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| HOW DO YOU LIVE YOUR DASH? I read of a pastor who stood to speak at the funeral of his friend. He referred to the dates on her tombstone from the beginning to the end. He noted that first came the date of her birth, and spoke of the second date with tears. But he said what mattered most of all was the dash between those years. For that dash represents all the time that she spent alive on earth. And now only those who loved her know what that dash is worth. For it matters not how much we own; the cars, the house, the cash. What matters most is how we live, and how we spend our dash. So think about this long & hard, are there things you'd like to change? For you never know what time is left. You could be at "dash, mid-range." If we could just slow down enough, To see what's true & real. And always try to understand the way that others feel. And be less quick to anger, and show appreciation more, and love the people in our lives like we've never loved before. Can we treat each other with respect, and more often wear a smile. Keeping in mind this special dash might last but a little while. So when your eulogy's being read, your life's actions to rehash, would you smile at the things being said about, how you spent your dash? www.MikeysFunnies.com |
| THE PIT |
| THE DEEP, DARK PIT A man fell into a pit and couldn’t get himself out. A subjective person came along and said, “I feel for you down there.” An objective person walked by and said, “It’s logical that someone would fall down there.” A Pharisee said, “Only bad people fall into pits.” A mathematician calculated how deep the pit was. A news reporter wanted the exclusive story on the pit. An IRS agent asked if he was paying taxes on the pit. A self-pitying person said, “You haven’t seen anything until you’ve seen my pit.” A fire-and-brimstone preacher said, “You deserve your pit.” A Christian Scientist observed, “The pit is just in your mind.” A psychologist noted, “Your mother and father are to blame for your being in that pit.” A self-esteem therapist said, “Believe in yourself and you can get out of that pit.” An optimist said, “Things could he worse.” A pessimist claimed, “Things will get worse.” “Jesus, seeing the man, took him by the hand and lifted him out of the pit.” |
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| John Blanchard stood up from the bench, straightened his Army uniform, and studied the crowd of people making their way through Grand Central Station. He looked for the girl whose heart he knew, but whose face he didn't, the girl with the rose. His interest in her had begun thirteen months before in a Florida library. Taking a book off the shelf he found himself intrigued, not with the words of the book, but with the notes penciled in the margin. The soft handwriting reflected a thoughtful soul and insightful mind. In the front of the book, he discovered the previous owner's name, Miss Hollis Maynell. With time and effort he located her address. She lived in New York City. He wrote her a letter introducing himself and inviting her to correspond. Shortly thereafter he was shipped overseas for service in World War II. During the next year and one-month the two grew to know each other through the mail. Each letter was a seed falling on a fertile heart. A romance was budding. Blanchard requested a photograph, but she refused. She felt that if he really cared, it wouldn't matter what she looked like. When the day finally came for him to return from Europe, they scheduled their first meeting - 7:00 PM at the Grand Central Station in New York. "You'll recognize me," she wrote, "by the red rose I'll be wearing on my lapel." So at 7:00 he was in the station looking for a girl whose heart he loved, but whose face he'd never seen. A young woman was coming toward him, her figure long and slim. Her blonde hair lay back in curls from her delicate ears; her eyes were blue as flowers. Her lips and chin had a gentle firmness, and in her pale green suit she was like springtime come alive. Mr. Blanchard started toward her, entirely forgetting to notice that she was not wearing a rose. As he moved, a small, provocative smile curved her lips. "Going my way, soldier?" she murmured. Almost uncontrollably he made one step closer to her, and then he saw Hollis Maynell. She was standing almost directly behind the girl. A woman well past 40, she had graying hair tucked under a worn hat. She was more than plump, her thick-ankled feet thrust into low-heeled shoes. The girl in the green suit was walking quickly away. Lt. Blanchard felt as though he was split in two, so keen was his desire to follow her, and yet so deep was his longing for the woman whose spirit had truly companioned him and upheld his own. And there she stood. Her pale, plump face was gentle and sensible, her gray eyes had a warm and kindly twinkle. John Blanchard did not hesitate. His fingers gripped the small worn blue leather copy of the book that was to identify him to her. This would not be love, he thought, but it would be something precious, something perhaps even better than love, a friendship for which he had been and must ever be grateful. He squared his shoulders, saluted and held out the book to the woman, even though while he spoke he felt choked by the bitterness of his disappointment. "I'm Lieutenant John Blanchard, and you must be Miss Maynell. I am so glad you could meet me. May I take you to dinner?" The woman's face broadened into a tolerant smile. "I don't know what this is about, son," she answered, "but that young lady in the green suit had begged me to wear this rose on my coat. And she said if you were to ask me out to dinner, I should go and tell you that she is waiting for you in the big restaurant across the street. She said it was some kind of test ... God has said in his word that we would be tested. This life is a test. We don't see God, but He is there watching. You can be sure that the evil man is not getting away with his evil. You may say, "But men are getting away with evil all the time". Remember God will let man do as he wills, but He will make everything right. |
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| THE TEST |