Let each day be your masterpiece.
Cracked Pots
10 Dec 2014 Comments Off on Cracked Pots
in Perspectives Tags: flaws, flowers, pots
Dear Fellow Journalers,
This is the last Perspective piece for the year from G. It was emailed to him from one of his closest friends.
Please read and send comments!
Thanks,
~Sallie
A water bearer in India had two large pots, each hung on the ends
of a pole which he carried across his neck. One of the pots had a crack in
it, while the other pot was perfect and always delivered a full
portion of water.
At the end of the long walk from the stream to the house, the
cracked pot arrived only half full.
For a full two years this went on daily, with the bearer delivering
only one and a half pots full of water to his house.
Of course, the perfect pot was proud of its accomplishments,
perfect for which it was made.
But the poor cracked pot was ashamed of its own imperfection, and
miserable that it was able to accomplish only half of what it had
been made to do.
After 2 yrs of what it perceived to be a bitter failure, it spoke
to the water bearer one day by the stream.
“I am ashamed of myself, and I want to apologize to you. I have
been able to deliver only half my load because this crack in my side causes
water to leak out all the way back to your house.
Because of my flaws, you have to do all of this work, and you don’t
get full value from your efforts,” the pot said.
The bearer said to the pot, “Did you notice that there were flowers
only on your side of the path, but not on the other pot’s side? That’s
because I have always known about your flaw, and I planted flower
seeds on your side of the path, and every day while we walk back,
you’ve watered them.
For two years I have been able to pick these beautiful flowers to
decorate the table. Without you being just the way you are, there
would not be this beauty to grace the house.”
Moral: Each of us has our own unique flaws. We’re all cracked pots.
But it’s the cracks and flaws we each have that make our lives
together so very interesting and rewarding. You’ve just got to
take each person for what they are, and look for the good in them.
Remember to appreciate all the different people in your life!
Blessings to all my crackpot friends.
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The Perfect Gift
05 Dec 2014 Comments Off on The Perfect Gift
in Perspectives Tags: Christmas, scrapbook, The Perfect Gift
Dear Fellow Journalers,
The following is a post from Mary Beth. She has promised to write more in the new year. Enjoy!
~Sallie
The Perfect Gift
“It was the best of times; it was the worst of times”. The year of unemployment started out with the news that we were expecting a baby girl later that year. The year ended with my husband’s job being downsized.
Upon reflection, I discovered that the human spirit is more resilient than we give it credit for. We adjusted our lives to welcome our new daughter and hoped and prayed for a new opportunity. I knew then, as I know now, that God only gives us problems that we can handle and when we can’t stand the”heat” any longer, He sends us laughter and warmth of friends, beauty to behold and the love of family.
That fall, we had an inkling that things weren’t going so well for the company so we analyzed our financials and decided that we’d have an old-fashioned Christmas. Our children caught the idea and ran with it! “T” and my husband found dollar-store battery-powered tea lights which we used for our windows to save our electricity bills. My Mom and Dad came for a visit and while providing much-needed rest for me, shared their culinary and construction talents with the rest of the clan. My girls learned how to make Gingerbread houses and little Gingerbread men while my boys made a doll house for their sisters.
While picking up the house one Saturday early in December, I chanced to hear a fleeting, whispered conversation among my children. “That would be the perfect gift!” one of them exclaimed. “How much money do you have?” another one asked. I almost walked in on them, until I heard “we’re trying to save money, remember? We’ll have to make it ourselves.” There was silence for a beat of a second and then one of them said the magic words “I bet Grandpa will help>” Hmmmmm.
The mystery of the Perfect Gift was whispered about for some days and then silence. My husband and I decided to wait and see what they had in mind. Anticipation grew until Christmas finally arrived on a snowy Wednesday morning.
Our usual custom was to wake everyone (although usually everyone was awake already), up at 8 am and exchange one present before breakfast, get dressed and go to Church. But that year, we bundled everyone up and went to Midnight Mass. We were impressed that all of the children were reverent and well-behaved. They did sing along with the choir though, even if a little off-key. Afterwards, we traveled through our town and admired the brightly lit houses and office buildings and of course, the town tree. It was a peaceful and joyous start to our Christmas.
The next morning, our children surprised us with breakfast in bed along with a tape of their singing various holiday songs. The Perfect Gift turned out to be a scrapbook nestled in its own decorated wooden box. The children had contacted all our relatives and received pictures of our childhood Christmas’ which they had put on sticker laden-ed pages.
The best part of that Christmas was the love and caring and sharing of our family members. While we have had several Christmas celebrations since, the cherished memory of the Perfect Gift Christmas remains as the best Christmas ever.
May the love and joy of the season be yours! Thanks for all your kind words.
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Being Yourself
03 Dec 2014 Comments Off on Being Yourself
in Paper Daydreams Tags: Being Yourself, Quinn Creative
Dear Fellow Journalers,
This blog post comes from Quinn Creative and is worth reading!
~Sallie
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