Monday, January 23, 2012

Where is God's Perfection?

"I believe," the father answered, "that when God brings a child like this into the world, the perfection that he seeks is in the way people react to this child."

I am sharing this story with you which I received in one of the many forwarded emails sent to me every day. This story deserves a place in my heart with the realization that indeed God’s ways are not our ways, and He works in our lives in magical and inspiring ways.


In Brooklyn, New York, Chush is a school that caters to learning disabled children. Some children remain in Chush for their entire school career, while others can be mainstreamed into conventional schools. At a Chush fund raising dinner, the father of a Chush child delivered a speech that would never be forgotten by all who attended. After extolling the school and its dedicated staff, he cried out, "Where is the perfection in my son Ryan?

Everything God does is done with perfection. But my child cannot understand things as other children do.

My child cannot remember facts and figures as other children do. Where is God's perfection?" The audience was shocked by the question, pained by the father's anguish and stilled by the piercing query.? "I believe," the father answered, "that when God brings a child like this into the world, the perfection that he seeks is in the way people react to this child."

He then told the following story about his son Ryan:

One afternoon Ryan and his father walked past a park where some boys Ryan knew were playing baseball. Ryan asked, "Do you think they will let me play?"? Ryan's father knew that his son was not at all athletic and that most boys would not want him on their team.? But Ryan's father understood that if his son were chosen to play it would give him a comfortable sense of belonging.

Ryan's father approached one of the boys in the field and asked if Ryan could play.? The boy looked around for guidance from his teammates.

Getting none, he took matters into his own hands and said, "We are losing by six runs and the game is in the eighth inning.?? I guess he can be on our team and we'll try to put him up to bat in the ninth inning."

Ryan's father was ecstatic as Ryan smiled broadly.? Ryan was told to put on a glove and go out to play short center field. In the bottom of the eighth inning, Ryan's team scored a few runs but was still behind by three.? In the bottom of the ninth inning, Ryan's team scored again and now with two outs and the bases loaded with the potential winning run on base, Ryan was scheduled to be up. Would the team actually let Ryan bat at this juncture and give away their chance to win the game?

Surprisingly, Ryan was given the bat. Everyone knew that it was all but impossible because Ryan didn't even know-how to hold the bat properly, let alone hit with it. However as Ryan stepped up to the plate, the pitcher moved a few steps closer to lob the ball in softly so Ryan should at least be able to make contact. The first pitch came in and Ryan swung clumsily and missed.

One of Ryan's teammates came up to Ryan and together they held the bat and faced the pitcher waiting for the next pitch. The pitcher again took a few steps forward to toss the ball softly toward Ryan. As the pitch came in, Ryan and his teammate swung at the bat and together they hit a slow ground ball to the pitcher.? The pitcher picked up the soft grounder and could easily have thrown the ball to the first baseman.?? Ryan would have
been out and that would have ended the game.? Instead, the pitcher took the ball and threw it on a high arc to right field, far beyond reach of the first baseman.? Everyone started yelling, "Ryan, run to first.? Run to first."

Never in his life had Ryan run to first. He scampered down the baseline wide-eyed and startled.?? By the time he reached first base, the right fielder had the ball.? He could have thrown the ball to the second baseman who would tag out Ryan, who was still running. But the right fielder understood what the pitcher's intentions were, so he threw the ball
high and far over the third baseman's head.? Everyone yelled, "Run to second, run to second." Ryan ran towards second base as the runners ahead of him deliriously circled the bases towards home.? As Ryan reached second base, the opposing short stop ran to him, turned him in the direction of third base and shouted, "Run to third."? As Ryan rounded third, the boys from both teams ran behind him screaming, "Ryan run home."? Ryan ran home, stepped on home plate and all 18 boys lifted him on their shoulders and made him the hero, as he had just hit a "grand slam" and won the game for his team. "That day," said the father softly with tears now rolling down his face, "those 18 boys reached their level of God's perfection."

Funny how this is so true and shame on us!

Funny how simple it is for people to trash God and then wonder why the world is going to hell?

Funny how we believe what the newspapers say, but question what the Bible says.

Funny how you can send a thousand 'jokes' through e-mail and they spread like wildfire, but when you start sending messages regarding God and something good, people think twice about sharing.

Funny how the lewd, crude, vulgar and obscene pass freely through cyberspace, but the public discussion of God is suppressed in the school and workplace.

Funny how I can be more worried about what other people think of me than what God thinks of me when I will forward this message so that HIS message be known to all?

Tuesday, January 10, 2012

POSTPONE IT!

You have just powdered your nose and made the last twirl across the full-length mirror before heading out the door for a lovely date with your beau…

You cancelled your dinner plans with your colleagues because your friend would want to meet at the last minute before taking off for a long holiday back home…

You are drowsing and basically living on caffeine to stay up to finish an important presentation for work…

You have been saving up money, busy shopping for your annual leave and have been really excited and looking forward to go on a holiday to see you parents…

Then you get a call, an sms or an email saying, it’s POSTPONED!

Big or small, trivial or important when we have set our mind to do something particular, whether we have made ample preparation or a spur of the moment decision, when we have anticipated something exciting or not to happen and it does not… we get agitated or disappointed.

While it is true that we do not have control of things around us, we can only control on how we react with the things that would come to us.

People around us can easily call postpone things because of whatever reason, selfish or not.

So why not also POSTPONE being agitated or disappointed?

If it is possible to postpone events, spending and entertainment, why not postpone being disappointed, upset and angry?

After you have powdered your nose, cancelled your dinner plans, made your presentation or packed your bags and have just been 'POSTPONED'… best thing is to take a deep breath and say, “well if they can postpone this one, then I can also POSTPONE what I'm feeling right now.”

Focus on other happy things, after all what is life if we cannot POSTPONE :)

ATE MARISSA: A WOMAN OF GREAT FAITH

ATE in the Filipino language means, “older sister.” Growing up as a child, I would always look up to my older siblings.  Definitely, I look ...