Inspirational snippets

Tuesday

Just five more minutes, all I ask is five more minutes of a life that is forever lost

While at the park one day, a woman sat down next to a man on a bench near a playground.

“That’s my son over there,” she said, pointing to a little boy in a red sweater who was gliding down the slide.

“He’s a fine looking boy” the man said. “That’s my daughter on the bike in the white dress.”

Then, looking at his watch, he called to his daughter. “What do you say we go, Melissa?”

Melissa pleaded, “Just five more minutes, Dad. Please? Just five more minutes.”

The man nodded and Melissa continued to ride her bike to her heart’s content. Minutes passed and the father stood and called again to his daughter. “Time to go now?”

Again Melissa pleaded, “Five more minutes, Dad. Just five more minutes.”

Thursday

Life and how we respond to it is part of God's unique plan for our lives

An FB friend, Gail Hansmeyer, shared the following, poignant ideas:

"I was driving to an important appointment, but had a physio appointment that went on till after 08h00. Knowing it would take two hours to get to my next appointment at 10h00, I prayed that God would open the road ahead and give me favour to get there on time. The road I had to use had one lane in each direction, which opened up to two lanes at times. Heavy vehicles reduced traffic to a crawl, but every time I came up behind a truck the road split into two. I did not even have to slow down, and I arrived at my destination on time. It was just like the Red Sea crossing miracle!"

"My colleague had to do the same trip on the same road a few days later. She prayed the same prayer I had prayed, sayng, "Lord you did for Gail; please do so for me too. Unfortunately, her experience was quite different. Every time she got behind a truck, the road was in the single-lane phase, offering no double-lane relief. Needless to say she was upset - it seemed so unfair!"

Monday

Win the battle in the air and you will experience victory on the ground

The battlefields of the heart and mind need a strategic perspective just as human battlefields do.

US military doctrine largely hinges on airpower. Ground wars are dangerous and technology can be countered by sheer numbers, as Napoleon and Hitler learnt in their wars against Russia. Technology can also breed over-dependence on a vulnerable resource.

So, as happened in most post World War II US theatres of war, airpower has become the key to tilting the balance in favor of US ground forces. The plan has been well honed. During Desert Storm, General Norman Schwarzkopf used air-cover in the first waves, to neutralize missiles and other fixed artillery points.

Most military forces have focused on building significant strike capabilities using manned and, more recently, unmanned aircraft. Stealth bombers like the B2 have enabled previously dangerous aerial targets to be engaged with relative impunity, whilst longer-range standoff weapons have enabled remote engagement from ships or aircraft operating outside the radius of fire.

Costly, priceless, precious beyond measure ... is the church of the Living God

In a previous post I described a picture of a rich man's son. What to all others was valueless, because it was the amateur workmanship of a friend, was priceless to the father. So priceless was the son, that the gardener who successfully bid for the auctioned picture, secured the rich man's vast estate. In a nutshell, the rich man's will had said, "whoever takes the son, gets everything else."

My friend Jerry Hobbs, triggered a deeper set of thoughts about this illustration, when he argued that to many believers, value or pricelessness relates to the financial cost of the Christian institution, its buildings and other assets. No I am not having a go at Catholicism, because materialism is widespread in Christendom. It blurs all perspective for unbelievers, but many believers have been equally beguiled by its power.

The simple sketch of a priceless life, became the priceless heirloom of a simple soul

My friend Arnold de Wet, a gifted musician, launched his latest CD last night. It was a great moment, but one of the highlights for me was the poignant story that Arnold shared.

He told of a very wealthy art collector, who first lost his wife and then subsequently lost his only son to war. As he tried to reassemble his broken world, he received a visitor. Before him stood a young man who had known the rich man's son and had also done a pencilled sketch of the boy before he died. He showed the drawing to the father, who saw beyond the amateur drawing to the heart behind it. It moved him enough to take the picture and frame it as a personal and moving tribute to his beloved son.

Thursday

Old and young 10: We will have to go a long way to have such fun

Old:

Sally, a difficult independent 75 year old, liked sitting by the park feeding the pigeons. One day she brought with her a whole bun of fresh bread just to feed her daily company. Little by little, pinch-by-pinch, she fed each pigeon with joy. She sat there without being noticed by anyone in our rich suburban neighborhood.

Then suddenly a man in his early 40's rained on my mom's parade by telling her that she shouldn't throw away good food on a bunch of pigeons that can find food anywhere... when there are a lot of people starving in Africa, says the stranger.

Then my mother said in crazed anger and without hesitation, "Well, sorry for you but I can't throw that far!"

Wednesday

Old and young 9: We quote what we learn in school and we live what we learn from life

Old (some quotes):

- Age is a pretty high price to pay for maturity

- Ageing seems to be the only available way to live a long life

- At my age, I'm entitled to be grumpy!

- Don't let aging get you down - it's too hard to get back up!
- Don't worry about age - it's ugly you have to watch out for
- Don't worry about avoiding temptation - as you age it avoids you
- Don't worry about wrinkles, they're just antique smiles
- Few women admit their age. Few men act theirs
- Fortunately I'm too poor to have a mid-life crises
- Funny, I don't remember being absent minded
- For all the advances in modern medicine, there is still no cure for the common birthday.