There once was a young couple who lived in a beautiful town. They had the best of everything. Their love was strong and real. When their first child was born she was the most beautiful child they had ever seen.The couple believed their life to be perfect.

One day when their Daughter was about seven years old the Couple was in a car crash.Checking his wife right away the husband was relived to see she was ok. They both had received only a few scratches.They turned to check on their young daughter and as soon as they saw her both of them burst into tears.The wife started screaming NO GOD ! PLEASE GOD NO ! Their pain was felt by anyone and everyone who happened to be around them that day. The Beautiful young child had passed on and left this world .

During the funeral the deceased child’s mother kept asking why ? Why my child? oh dear Lord why? People paying there respects to this wonderful couples most beautiful child tried to console her. They told her things like “It is the Lords will” and “She is in Heaven now” These things did not help the child’s Mother and she cursed God Saying to the People “There is no God” for if there was such a God how could he allow something so terrible to happen? Surely he would have saved my child and she would still be here with us!!

Years passed by as they always do and the pain this Couple felt started to ease. They had more children over the years, all very beautiful None quite as beautiful as their first one.Their life went back to being as close to perfect as can be.But Every time the women heard something bad had happened in the world it reinforced her belief that there was no God and no Heaven up above,For surely no God would allow such terrible things to happen in this world !!!

One day as the Woman was walking to the store she heard these screams “NO LORD PLEASE LORD NO” The tone of the screams took her back to the death of her child and she ran toward the sound of them. She saw the woman who was screaming and behind her she could see a building on fire, My Child is in there Screamed the woman! Pointing to the building engulfed in flames. Knowing the pain this woman would go threw and not wishing it on anyone she raced into the building. Flames shot at her and she could feel them burning her but the pain was some where else and did not hurt her .As the flames got larger and the heat got much hotter the woman thought this is what hell must be like! Then she thought but there is no hell for if there is No God and No Heaven then there can’t be a Hell can there? These thoughts passed threw the woman’s mind as she felt herself begin to grow tired.

As She felt herself about to pass out the Women saw a child in the distance and with new found strength she started walking towards the child. As she got closer she could see it was the most beautiful young girl she had ever seen . When she reached the child the child spoke hello mother it is I your Daughter the one killed in that car accident those many years ago. No the Woman said you are gone your Dead. Dead yes I may be Mother but gone no I have never left you .I have always been in your heart and you in mine. But I am with the Father now in the most Wonderful Kingdom imaginable. With who? asked the Woman , The Father God answered the child the one you denounced upon my death. No said the woman there can’t be a GOD or a heaven For surely no God would allow the Terrible things to Happen that happen upon this earth. Terrible things are done by terrible people answered the child and they will answer for their sins in the afterlife have no fear of that my Mother, The Lord will see that justice is done.

But what of you asked the Mother you where not taken from me by a terrible person it was an accident why did the Lord take you from me. The Child smiled at her Mother and spoke Mother what you see as the most terrible thing ever is not. For I am in the Kingdom of the Lord and there is no greater reward then that ! My life on Earth was short Mother, I agree with you on that but Mother let me let you in on a little secret “All life on Earth is short” It is just a blink of the eye to the Father. Miss me Mother for I know you always will, But have faith in the Father for if you believe in him and follow his words you will be with me again one day and then you will feel no pain or sorrow ever again. The Mother reached down picked up her child closing her eyes and hugging the child to her bosom, She heard a voice that was not her Daughters say “I will always Love you my Child”

The woman opened her eyes and she saw lights and heard sirens and the voices of many people. Not sure what was going on she looked down at her child only to see that she was not holding her child but a small young boy. The Woman who she had seen screaming was grabbing for this child saying Thank you oh thank you Lord for sending this Woman to rescue my Child ,In my heart Lord I always knew you would save him, for surely you would never allow something so terrible to happen !!!!

By L.J. James

A rich man born out of giving!

There is a Japanese folk tale about the power of giving and it exemplifies how we can get the most wonderful of gifts when we’re gifting things to others and are positive about what we have already got.

Here is the story.

Once upon a time, there was a poor young farmer. Everything he did in his life never seemed to produce any wealth for him. He was totally broke with no money, no family and no food. So one night he sneaked into a temple and sat by the altar and in desperation asked the Gods what he was supposed to do.

“I have always been sincere and industrious, but all my industriousness never became beneficial to me. Where have I gone wrong?”

He fell asleep besides the altar just after having asking his question. In the morning, as he was waking up, he saw one of the Gods in his dream surrounded by a blinding golden light. The God’s voice echoed through his mind.

“When you wake up today, treasure the very thing you have in your hand and keep giving it generously to others on your way,” the God whispered.

The farmer was brimming with questions when he woke up but he tried to shake off his sleep and clear his mind of the strange but clear dream he had. However, he saw a bit of a straw in his hand. It must have remained on his clothes while he worked in his fields.

He almost threw it away, but stopped short of doing it recollecting what God had said about it. He seated himself again and stared at the straw in his hand.

He sat for a long while wondering what that meant. He had no idea how a broken bit of a straw can be of any use to him. Suddenly he saw a wasp buzzing around. The wasp soon alighted on the tip of the straw. He caught hold of the wasp and bound it to the straw with a piece of string from his dress. Thus with a piece of straw with a wasp at one end, he proceeded.

He had only walked for a few minutes before he saw a little boy and his mother coming from the other direction. The boy was crying. As he said hello, the boy noticed the wasp moving on the straw that the farmer was holding. He stopped crying and asked for the straw. The farmer nearly declined but then he remembered about the God’s message that he needed to treasure what he had but also remembered that he was to give it away to others. So, he offered the straw to the boy. The mother was very appreciative as now the boy stopped crying and began smiling. The mother offered the farmer three tangerines.

The man continued on his way. After a while he started feeling hungry and wanted to eat one of the tangerines. But he stopped short of doing it and remembered that he had to gift things to others, not give it to himself.

He had to climb a steep hill and there he saw a trader sitting on the earth under a tree. Near the man was a wooden box. The farmer wished the trader who seemed to be very tired. The trader saw the tangerines the farmer had and asked if he could have them. The trader said he was very thirsty.

The farmer was also equally thirsty as the day was hot and he had walked pretty long, still he gave all the three tangerines to the trader. The man ate all the three tangerines and felt fully energized. He felt very thankful to the farmer who was so kind. To show his gratitude, he opened the box that he had kept near him. The box contained several bolts of hand dyed silk. The trader took out one roll, gifted it to the farmer and left.

The farmer walked again and continued on the same path. After a while he found a river from which he drank water. He felt recharged. He went forward with more energy and a feeling of ease.

The farmer walked and walked not seeing anyone for a long time. He started to think that maybe this was it – his fortune. So, he decided to go to the nearby town to sell the fabric.

But as soon as he turned the corner, he found a group of soldiers. One of them, who appeared to be the leader of the group, was standing near a horse that had fallen on the ground. The leader of the soldiers was saying something to the men of his group.

“It does not appear that this horse would live much. We will have to leave it here. Nurse it well and catch up with me.” With this the leader jumped on to another horse and rode off, moving out of people’s sight.

The remaining soldiers were left discussing what to do about it. They were reluctant to kill the animal but they did not have much of a choice. At last one of them took out a sword.

The farmer ran to them and requested them to refrain from killing it. He opted to care for the animal. In return for that he gave them the bolt of silk he had. They were happy of the offer and went away fast.

The farmer stood there with the horse that was in its death throes. He felt he might have got it all wrong and that he was not destined to be wealthy. Then he thought of the river that he had come across on the way.

He turned back and went to the river, removed his shirt and immersed it in the river to get water for the horse. He went back to the animal lying on the earth and pressed the water out of the shirt gently into its mouth. As the water went inside drop by drop, the animal slowly got recharged and finally the farmer was able to help it stand up.

Once the horse could stand, the farmer was able to take it to the river. The horse drank directly from the river and the farmer also led it to the patches of grass nearby. Very soon the animal was rejuvenated.

Now the farmer had a horse! They set off again together, this time the man had to run to keep up. The horse was actually leading the way. They ran together for miles. As the sun starting to go down, the horse finally stopped in front of a large house. As the farmer caught up, the horse pushed him with his nose to the entrance of the house.

As the farmer approached the gate, the doors swung open and to his surprise, an old man appeared. The old man was rushing outside and was looking a little pale. He noticed the farmer and the horse standing by the gate.

The man queried the farmer what he wanted. The farmer replied that he was in need of a place to retire for the night. The old man in his turn said that he had to go to the town on an important matter and requested the farmer to be in charge of the house till such time that he returned. He said that his returning might get delayed.

Since the old man appeared to be in a hurry, the farmer said that he can use the horse. The old man felt glad about the gesture and accepted the offer. He left with the horse but before he left told the farmer something strange.

“If I am not back in three years, this house becomes yours.”

As you perhaps inferred, the old man did not return.

So the farmer lived happily ever after in the old man’s big house with kind-hearted neighbours around and a land rich in good crops. He always kept in mind the rule that he should give to others what he had.

I am grateful to you for reading this story. And how did you feel about it?

There is always a pattern to things. If the venture of getting can be converted into the venture of giving, our life would pour forth with greater profusion. But it may be a bit difficult to make this ancient wisdom a part of our lives.

The following are the interesting principles we can see in the tale:

* When we are ready to give what others need, they will consider it more valuable than while we are trying to ‘trade’ it (as basically we are always hopeful of getting something out of that transaction), as then they only consider the price we ask for and tend to pay less.

* When we are not possessive of whatever we have, we will perceive that we thereby have more chances as we can release the existing possessions.

* When what life offers is not a bed of roses, instead of concentrating on the difficulty if we kept our attention on giving and sharing, life is sure to bring in good things later.

* When we try to encash what we have created, believing that “this is the maximum it will bring”, as we think we might be the loser if it is not turned into cash, our life will stagnate. Instead of that, we should continue to give liberally whatever we have got and however wealthy we are or we are not.

Giving is part of many successful people’s lives. When we give first, we have more chance of living a life of magnificence, ease and expansion.