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The Inspirational


Page




This page is dedicated to those things, pictures,
stories, etc., that inspire us to do greater and better
things in and with our lives. Your thoughts and ideas
are welcome and needed.



DON'T TAKE HER FOR GRANTED
When you came into the world, she held you in her arms.
You thanked her by wailing like a banshee.
When you were 1 year old, she fed you and bathed you.
You thanked her by crying all night long.
When you were 2 years old, she taught you to walk.
You thanked her by running away when she called.
When you were 3 years old, she made all your meals with love.
You thanked her by tossing your plate on the floor.
When you were 4 years old, she gave you some crayons.
You thanked her by coloring the dining room table.
When you were 5 years old, she dressed you for the holidays.
You thanked her by plopping into the nearest pile of mud
When you were 6 years old, she walked you to school.
You thanked her by screaming; "I'M NOT GOING!"
When you were 7 years old, she bought you a baseball.
You thanked her by throwing it through the next-door-neighbor's
window.
When you were 8 years old, she handed you an ice cream.
You thanked her by dripping it all over your lap.
When you were 9 years old, she paid for piano lessons.
You thanked her by never even bothering to practice.
When you were 10 years old, she drove you all day, from soccer to
gmnastics to one birthday party after another.
You thanked her by jumping out of the car and never looking back.
When you were 11 years old, she took you and your friends to the movies.
You thanked her by asking to sit in a different row.
When you were 12 years old, she warned you not to watch certain TV shows.
You thanked her by waiting until she left the house.
Those teenage years
When you were 13, she suggested a haircut that was becoming.
You thanked her by telling her she had no taste.
When you were 14, she paid for a month away at summer camp.
You thanked her by forgetting to write a single letter.
When you were 15, she came home from work, looking for a hug.
You thanked her by having your bedroom door locked.
When you were 16, she taught you how to driver her car.
You thanked her by taking it every chance you could.
When you were 17, she was expecting an important call.
You thanked her by being on the phone all night.
When you were 18, she cried at your high school graduation.
You thanked her by staying out partying until dawn.
Growing old and gray
When you were 19, she paid your college tuition, drove you to campus,
carried your bags.
You thanked her by saying good-bye outside the dorm so you wouldn't be
embarrassed in front of your friends.
When you were 20, she asked whether you were seeing anyone.
You thanked her by saying, "It's none of your business."
When you were 21, she suggested certain careers for your future.
You thanked her by saying, "I don't want to be like you."
When you were 22, she hugged you at your college graduation.
You thanked her by asking whether she could pay for a trip to Europe.
When you were 23, she gave you furniture for your first apartment.
You thanked her by telling your friends it was ugly.
When you were 24, she met your fiancee and asked about your plans for the
future.
You thanked her by glaring and growling, "Muuhh-ther, please!"
When you were 25, she helped to pay for your wedding, and she cried
and told you how deeply she loved you.
You thanked her by moving halfway across the country.
When you were 30, she called with some advice on the baby.
You thanked her by telling her; "Things are different now."
When you were 40, she called to remind you of a relative's birthday.
You thanked her by saying you were "really busy right now."
When you were 50, she fell ill and needed you to take care of her.
You thanked her by reading about the burden parents become to their
children.
Then, one day, she quietly died. And everything you never did came
crashing down like thunder.
"Rock me baby, rock me all night long. The hand who rocks the cradle...may
rock the world."

Let us take a moment of the time just to pay tribute/show appreciation to
the person called MOM though some may not say it openly to their mother.
There's no substitute for her. Cherish every single moment. Though at
times she may not be the best of friends, may not agree to our thoughts,
she is still your mother! She will be there for you...to listen to your woes,
your bragging, your frustrations, etc. Ask yourself...Have you put aside
enough time for her, to listen to her "blues" of working in the kitchen,
her tiredness? Be tactful, loving and still show her due respect though
you may have a different view from hers. Once gone, only fond memories
of the past and regrets will be left.


Today begins a new opportunity to put some things "in place" in
your life. Don't carry the defeating patterns of your past into this
new year. Here are 6 daily suggestions:

1. Pray no matter how busy you are! If you do, God promises to
"direct you." (Prov 3:6) The difference between 'drifting' and being
'directed', is in "acknowledging Him."

2. Read his word. That's what produced new life in Sarah's dead
womb, and calmed the storm on Galilee. Jesus said, "You can't
live by bread alone, you must have my word" (Matt 4:4)

3. Tell your family you love them! If you feel awkward, read your
Bible and see how often God says it to you, then take a leaf out of His
book.

4. Open yourself to new relationships! God says, "I will bless
thee...and I will make thee a blessing" (Ge 12:3). You are the
carrier of somebody else's blessings. If you shut the door to
blessings going out, you also shut it to blessings coming in.

5. Keep yourself in "top shape." When God needed someone to
lead Saul of Tarsus to Christ, Ananias said, "I am here Lord." (Acts
9:10) Can you say that? Be ready and available for what God wants to do
this year.

6. Maintain a positive attitude! Dominate your turf with faith. When
the conversation turns negative, steer it back to "whatsoever things are
good." (Phil 4:8).

God says, " I have placed before you an open door." (Rev 3:8)
Walk through that door, and make this the greatest year of your
life!



You Must Become As A Little Child.

This is a first-person account from a mother about her family as they ate dinner on Christmas Day in a small restaurant many miles from their home. Carol, the mother, relates, "We were the only family with children in the restaurant.

I sat Erik in a high chair and noticed everyone was quietly eating and talking. Suddenly, Erik squealed with glee and said, 'Hi there.' He pounded his fat baby hands on the high-chair tray. His eyes were wide with excitement, and his mouth was bared in a toothless grin. He wriggled and giggled with merriment. I looked around and saw the source of his merriment. It was a man with a tattered rag of a coat - dirty, greasy and worn. His pants were baggy with a zipper at half-mast, and his toes poked out of would-be shoes. His shirt was dirty, and his hair was uncombed and unwashed. His whiskers were too short to be called a beard, and his nose was so varicose it looked like a road map. We were too far from him to smell, but I was sure he smelled. His hands waved and flapped on loose wrists.

'Hi there, baby. Hi there, big boy. I see ya, buster!', the man said to Erik. My husband and I exchanged looks, as if to say, 'What do we do?' Erik continued to laugh and answer, "Hi! Hi there!" Everyone in the restaurant noticed and looked at us, and then at the man. The old geezer was creating a nuisance with my beautiful baby.

Our meal came and the man began shouting from across the room, 'Do ya know patty cake? Do you know peek-a-boo? Hey, look, he knows peek-a-boo!' Nobody thought the old man was cute. He was obviously drunk. My husband and I were embarrassed. We ate in silence, all except for Erik, who was running through his repertoire for the admiring skid-row bum, who, in turn, reciprocated with his cute comments.

We finally got through the meal and headed for the door. My husband went to pay the check and told me to meet him in the parking lot. The old man sat poised between me and the door. "Lord, just let me out of here before he speaks to me or Erik," I prayed. As I drew closer to the man, I turned my back trying to side-step him and avoid any air he might be breathing. As I did, Erik leaned over my arm, reaching with both arms in a baby's 'pick-me-up' position.

Before I could stop him, Erik had propelled himself from my arms to the man's. Suddenly a very old, smelly man and very young baby consummated their love relationship. Erik, in an act of total trust, love, and submission, laid his tiny head upon the man's ragged shoulder. The man's eyes closed, and I saw tears hover beneath his lashes. His aged hands full of grime, pain and hard labor, gently, so gently cradled my baby's bottom and stroked his back. No two beings have ever loved so deeply for so short a time. I stood awestruck.

The old man rocked and cradled Erik in his arms for a moment, and then his eyes opened and set squarely on mine. He said in a firm commanding voice, "You take care of this baby!" Somehow, I managed, 'I will.', from a throat that contained a stone. He pried Erik from his chest unwillingly, as though he were in pain. I received my baby, and the man said, "God bless you, ma'am. You've given me my Christmas gift." I said nothing more than a muttered thanks. With Erik in my arms, I ran for the car.

My husband was wondering why I was crying and holding Erik so tightly, and why I was saying, 'My God, my God, forgive me.' I had just witnessed Christ's love shown through the innocence of a tiny child who saw no sin, who made no judgment... a child who saw a soul, and a mother who saw a suit of clothes. I was a Christian who was blind, holding a child who was not. I felt it was God asking, "Are you willing to share your son for a moment?", when He shared His for all eternity. The ragged old man, unwittingly, had reminded me, "To enter the Kingdom of God, we must become as little children."


My Special List

I have a list of folks I know...
all written in a book,
And every now and then..
I go and take a look.
That is when I realize
these names... they are a part,
not of the book they're written in...
but taken from the heart.
For each Name stands for someone...
who has crossed my path sometime,
and in that meeting they have become...
the reason and the rhyme.

Although it sounds fantastic...
for me to make this claim,
I really am composed...
of each remembered name.

Although you're not aware...
of any special link,
just knowing you, has shaped my life...
more than you could think.

So please don't think my greeting...
as just a mere routine,
your name was not...
forgotten in between.

For when I send a greeting...
that is addressed to you,
it is because you're on the list...
of folks I'm indebted to.

So whether I have known you...
for many days or few,
in some ways you have a part...
in shaping things I do.

I am but a total...
of many folks I've met,
you are a friend I would prefer...
never to forget.

Thank you for being my friend!

Other Pages

                       More of the Family
                       Poems that I Like
                       Favorite Jokes
                       Short Stories
                       Linda's Personal Page
                       Family Memorial Page
                       Kids Page
                       Back to Home Page


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2000