APPLES…

A few years ago a group of salesmen went to a regional sales convention in Chicago.. They had assured their wives that they would be home in plenty of time for Friday night's dinner. In their rush to catch the plane home and with tickets and briefcases, one of these salesmen inadvertently kicked over a table which held a display of apples. Apples flew everywhere. Without stopping or looking back, they all managed to reach the Plane in time for their nearly-missed boarding.
ALL BUT ONE!!! He paused, took a deep breath, got in touch with his feelings and experienced a twinge of compassion for the girl whose apple stand had been overturned. He told his buddies to go on without him, waved good-bye, told one of them to call his wife when they arrived at their home destination and explain his taking a later flight.
Then he returned to the terminal where the apples were all over the terminal Floor. The 16-year-old girl was totally blind! She was softly crying, tears running down her cheeks in frustration, and at the same time helplessly groping for her spilled produce as the crowd swirled about her; no one stopping and no one to care for her plight.
The salesman knelt on the floor with her, gathered up the apples, put them back on the table and helped organize her display. As he did this, he noticed that many of them had become battered and bruised; these he set aside in another Basket. When he had finished, he pulled out his wallet and said to the girl, "Here, please take this $50 for the damage we did. Are you okay?" She nodded through her Tears. He continued on with, "I hope we didn't spoil your day too badly." As the Salesman started to walk away, the bewildered blind girl called out to him, "Mister...." He paused and turned to look back into those blind eyes. She continued, "Are you Jesus?" He stopped in mid-stride.... And he wondered. He gently went back and said, No, I am nothing like Jesus - He is good, kind, caring, loving, and would never have bumped into your display in the first place. "The girl gently nodded: "I only asked because I prayed for Jesus to help me gather the apples. He sent you to help me, Thank you for hearing Jesus, Mister."
Then slowly he made his way to catch the later flight with that question burning and bouncing about in his soul: "Are you Jesus?" Do people mistake you for Jesus? That's our destiny, is it not? To be so much like Jesus that people cannot tell the difference as we live and interact with a world that is blind to His love ,Life and grace. If we claim to know Him, we should live, walk and act as He would. Knowing Him is more than simply quoting scripture and going to church. It's actually living The Word as life unfolds day to day. You are the apple of His eye even though you, too, have been bruised by a fall.
Sometimes we just take things for granted, when we really need to be sharing What we know..
The nicest place to be is in someone's thoughts, the safest place to be is in someone's prayers and the very best place to be is in the hands of God!!!

MONTY ROBERT

There was a boy whose father was a horse trainer. And because of his father’s job, they had to keep moving from stable to stable, from ranch to ranch, training horses. The boy’s schooling was, thus, constantly interrupted. One day at school, his teacher asked him to write about what he wanted to be when he grew up. He did not hesitate a minute and wrote a seven-page paper about his aim to be an owner of a horse ranch. He wrote down many details, drew a location of buildings and stables and even a detailed house plan.
The papers were graded, and the boy received his paper back with the word “F Grade” scrawled on the front page. After the class, he approached the teacher and asked: “Why did I get an F Grade?”
The teacher responded: “I had asked you to write about a realistic dream. For a boy like you, who has no money, no resources and who comes from itinerant family, this dream is too far-fetched. There is no possibility that you will reach your goals one day.” Then the teacher offered to write the paper again with a more realistic view, about a more achievable dream. Later at home, the dispirited boy told his father the events of the day and asked his father how he should act. His father answered: “A decision of such importance should be made by you, without interference from anyone; so you have to make your own mind on this”
After a few days, the boy approached his teacher with another paper. To the teacher’s surprise, there were no changes made to the paper, it was the exact same description of his dream. To answer the teacher’s questioning look, the boy said:
“Keep the F and I will keep my dream”
A Big Dream !!
The boy, known as Monty Roberts, is presently, the owner of a 4,000-square-foot house in the middle of a 200-acre horse ranch. Roberts' first book, The Man Who Listens to Horses was published in 1996 and stayed in the New York Times Bestsellers list for 58 weeks, selling more than five million copies worldwide, including translations into over 15 languages. Three documentaries on Roberts have been released; also, he has his own television show on Horse & Country channel, Backstage Pass with Monty Roberts. He has received an honorary doctorate in animal psychology from the University of Zurich in Switzerland, amongst several other accolades. He still has that school paper, which is framed over his fireplace.
Moral: You have to follow your heart and never let anyone to steal your dreams; if you fall behind, run faster. Never give up, never surrender, and rise up against the odds.

Act of kindness

One day, a poor boy called Kelly, who was selling goods from door to door to pay his way through school. Kelly had only one thin dime left, and he was hungry. He decided he would ask for a meal at the next house. However, he lost his nerve by knocking the door of next house; a lovely young woman opened the door.

Instead of a meal he asked for a drink of water. She thought he looked hungry so brought him a large glass of milk.

He drank it slowly, and then asked, “How much do I owe you?”

“You don’t owe me anything,” she replied. “Mother has taught us never to accept pay for a kindness.”

He said, “Then I thank you from my heart.”

As Kelly left that house, he not only felt stronger physically, but his faith in God and man was strong also. He had been ready to give up and quit.

Year’s later that young woman became critically ill. The local doctors were baffled. They finally sent her to the big city, where they called in specialists to study her rare disease.

Dr. Kelly was called in for the consultation. When he heard the name of the town she came from, a strange light filled his eyes. Immediately he rose and went down the hall of the hospital to her room.

Dressed in his doctor’s gown he went in to see her. He recognized her at once. He went back to the consultation room determined to do his best to save her life. From that day he gave special attention to the case.
After a long struggle, the battle was won. Dr. Kelly requested the business office to pass the final bill to him for approval. He looked at it, and then wrote something on the edge and the bill was sent to her room.
She feared to open it, for she was sure it would take the rest of her life to pay for it all. Finally she looked, and something caught her attention on the side of the bill. She began to read the following words:
“Paid in full with one glass of milk”
Signed, Dr.Kelly.
Three things in human life are important: the first is to be kind; the second is to be kind; and the third is to be kind. No act of kindness is ever wasted. Smile. Be Kind.