Life Lessons

These stories/poems have touched me and I love reading them. I hope you enjoy them as well.

I have always admired the Rev. Billy Graham. Part of it is because we are distantly related. His great-grandfather and my mother's great-grandfather were brothers. Billy Graham has suffered from Parkinson's disease for the last few years. Here is a touching story about him.

In January 2000 the leaders in Charlotte, North Carolina invited their favorite son, Billy Graham, to a luncheon in his honor.

Billy initially hesitated to accept the invitation because he struggles with his Parkinson's disease. But the Charlotte leaders told him they just wanted him to come so they could honor him.

After many wonderful things were said about Dr. Graham at the luncheon, Dr. Graham stepped up to the rostrum, looked at the crowd, and said:

I'm reminded today of Albert Einstein, the great physicist who has been honored by Time magazine as the Man of the Century. Einstein was once traveling from Princeton on a train when the conductor came down the aisle, punching the tickets of every passenger. When he came to Einstein, Einstein reached in his vest pocket. He couldn't find his ticket, so he reached in his trouser pockets. It wasn't there, so he looked in his briefcase but couldn't find it. Then he looked in the seat behind him. He still couldn't find it.

The conductor said "Dr. Einstein, I know who you are. We all know who you are. I'm sure you bought a ticket. Don't worry about it."

Einstein nodded appreciatively. The conductor continued down the aisle, punching tickets. As he was ready to move to the next car, he turned around and saw the great physician on his hands and knees looking under his seat for his ticket.

The conductor rushed back and said, "Dr. Einstein, don't worry. I know who you are, no problem, you don't need a ticket. I'm sure you bought one."

Einstein looked at him and said "Young man, I too know who I am. What I don't know is where I'm going."

Having said that, Billy Graham continued. "See the suit I'm wearing? It's a brand new suit. My family has told me I've gotten a little slovenly in my old age. I used to be a bit more fastidious. So I went out and bought a new suit for this luncheon and one more occasion. You know what the occasion is? This is the suit in which I'll be buried. But when you hear I'm dead, I don't want you to immediately remember the suit I'm wearing. I want you to remember this: I NOT ONLY KNOW WHO I AM, I ALSO KNOW WHERE I'M GOING."

We all know who we are, but do we know where we're going?

IT'S IN THE VALLEYS I GROW

Sometimes life seems hard to bear, full of sorrow, trouble and woe, it's then I have to remember, that it's in the valleys I grow.

If I always stayed on the mountain top, and never experienced pain, I would never appreciate God's love, and would be living in vain.

I have so much to learn, and my growth is very slow, sometimes I need the mountain tops, but it's in the valleys I grow.

I do not always understand why things happen as they do, but I am very sure of one thing, My Lord will see me through.

My little valleys are nothing, when I picture Christ on the cross, He went through the valley of death, His victory was Satan's loss!

Forgive me Lord for complaining when I'm feeling so very low, just give me a gentle reminder, that it's in the valleys I grow.

Continue to strengthen me, Lord, and use my life each day, to share your love with others, and help them find their way.

Thank you for the valleys, Lord, for this one thing I know, the mountain tops are glorious, but it's in the valleys I grow!

(Poem by Jane Eggleston)

This poem by Maya Angelou has nothing whatsoever to do with Easter but it's a good reminder of what a woman should "have" or "know"....

MAYA ANGELOU'S BEST POEM EVER:

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE....
enough money within her control to move out and rent a place of her own even if she never wants to or needs to...
A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE...
something perfect to wear if the employer or date of her dreams wants to see her in an hour...
A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE...
a youth she's content to leave behind...
A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE...
a past juicy enough that she's looking forward to retelling it in her old age...
A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE...
a set of screwdrivers, a cordless drill, and a black lace bra...
A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE....
one friend who always makes her laugh...and one who lets her cry...
A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE....
a good piece of furniture not previously owned by anyone else in her family...
A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE...
eight matching plates, wine glasses with stems, and a receipe for a meal that will make her guests feel honored...
A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE...
a feeling of control over her destiny...

A WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...

how to fall in love without losing herself...

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW....

HOW TO QUIT A JOB,

BREAK UP WITH A LOVER,


AND CONFRONT A FRIEND WITHOUT RUINING THE FRIENDSHIP...


EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...
when to try harder...and WHEN TO WALK AWAY...
EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...
that she can't change the length of her calves, the width of her hips, or the nature of her parents.
EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...
that her childhood may not have been perfect...but it's over...
EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...
how to live alone...even if she doesn't like it...
EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...
whom she can trust, whom she can't, and why she shouldn't take it personally...
EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW....
where to go....be it to her best friend's kitchen table, or a charming inn in the woods, when her soul needs soothing...
EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...
what she can and can't accomplish in a day...a month...and a year....