PINE KNOT KINDLING
By Winston Burton
(THIS IS SO GOOD, YOU REALLY SHOULD READ IT)
A female Christian lawyer friend recently sent me an e-mail and I am sharing a portion of it with you.
A petite and proud 92 year old lady was being entered into a nursing home. Her husband of 70 years had recently died. On the way to her room she said, "I love it"
A lady who was showing her to the room said, "You haven't seen it yet. How do you know?"
Her reply was unforgettable: "That does not have anything to
do with it. Happiness is something you decide on ahead of time. Whether I
like my room
or not, does not depend on how the furniture is arranged. It is how I arrange
my mind. I have already decided to love it. It is a decision I make every morning
when I wake up. I have a choice. I can spend the day in bed recounting the
difficulty I have with the parts of my body that no longer work, or I can get
out of bed and be thankful for the ones that do work. Each day is a gift, and
as long as my eyes open, I will focus on the new day and all of the happy memories
I have stored away just for this time in my life."
The thoughts were more fully developed as follows:
" Old age is like a bank account. You withdraw from what you already put
in.
" I believe that our background and circumstances may have influenced who
we are, but we are responsible for who webecome.
" I believe that true friendship continues to grow, even over the longest
distance. Same goes for true love.
" I believe that you should always leave loved ones with loving words. It
may be the last time you see them.
" I believe that you can keep going, long after you can't.
" I believe that no matter how good a friend is, they're going to hurt you
every once in a while and you must forgive them for that.
" I believe that we are responsible for what we do, no matter how we feel.
" I believe that either you control your attitude or it controls you.
" I believe that heroes ars the people who do what has to be done when it
needs to be done, regardless of theconsequences.
" I believe that credentials on the wall do not make you a decent human
being.
" I believe that sometimes when I'm angry I have the right to be angry,
but that doesn't give me the right to be cruel.
" I believe that it's taking a long time to become the person I want to
be."
-via Life at Southwest
Published by Southwest Church of Christ
Jonesboro,Arkansas
(And sent to my wife Judy McPherson by a dear friend, Mable from in Kennett,
Mo.)