HOW TO FORGIVE?

One day a while back, a man, his heart heavy with grief, was walking in the woods. As he thought about his life, he knew many things were not right. He thought about those who had lied about him back when he had a job. His thoughts turned to those who had stolen his things and cheated him.

He remembered family that had passed on. His mind turned to the illness he had that no one could cure

His very soul was filled with anger, resentment and frustration.

Standing there, searching for answers he could not find, knowing all else had failed him, he knelt at the base of an old oak tree to seek the one he knew would always be there. And with tears in his eyes, he prayed:

"Lord, You have done wonderful things for me in this life. You have told me to do many things for you, and I happily obeyed. Today, you have told me to forgive. I am sad, Lord, because I cannot. I don't know how. It is not fair Lord."

"I didn't deserve these wrongs that were done against me and I shouldn't have to forgive. As perfect as your way is Lord, this one thing I cannot do, for I don't know how to forgive."

"My anger is so deep Lord, I fear I may not hear you, but I pray that you teach me to do this one thing I cannot do, "Teach me to Forgive."

As he knelt there in the quiet shade of that old oak tree, he felt something fall onto his shoulder. He opened his eyes Out of the corner of one eye he saw something red on his shirt. He could not turn to see what it was because where the oak tree had been was a large square piece of wood in the ground. He raised his head and saw two feet held to the wood with a large spike through them. He raised his head more, and tears came to his eyes as he saw Jesus hanging on a cross. He saw spikes in His hands, a gash in His side, a torn and battered body, deep thorns sunk into His head. Finally he saw the suffering and pain on His precious face. As their eyes met, the man's tears turned to sobbing, and Jesus began to speak.

"Have you ever told a lie?" Jesus asked?
The man answered -- "Yes, Lord."

"Have you ever been given too much change and kept it?
The man answered -- "Yes. Lord."

And the man sobbed more and more.

"Have you ever taken something from work that wasn't yours?" Jesus asked?
And the man answered -- "Yes, Lord."

"Have you ever sworn, using my Father's name in vain?"
"The man, crying now, answered, "Yes, Lord."

As Jesus asked many more times, "Have you ever?"
The man's crying became uncontrollable, for he could only answer, "Yes, Lord."

Then Jesus turned His head from one side to the other, and the man felt something fall on his other shoulder. He looked and saw that it was the blood of Jesus. When he looked back up, his eyes met those of Jesus, and there was a look of love the man had never seen or known before.

Jesus said, "I didn't deserve this either, but I forgive you."

Happy Married Life !

Here's the untold secret of married life!!!

A couple was celebrating their golden wedding anniversary. Their domestic tranquility had long been the talk of the town.

"What a peaceful & loving couple!". A local newspaper reporter was inquiring as to the secret of their long and happy marriage.

"Well, it dates back to our honeymoon," explained the man. "We visited the Grand Canyon and took a trip down to the bottom of the canyon by horse. We hadn't gone too far when my wife's horse stumbled.

My wife quietly said,

'That's once'."

"We proceeded a little further and the horse stumbled again.

Once more my wife quietly said, 'That's twice.' "We hadn't gone a half-mile when the horse stumbled the third time. My wife quietly removed a revolver from her purse and shot the horse dead.

"I started an angry protest over her treatment to the horse, while I was shouting; She looked at me, and quietly said,

'That's once'. "

"And we lived happily ever after."

On Living

All men and women are born, live, suffer and die; what distinguishes us, one from another are our dreams, whether they be dreams about worldly or unworldly things, and what we do to make them come about...

We do not choose to be born. We do not choose our parents. We do not choose our historical epoch, the country of our birth, or the immediate circumstances of our upbringing. We do not, most of us, choose to die; nor do we choose the time or conditions of our death. But within this realm of choicelessness, we choose how we live.

***Joseph Epstein***

We DO choose how we live. In a life where the world around us in chaos and we search for the path to peace and comfort, we need to realize that we can control how we participate in the world. We cannot stop war from ever happening or conflict from erupting, but we are able to control our reactions to situations, the words we speak to one another, the actions we take, the lessons we teach our children and so on. We have the opportunity to make a difference in the world by being decent human beings, by appreciating life for what it is and people for who they are.