“Darkness deserves gratitude. It is the alleluia point at which we learn to understand that all growth does not take place in the sunlight.” – Joan Chittister
The Help of Others
Called to Create Our Own Lives
Happiness Cannot Come from Without
Healthy Discontent
Think Enthusiastically About Your Job
English Papers and Trash Cans
The Government is Here to Help
Make a Difference Wherever You Are
As an old man walked down a beach at dawn, he saw a young man running across the sand,bending down to pick up a stranded starfish and throw it far into the sea. The old man gazed in wonder as the young soul again and again threw the small starfish from the sand into the water.
The old man approached him and asked why he spent so much energy doing what seemed a waste of time. The young man explained that the stranded starfish would die if left exposed on the beach until the morning sun arose.
“But there are thousands of miles of beach, and miles and miles of starfish. How can your efforts make any difference?” The young man looked down at the small starfish in his hand, and as he threw it to safety in the sea, he said, “Made a difference to that one!”
Gifts for Mom
Three sons left home, went out on their own and prospered. Getting back together, they discussed the gifts they were able to give their elderly mother.
The first said, “I built a big house for our mother.” The second said, “I sent her a Mercedes with a driver.” The third smiled and said, “I’ve got you both beat. You remember how mom enjoyed reading the Bible? And you know she can’t see very well. So I sent her a remarkable parrot that recites the entire Bible. It took elders in the church 12 years to teach him. He’s one of a kind. Mama just has to name the chapter and verse, and the parrot recites it.”
Soon thereafter, mom sent out her letters of thanks: “Milton,” she wrote one son, “The house you built is so huge. I live in only one room, but I have to clean the whole house.” “Gerald,” she wrote to another, “I am too old to travel. I stay most of the time at home, so I rarely use the Mercedes. And the driver is so rude!” “Dearest Donald,” she wrote to her third son, “You have the good sense to know what your mother likes. The chicken was delicious.”