Learn From The Turtle*

We continue to receive the newsletter from our former congregation, Grace Lutheran Church, in San Juan, Puerto Rico. "Amazing Grace" is always full of interesting articles and bits of wit and wisdom, we just received the latest edition which contained this, a list of "20 Things To Remember", it's too good not to post here. I'll be printing this one out for future reference, no author is credited.

1. Faith is the ability not to panic.
2. If you worry you didn't pray, if you prayed, don't worry.
3. As a child of God, prayer is kinda like calling home every day.
4. Blessed are the flexible, for they shall not be bent out of shape.
5. When we get tangled up in our problems, be still. Gods wants us to be still so that He can untangle the knot.
6. Do the math. Count your blessings.
7. God wants spiritual fruits, not religious nuts.
8. Dear God: I have a problem, it's me.
9. Silence is often misinterpreted, but never misquoted.
10. Laugh every day-- it's like inner jogging.
11. The most important things in your home are the people.
12. Growing old is inevitable, growing up is optional.
13. There is no key to happiness, the door is always open. Come on in.
14. A grudge is a heavy thing to carry.
15. He who dies with the most toys is still dead.
16. We do not remember days but moments. Life moves too fast so enjoy your precious moments.
17. Nothing is real to you until you experience it; otherwise it's just hearsay.
18. It's all right to sit on your pity pot every now and again. Just be sure to flush when you're done.
19. Surviving and living your life successfully requires courage. The goals and dreams you're seeking require courage and risk-taking. *Learn from the turtle, it only makes progress when it sticks out its neck.
20. Be more concerned with your character than your reputation. Your character is what you really are, while your reputation is merely what others think you are. No matter the storm, when you are with God, there's always a rainbow waiting. Leave gentle fingerprints on the soul of another for the angels to read. I don't want to get to the end of my life and find that I have lived just the length of it. I want to have lived the width of it as well.

Life is Good!

The Tiny Chiclets Parable

Life is Good! I say that everyday and I believe it, but life isn't always fair. Any parent with more than one child can tell you equal and even distribution of anything is impossible. I have a friend who has attempted, with dogged determination, to make everything equal for her two children. They are now grown adults and she still does the same, to the penny. Our children were raised with as much fairness as is possible, however, sometimes one simply needed more than the other. When that was the case they received whatever it was that they needed; whether it was time and attention, or money. The other one understood that we would do the same for them, if and when there were a situation that called for unequal distribution. I felt then, and I still do today, that this understanding helps to build character and develop compassion for others. I'm reminded of the lesson that my children taught me when they were small. We had rented a beach cottage for a week with another couple, our good friends, they didn't have children at that time. One morning during that week my friend took one of our children with her to the grocery store. I don't remember now if it was our daughter or son who went, it doesn't matter anymore. The child who went to the store returned with a package of Tiny Chiclets, a huge prize! The child who remained didn't receive a prize but, seemed happy and content with whatever it was they were doing at the time, having remained with the rest of us on the beach. Later, I learned, to my shock and amazement that the "remaining" child had flushed the contents of the offending prize package down the commode. There was screaming, wailing and tears. There were insults flung, and hurt feelings, but eventually life returned to normal; whatever that was back then. I have thought back upon this incident many times and chalked it up to 'kids being kids', but it did open my eyes to how perceived favoritism, even for a moment, could either be a devastating or power-full dynamic, depending on one's position. The actual "flushing" act, though childish, was a way of leveling things out. It was one child's way of saying: "You had something, I didn't, and now we both have nothing; we're equal." This was a perfect teaching moment for this parent. I remember talking about entitlement after one child expressed the thought that they should have something simply because the other one did. Over time these children understood the lesson. Now they are adults and have come to appreciate each others successes based on their own, individual choices. I'm baffled by adults who demonstrate the same entitlement mentality that I saw in my small children way back when. I daresay that we wouldn't have constant news stories today about dramatic credit debt and epidemic foreclosures if there was broader understanding of the "Tiny Chiclets" parable. Thanks for indulging me in this "soapbox" moment.

Life is Good!




22. Having problems? Talk to God on the spot.
Try to nip small problems in the bud.
Don't wait until it's time to go to bed to try and pray.