To be unique.

Well over six billion people walk the face of this earth right now, each of us unique in our own way. We may have similar likes, dislikes, drives, motives, hobbies, and desires as many of the people around us, but that does not change the fact that we are meant to be unique. I feel it is true to say that there are few (if any) individuals in the world that are completely free of living there lives to “fit it.” We practice this idea to different degrees, some people are only slightly affected while other live their lives to be a part of the “in crowd.” We try so hard to fit this model of what society has made for us or what we see the “cool kids” doing that we lose those precious things that make us who we truly are. This may be our standards, our real friends, our dreams, our style of clothing, or many other things. We begin to let others rule and reign over our choices. I remember in High School seeing a poster, I do not remember what it said word for word, but it stated,

-Twenty years from now, no one will remember or even care about the shoes you wore, how many friends you had, or the cool things you did. What they will remember is the type of person you were and they will see what you have become.-

I would add to that the people that only see what you were in High School are the people that have completely missed the point of life.

 “The man who trims himself to suit everybody will soon whittle himself away.” –Charles Schwab

I am not trying to say we shouldn’t try to look nice or keep up with the latest technology. I wear a suit to work every day because that is what’s professional and it is expected of me. I am not going to quit my job just because I REALLY don’t like wearing suits. Being yourself does not mean that you have to rebel against society just to prove you are “different”, that is just as bad as losing yourself to fit in with everything society tells you is important.

If you enjoy something that doesn’t seem to fit what the people around you think is cool, it is okay. If they give you a hard time about enjoying it, those probably are not the people I would consider real friends. If you feel like something is wrong and the people you are trying to impress think it’s the cool thing to do, once again these are not the people you need to worry about.

“Don’t let the voice of critics paralyze you.”

Merry Christmas in February!

For those of you who do not know, I. Love. Christmas.
I love the happy and joyful feeling in the air and i love the fact that everyone seems to be much nicer and more giving. Here is a story i heard not too long ago that i love, and yes it is a Christmas story. Enjoy! or not...

       The brand new pastor and his wife, newly assigned to their first ministry, to reopen a church in suburban Brooklyn, arrived in early October excited about their opportunities.  When they saw their church, it was very run down and needed much work.  They set a goal to have everything done in time to have their first service on Christmas Eve. 

     They worked hard, repairing pews, plastering walls, painting, etc., and on December 18 were ahead of schedule and just about finished.

     On December 19 a terrible tempest—a driving rainstorm—hit the area and lasted for two days.

     On the 21st, the pastor went over to the church.  His heart sank when he saw that the roof had leaked, causing a large area of plaster about 20 feet by 8 feet to fall off the front wall of the sanctuary just behind the pulpit, beginning about head high.

     The pastor cleaned up the mess on the floor, and not knowing what else to do but postpone the Christmas Eve service, headed home.  On the way he noticed that a local business was having a flea market type sale for charity, so he stopped in.  One of the items was a beautiful, handmade, ivory colored, crocheted tablecloth with exquisite work, fine colors and a Cross embroidered right in the center.  It was just the right size to cover the hole in the front wall.  He bought it and headed back to the church.

     By this time it had started to snow.  An older woman running from the opposite direction was trying to catch the bus.  She missed it.  The pastor invited her to wait in the warm church for the next bus 45 minutes later.

     She sat in a pew and paid no attention to the pastor while he got a ladder, hangers, etc. to put up the tablecloth as a wall tapestry.  The pastor could hardly believe how beautiful it looked and it covered up the entire problem area.

     Then he noticed the woman walking down the center aisle. Her face was like a sheet.  “Pastor,” she asked, “where did you get that tablecloth?”  The pastor explained.  The woman asked him to check the lower right corner to see if the initials, EBG were crocheted into it there.  They were.  These were the initials of the woman, and she had made this tablecloth 35 years before, in Austria.

     The woman could hardly believe it as the pastor told how he had just gotten “The Tablecloth”.  The woman explained that before the war she and her husband were well-to-do people in Austria.

     When the Nazis came, she was forced to leave.  Her husband was going to follow her the next week.  He was captured, sent to prison and never saw her husband or her home again.

     The pastor wanted to give her the tablecloth; but she made the pastor keep it for the church.  The pastor insisted on driving her home.  That was the least he could do.  She lived on the other side of Staten Island and was only in Brooklyn for the day for a housecleaning job. 

     What a wonderful service they had on Christmas Eve.  The church was almost full.  The music and the spirit were great.  At the end of the service, the pastor and his wife greeted everyone at the door and many said that they would return.

     One older man, whom the pastor recognized from the neighborhood continued to sit in one of the pews and stare, and the pastor wondered why he wasn’t leaving.

     The man asked him where he got the tablecloth on the front wall because it was identical to one that his wife had made years ago when they lived in Austria before the war and how could there be two tablecloths so much alike.

     He told the pastor how the Nazis came, how he forced his wife to flee for her safety and he was supposed to follow her, but he was arrested and put in a prison.  He never saw his wife or his home again all the 35 years between.

     The pastor asked him if he would allow him to take him for a little ride.  They drove to Staten Island and to the same house where the pastor had taken the woman three days earlier.

     He helped the man climb the three flights of stairs to the woman’s apartment, knocked on the door and he saw the greatest Christmas reunion he could ever imagine.  The couple was reunited!

      

The End.