You will find,
As you look back upon your life
That the moments that stand out,
The moments when you have really lived,
Are the moments when you have done things
In the spirit of love.
-Henry Drummond
* * *
Lunch with God
There once was a little boy who wanted to meet God. He knew it was a long trip to where God lived, so he packed his suitcase with cookies and a six-pack of root beer, and he started his journey.
When he had gone a few blocks from home, he met an old man. He was sitting in the park near the water, just staring at some birds.
The boy sat down next to him and opened his suitcase. He was about to take a drink from his root beer, when he noticed that the old man looked hungry, so he offered him a cookie.
The old man gratefully accepted it and smiled at him. His smile was so incredible that the boy wanted to see it again, so he offered him a root beer.
Once again, he smiled at him. The boy was delighted! They sat there all afternoon eating and smiling, but they never said a word.
As it grew dark, the boy realized how tired he was, and he got up to leave. But before he had gone more than a few steps, he turned around, and ran back to the old man, and gave him a hug. The old man gave him his biggest smile ever.
When the boy opened the door to his own house a short time later, his mother was surprised by the look of joy on his face. She asked her son: “What did you do today that made you so happy?”
The child replied: “I had lunch with God.” But before his mother could respond, he added, “You know what? He’s got the most beautiful smile I’ve ever seen!”
Meanwhile, the old man, also radiant with joy, returned to his home. His son was stunned by the look of peace on his face and asked, “Dad, what did you do today that made you so happy?”
He replied: “I ate cookies in the park with God.” But before his son responded, he added, “You know, He’s much younger than I expected.”
Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring-all of which have the potential to make someone’s day a very special one, or even turn someone’s life around.
-Author unknown
* * *
Be a spendthrift in love! Love is the one treasure that multiplies by division: It is the one gift that grows bigger the more you take from it. It is the one business in which it pays to be an absolute spendthrift; give it away, throw it away, splash it over, empty your pockets, shake the basket, turn the glass upside down, and tomorrow you will have more than ever.
-Author unknown
* * *
Love is friendship that has caught fire. It is quiet understanding, mutual confidence, sharing, and forgiving. It is loyalty through good times and bad. It settles for less than perfection and makes allowances for human weaknesses.
Love is content with the present, it hopes for the future, and it doesn’t brood over the past. It’s the day-in-and-day-out chronicles of irritations, problems, compromises, small disappointments, big victories, and common goals.
If you have love in your life, it can make up for a great many things you lack. If you don’t have it, no matter what else there is, it’s not enough.
-Ann Landers
