There was once a lad who had been scholastic study abroad for a very long time before returning to his hometown. Upon his return, he asked his parents to find any teacher, or priest or anybody that would be capable of answering 3 of his questions.
At last, his parents found the man.
Lad: Who are you? And would you be able to answer my questions?
Priest: I am a servant of God and through His Will, I shall answer your questions
Lad: Are you sure? Even proffesors can't answer my questions
Priest: I shall do my best on answering them
Lad: I have 3 questions
1. If God exist, show him to me
2. What is it that is called Fate?
3. If Devil is created out of fire, then why is it that they are banished in hellish fire? It would not hurt them i suppose, since they are of the same element.
Has God ever think that far?
All of a sudden, the priest slapped the lad very hard.
Lad: Why are you angry at me?
Priest: I am not angry at all...that is my answer to three of your questions
Lad: I don't get it
Priest: How does the slap feel?
Lad: Of course it is painful
Priest: So you do believe that pain exist?
Lad: Yes
Priest: Show the pain to me
Lad: I can't
Priest: That is my answer to your first question. All of us can feel God presence without seeing him.
Priest: Did you dream of being slapped by me last night? Have you ever thought that you would get a slap from me today? That's what I call fate
Priest: What is the hand that I used to slap you made of?
Lad: Skin
Priest: What is your cheek made of?
Lad: Skin
Priest: But you feel pain don't you? Even if devils are made of fire and hell is of fire, if it is of God's desire, then Hell would be hell for devils.
A Priest & A Lad
The Toy Car
It was a merry afternoon at the hall. Oh, one could see that a toy-car race was being held, and the final round is a few minutes away. There were only four participants left and each of them proudly exhibit their own made toy-car. And so it was in fact that the rule of the game, the toy-car had to be one's own handmade.
Among the players, were one child whose toy-car wasn't in any way looking marvelous nor special in its look, though surprisingly he was one of the four boys who made it so far to the final round. Compared to his other players, his toy-car was the least magnificent and imperfect. Some of the audience doubted the toy-car capability to race against the other three.
Yes, it was true, the toy car looks pretty dull. With simple wood materials and few blinking lamps on its top, the toy car doesn't appear so interesting as compared to the other lavishly decorated toy-cars. Even so, the owner was less proud with his toy car, since it was original of his own creation.
Every kid got his car ready on the start line, and at the slightest signal from the jury, they pushed the toy-car as fast as they can. They pushed and pushed, ran and ran along with the car as fast as they could, and at the end, surprisingly, the kid with the least magnificent looking toy car got his toy car touching the finish line first among other players.
The champion was then asked by the organizer before receiving his award, "Hey champion kid, I saw you praying before the final round started, you must have prayed deeply to God that you may win this tournament, didn't you?" The champion was silent for a moment, then replied, "No sir, that was not what I prayed, I thought it was not fair to ask for God to help me defeating the other players. I only prayed that God help me not to cry if I lose." After a few moments of silence by the audience, the hall was then filled with applauses from the audience.
How often do we pray that our wish may be granted? But do we realize that sometimes our wishes are just the opposite of what the others may pray for? If God exist in the conventional sense, then does God side on one but not the other? For example, if we pray for a win that benefit us, at that same time, one party or more would be disadvantaged. Then would it be appropriate for us to be joyful of it while on the other hand the other person might be suffering and disappointed?
There are many things more important than just winning or losing. Wouldn't it be better for us if we pray for us to be accepting of whatever the results may be? Be it a defeat or a win, we can still choose to be happy.
Apple in the bag
A teacher teaching Maths to seven-year-old student asked him, "If I give you one apple and one apple and one apple, how many apples will you have?"Within a few seconds the student replied confidently, "Four!"
The dismayed teacher was expecting an effortless correct answer (three). She was disappointed. "Maybe the child did not listen properly," she thought. She repeated, "My boy, listen carefully. If I give you one apple and one apple and one apple, how many apples will you have?"
The student had seen the disappointment on his teacher's face. He calculated again on his fingers. But within him he was also searching for the answer that will make the teacher happy. His search for the answer was not for the correct one, but the one that will make his teacher happy. This time hesitatingly he replied, "Four…"
The disappointment stayed on the teacher's face. She remembered that this student liked strawberries. She thought maybe he doesn't like apples and that is making him loose focus. This time with an exaggerated excitement and twinkling in her eyes she asked, "If I give you one strawberry and one strawberry and one strawberry, then how many you will have?"
Seeing the teacher happy, the boy calculated on his fingers again. There was no pressure on him, but a little on the teacher. She wanted her new approach to succeed. With a hesitating smile the student enquired, "Three?"
The teacher now had a victorious smile. Her approach had succeeded. She wanted to congratulate herself. But one last thing remained. Once again she asked him, "Now if I give you one apple and one apple and one more apple how many will you have?"
Promptly the student answered, "Four!"
The teacher was aghast. "How my boy, how?" she demanded in a little stern and irritated voice.In a voice that was low and hesitating young student replied, "Because I already have one apple in my bag."
When someone gives you an answer that is different from what you expect. Don't think they are wrong. There maybe an angle that you have not understood at all. You will have to listen and understand, but never listen with a predetermined notion.
The Red Hat
Once there was a devotee lived in a village. He used to be immersed in devotion for God always. He had a routine of practising meditation, singing devotional songs and worshipping God every morning.
There after he used to go to his shop to work. He used to close his shop at lunch time in the afternoon and did not open the shop after that. He used to devote rest of the time in feeding the saints, serving the poor, listening discourses of saints and in donating whatever he could for good of others. He used to be satisfied with whatever he earned from his business and used to devote his life for love of God. Such behaviour of his used to surprise others and they thought of him as a lunatic.
People used to say: 'He is foolish. He spends all his earned money in donations. He opens his shop just for a few hours. He wastes the precious morning time meant for earning money in doing worship. He is mad.'
Once the rishest businessman of the village called him over to his house. He had made a red colored hat. The rich man gave that hat to the devotee and said: ''This hat is for fools. I have not seen a person more foolish than you. So I'm giving this hat to you for wearing. If you find anybody more stupid than you, then you may give this hat to that person." Peacefully, the devotee took that hat and came back home.
Once that rich man became very sick. The devotee went to meet him and asked about his health. The rich man said: 'Brother! I'm making preparations to go now.'
The devotee asked: 'Where are you planning to go? Did you send somebody there to make preparations for your arrival or not? Are you taking your wife, son, money, car, bungalow etc or not?'
''Brother! Who can accompany me there? No body can go with me. I will have to go alone. I'll have to leave my family-relatives, money-bank balances, bunalows-vehicles here. Nothing can stay together other than Soul & God.''
After listening to the rich person's words the devotee giving the hat (which had been given to him by the rich man) to the rich man said: "You only wear this hat."
The rich person: "Why?"
The devotee said: "You are more foolish than me. When you knew that every thing -bungalows, bank balances, family etc will stay here, none of your friends will accompany you, there is no true hope other than God, then why did you waste whole of your life in acquiring all these things? When one is rich and powerful then everybody flocks around for selfish reasons. But nobody comes to help at times of trouble. Even after knowing all this you developed attachment for things which will not stay forever, stayed away from God and did not collect anything for your future. Therefore in these circumstances who is more foolish than you? Now you cannot do anything. You yourself are observing that none of your loved ones is coming for help."
Scars of Life
Some years ago, on a hot summer day, a little boy decided to go for a swim in the old swimming hole that was behind his house. In a hurry to dive into the cool water, he ran out the back door, leaving behind shoes, socks, and shirt as he went.
He flew into the water, not realizing that as he swam toward the middle of the lake, an alligator was swimming toward the shore. In the house, his mother was looking out the window. She saw the two as they got closer and closer together. In utter fear, she ran toward the water, yelling to her son as loudly as she could.
Hearing her voice, the little boy became alarmed, and made a U-turn to swim to his mother. It was too late. Just as he reached her, the alligator reached him. From the dock, the mother grabbed her little boy by the arms, just as the alligator snatched his legs. That began a very incredible tug-of-war between the two. The alligator was much stronger than the mother, but the mother was much too passionate to let go. A farmer happened to drive by, heard her screams, raced from his truck, took aim, and shot the alligator.
Remarkably, after weeks and weeks in the hospital, the little boy survived. His legs were extremely scarred by the vicious attack of the animal. On his arms, there were deep scratches where his mother's fingernails dug into his flesh, in her effort to hang on to the son she loved.
The newspaper reporter, who interviewed the boy after the trauma, asked the boy if he would show him his scars. The boy lifted his pant legs. Then, with obvious pride, he said to the reporter, "But look at my arms. I have great scars on my arms, too. I have them because my Mom wouldn't let go."
You and I can identify with that little boy. We have scars, too. No, not from an alligator, but the scars of a painful past. Some of those scars are unsightly, and have caused us deep regret.But, some wounds, are because God has refused to let go. In the midst of your struggle, He's been right there, holding on to you.
We are all children of God. He wants to protect you, and provide for you in every way. But, sometimes, we foolishly wade into dangerous situations, not knowing what lies ahead. The swimming hole of life is filled with perils and we forget that the enemy is waiting to attack. That is when the tug-of-war begins.
If you have the scars of His love on your arms, be very, very grateful. He will not ever let you go.
