Faith, hope and love. But its the greatest of these.

From the very beginning, the girl's family objected strongly on her dating this guy. Saying that it has got to do with family background & that the girl will have to suffer for the rest of her life if she were to go along with him.

Due to family's pressure, the couple quarreled very often. She believed in God.She believed in him, but she would always ask him: "What's God's plan for us?"

The guy was not good with his words, this often caused the girl to be very upset. With that & the family's pressure, the girl often vents her anger on him. As for him, he only endures it in silence.Praying to God that one day she will be able to see through the his eyes.

After a couple of years, the guy finally graduated & decided to further his studies overseas. Before leaving, he proposed to the girl: "I'm not very good with words. But all I know is that I love you. If you allow me, I will take care of you for the rest of my life. As for your family, I'll try my best to talk them round. Will you marry me?"

The girl agreed, & with the guy's determination, the family finally gave in & agreed to let them get married. So before he leaves, they got engaged.

The girl went out to the working society, whereas the guy was overseas, continuing his studies. They talked through emails & phone calls. Though it's hard, but both never thought of giving up.

One day, while the girl was on her way to work, she was knocked down by a car that lost control. When she woke up, she saw her parents beside her bed. She realized that she was badly injured. Seeing her mum crying, she wanted to comfort her. But she realized that all that could come out of her mouth was just a sigh. She has lost her voice......

The doctor says that the impact on her brain has caused her to lose her voice. Listening to her parents' comfort, but with nothing coming out from her, she broke down.

During the stay in hospital, besides silence cry,.....it's still the silence cry that accompanied her. Upon reaching home, everything seems to be the same. Except for the ringing tone of the phone. Which pierced into her heart every time it rang. She does not wish to let the guy know. & not wanting to be a burden to him, she wrote a letter to him saying that she does not wish to wait any longer.

With that, she sent the ring back to him. In return, the guy sent millions & millions of reply, and countless of phone calls,.. all the girl could do, besides crying, is still crying....

The parents decided to move away, hoping that she could eventually forget everything & be happy.

With a new environment, the girl learnt sign language & started a new life. Telling herself everyday that she must forget everything. One day, her friend came & told her that he's back. She asked her friend not to let him know what happened to her. Since then, there wasn't anymore news of him.

A year has passed & her friend came with an envelope, containing an invitation card for the guy's wedding. The girl was shattered. When she opened the letter, she saw her name in it instead.

When she was about to ask her friend what's going on, she saw the guy standing in front of her. He used sign language telling her "I've spent a year's time to learn sign language. Just to let you know that I've not forgotten our promise. Let me have the chance to be your voice. I Love You. With that, he slipped the ring back into her finger. The girl finally smiled.

1 Corinthians 13:

Love never fails. Treat every relationship(including that with your friends,children,spouses,workmates) as if it's the last one, then you'll know how to Give. Treat every moment as is it's the last day, then you'll know how to treasure.

Treasure what you have right now, never let settle for regret... 

Legacy of Influence

I found myself mumbling out loud as I walked through my office this week.  I didn’t realize I was talking out loud until another co-worker asked me to repeat what I had just said.  At first, I was not really sure what I was mumbling about but then it flooded back into my memory.  I was mumbling something about needing to “go on vacation and disappear for a while”.  Ever have those feelings?  Seems lately I have had them a lot.  Nothing serious and nothing that more than a day off couldn’t cure.

However, there have been times in my life that things were so bad that I just wanted to disappear from life altogether.  Not in the sense that I wanted “end it all”, but rather, I  just wanted to go as far away as I could.  Wherever the night will fall,  I would start a new life and get a fresh start.  Now these were just fleeting thoughts and at no time was I serious about wanting to really do that.  They were just thoughts going through my head.  I have lived long enough to know that you cannot run away from the problems in your life.  They will always find you.  What I have learned from these thoughts is that for whatever reason, whether it be due to bad choices we have made in our lives, disappointment, hurt, anger, regret, pain or loss we  all want to remove ourselves from the things and people who caused us such problems.  It is a common feeling.  The idea of getting a second chance and starting over is a strong force to be reckoned with.  But ultimately, no matter how hard we try, we cannot change the events and the trouble from our past.

I am reminded of the powerful influence that my family and friends had on me while I was growing up.   I am a “momma’s girl” and I have always acknowledged that.  Apart from my relationship with Jesus Christ,  my mother’s influence on me has been the single most important factor in making me into the person I would become.   She left an imprint on my life.  A “footprint” if you will.   This “footprint” that she gave has been evident all my life.   I can honestly say that if there is any thing “good” in me I have no doubt that it came from my mother.

As I head into my future, I realize that there have been other “footprints” that have influenced me and left their “mark” on me as I look back on my life.  They would leave a legacy of influence.  This “legacy” that was passed on to me would lay a foundation on the person I would become.  My father left a footprint that has made me want to be a better friend.  My dad left a footprint of a good work ethic.  My sister, a footprint of  being true to your core beliefs of fairness and equality.  My brother, that you can accomplish anything if you put your mind and heart into it.   These are the positive footprints that I choose to focus on and take away from their influence on my life.  However, there are “footprints” that have been left in my life that have not been good.   A legacy of anger, failure, disappointment, hurt and loss have all been part of my life.  I am finding out that there has always  been an influence from those that make up my past.  As much as I would like to, I cannot simply erase the bad  influences by simply wanting to run away from them.   They will stay with me until the day I die.  The goal is to focus on the good influences and put away the bad.

The evidence of a life lived is witnessed by the scars we carry.  These scars can be emotional, physical and more importantly spiritual.  We are scarred from events that have caused us pain or hurt in our lives. We could be scarred by the way we were raised or by disappointments that have come our way in life. Scars are reminders of the result of the choices we have made and some by the choices of others. The deepest and most painful scars are those that others cannot see. Many of them are “earned” and self-inflicted, some are not.  The bottom line is that scars are a part of life.  It is what you do with them that is important.  You can choose to use them as motivation to do better or you can use them as an excuse to do nothing.  I am constantly reminded that the scars that are evident in my life  are there to point me to Christ.   They are reminders of what can happen again if I take my eyes off the Lord.

My prayer is that for the rest of my life that I will leave a legacy of faithfulness and love for Christ in the footprints I leave behind.

The question is, what will be the legacy of the footprints you leave behind?

MOTHER TO DAUGHTER

My dear girl,

The day you see I’m getting old, I ask you to please be patient, but most of all, try to understand what I’m going through. If when we 

talk, I repeat the same thing a thousand times, don’t  interrupt to say: “You said the same thing a minute ago”... Just listen, please. Try 

to remember the times when you were little and I would read the same story night after night until you would fall asleep. When I don’t 

want to take a bath, don’t be mad and don’t embarrass me. Remember when I had to run after you making excuses and trying to get

you to take a shower when you were just a girl? When you see how ignorant I am when it comes to new technology, give me the time 

to learn and don’t look at me that way... remember, honey, I patiently taught youhow to do many things like eating appropriately, 

getting dressed, combing your hair and dealing with life’s issues every day... the day you see I’m getting old, I ask you to please be 

patient, but most of all, try to understand what I’m going through. If I occasionally lose track of what we’re talking about, give me the 

time to remember, and if I can’t, don’t be nervous, impatient or arrogant.Just know in your heart that the most important thing for me is 

to be with you. And when my old, tired legs don’t let me move as quickly as before, give me your hand the same way that I offered 

mine to you when you first walked. When those days come, don’t feel sad... just be with me, and understand me while I get to the end 

of my life with love. I’ll cherish and thank you for the gift of time and joy we shared. With a big smile and the huge love I’ve always had 

for you, I just want to say, I love you... my darling daughter. "

MOMENTS...

The morning sunrise fills my living room with beautiful golden hues.  The coffee pot is bubbling and I have a pen in hand with a blank sheet of paper.   I love the moments like these in my life that are uncomplicated, unhurried, and without drama.

The world is kept at bay on the other side of my locked front door.  The television is black.  The  phone is silent.  My noisy sister is still asleep and nothing is stirring.  I am in my favorite pair of jeans and an old tattered sweatshirt laying in the living room on my favorite couch.

No drama.

No news.

No complications.

No people.

No politics.

No schedule.

No calls.

No noise.

No stress.

No responsibilities.

For one moment, the world is not upside-down.  For one moment, everything is peaceful and quiet.  I am not thinking about what our president is doing to our country.  I am not thinking about how I am going to get through all the programming business at work.  I am not feeling anger, hate or animosity towards anyone.  I want to live in this moment forever.

For one brief shining moment, my world is level.

Wouldn’t it be nice if I could keep that front door locked and closed to the rest of the world?  No one would dump their world onto mine and change this  sunny day.  No one would call me.  I could ignore the world around me.

But I know that this is selfish.

Soon… the stress of life will find its way through cracks around the door.  It will poke its head through my window as the neighborhood comes to life this morning.  Soon…the opening of a bedroom door will break through the silence of this moment and the responsibilities of listening to my stubborn sister's story will come rushing back into my thoughts.  Soon… I will be reminded of the stress from work and I know the phone will ring before I want it to.   Soon…the paper will land with a thud on my front porch and I will read about Insecurity issues,accidents,earthquakes, unemployment, health care, politics, budget spending, crime and who’s to blame.

But not now…not for this one brief, glorious shining moment.

All is it peace and all is calm.

Thank you God…for moments like these.

THE LORD’S TABLE

And as they were eating, Jesus took the bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat, this is my body. And He took the cup, and He gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it.

Matthew 26:26-27

Right reception of the Lord’s Supper has a sanctifying effect on the soul. The bread and wine remind us how great is our debt of gratitude to our Lord, and how thoroughly we are bound to live for Him who died for our sins. They seem to say to us, “Remember what Christ has done.”

J.C. Ryle-

          This week, we shall look at a solemn subject. It is of importance in the life of every child of God. Christ spoke of it and led His disciples in the first enactment of the Lord’s Supper. It was a re-enactment of the Passover that had been instituted by God during the Israelite nation’s first night of freedom as they left bondage in Egypt.

         The Lord’s Table [The Lord’s Supper or Holy Communion] is very symbolic and there are a great many lessons to be gained from this enactment. First, it is important to understand that the Lord s Table is not about merely eating a meal, but remembering the death of Christ, its significance to our salvation and the hope it yields for us. For Christ did not just promise that He would die, but that He would rise from the dead. His death and resurrection were not signs of defeat but were a victory against Satan- the enemy of our souls.

        The Lord’s Supper comprises of two elements:

a.     The wine-which symbolizes His blood that was shed for us and

b.     The bread-which symbolizes His body which was broken for us.

        In His passion for us, the Lord Jesus Christ bled in several places. We shall briefly discuss the significant victory that blood wrought for us.

i.                     At Gethsemane

      As Jesus shed blood, while in prayer at Gethsemane, it signified an access for you and I to prayer. His blood sanctified our prayers. Now we can be sure that God hears our prayers, even the secrets of our hearts.

ii.                   His head

        His head was pressed and punctured by a crown of poisonous thorns. This was for the healing and redemption of our minds from any affliction, insanity, stress, guilt, insecurities etc.

iii.                  His beard

         They tore at His beard which was a sign of beauty, glory, maturity. This is so that we would always walk with our head up and square our shoulders in dignity.

iv.                His Hands

        Nails pierced His hands. His blood blessed the works of our hands; thus no futility but productivity as we work for our livelihoods [Deuteronomy 28:12]

v.                  His Back

       His back was shredded for the healing and eradication of every disease that would seek to come our way [1 Peter 2:24]

vi.                His Side

       He was pierced on His side and blood and water flowed out. This was to seal and protect every marriage [Ephesians 5:26]

vii.               His Feet

       His feet were pierced with a nail to secure Him to the cross. His bleeding on His feet was so that our “steps” would be secured [Psalm 119:133, Deuteronomy 11:24 and Joshua 1:3]

               Our prayer is that the Lord’s Table and it elements will now make sense to you as you partake them and that you will have a deeper reverence for its symbolism.