Dear Lord

So far today, God, I've done all right. I have not gossiped, haven't lost my temper, haven't been greedy, grumpy, nasty, selfish, or over indulgent. I'm really glad about that.

But, in a few minutes, God, I'm going to get out of bed and from then on I'm going to need a lot more help!

Author and lecturer Leo Buscaglia once talked about a contest he was asked to judge. The purpose of the contest was to find the most caring child. The winner was a four year old child whose next-door neighbor was an elderly gentleman who had recently lost his wife. Upon seeing the man cry, the little boy went into the old gentlemen's yard, climbed onto his lap and just sat there. When his mother asked him what he had said to the neighbor, the little boy said, "Nothing, I just helped him cry." (Ellen Kreidman)

In the days when an ice cream sundae cost much less a 10-year-old boy entered a hotel coffee shop and sat at a table. A waitress put a glass of water in front of him. "How much is an ice cream sundae?"

"Fifty cents," replied the waitress.

The little boy pulled his hand out of his pocket and studied a number of coins in it. "How much is a dish of plain ice cream?" he inquired.

Some people were now waiting for a table and the waitress was a bit impatient. "Thirty-five cents," she said brusquely.

The little boy again counted the coins, "I'll have the plain ice cream," he said.

The waitress brought the ice cream, put the bill on the table, and walked away. The boy finished the ice cream, paid the cashier and departed. When the waitress came back, she began wiping down the table and then swallowed hard at what she saw. There, placed neatly beside the empty dish, were two nickels and five pennies, the exact difference between the sundae and the plain ice cream,--lovingly placed there for her tip. (The Best of Bits and Pieces)

A few years ago at the Seattle Special Olympics, nine contestants, all physically disabled, assembled at the starting line for the 100-yard dash. At the gun, they all started out, not exactly in a dash, but with the relish to run the race to the finish and win.

All, that is, except one boy who stumbled on the asphalt, tumbled over a couple of times, and began to cry. The other eight heard the boy cry. They slowed down and paused. Then they all turned around and went back. Everyone of them! One girl with Down's syndrome bent down and kissed him and said, "This will make it better." Then all nine linked arms and walked together to the finish line.

Everyone in the stadium stood, and the cheering went on for 10 minutes. (author unknown. Submitted by Bob French)

A man went into a barber shop to get a haircut. While there, he decided he would like to have a professional shave. He asked the barber, who was an elderly man... if he could shave him? The man answered that he was getting to old and his hands had a little shake to them. But, he told the man that his wife, Grace could do it.

The next morning, the man got up and his face was still as smooth as a babies bottom... and the next day was the same... This went on for a week and still his face was very smooth. He decided to pay another visit to the barber shop. "I was shaved by your wife a week ago and my face is still as smooth as the day she shaved me. How could this be?" The man just smiled and answered, "You were shaved by Grace... Once shaved, always shaved !