and I addressed those reservations. He pedalled slowly along side me discussing his vocation for a city block. Finally he thanked me and said his church was encouraging him to pursue some additional professional training. We talked about the possibility of a Doctor of Ministry which he could easily fit into his current church profession. He said that I had inspired him with gratitude and amazement on his face. Unexpected! But more than that, he had restored me, from a state where was feeling like a dejected victim to a place where I was not only a vulnerable person, but reminded that I am also a vessel that might be nourishment. I am cracked and broken but also a vessel full of influence too.