A Missed Blessing from JR Things

A young man was getting ready to graduate from college.
For many months he had admired a beautiful sports car in a
dealer's showroom, and knowing his father could well afford it,
he told him that was all he wanted.
As Graduation Day approached, the young man awaited signs that
his father had purchased the car.

Finally, on the morning of his graduation his father called him
into his private study.
His father told him how proud he was to have such a fine son,
and told him how much he loved him.
He handed his son a beautifully wrapped gift box.
Curious, but somewhat disappointed the young man opened the
box and found a lovely, leather-bound Bible.

Angrily, he raised his voice at his father and said,
"With all your money, you give me a Bible?"
and stormed out of the house, leaving the holy book.

Many years passed and the young man was very successful in
business.
He had a beautiful home and wonderful family, but realized
his father was very old, and thought perhaps he should go to him.
He had not seen him since that graduation day.
Before he could make arrangements, he received a telegram telling
him his father had passed away, and willed all of his possessions
to his son.
He needed to come home immediately and take care of things.
When he arrived at his father's house, sudden sadness and regret
filled his heart.
He began to search his father's important papers and saw the
still new Bible, just as he had left it years ago.
With tears, he opened the Bible, and began to turn the pages.
As he read those words, a car key dropped from an envelope
taped behind the Bible. It had a tag with the dealer's name,
the same dealer who had the sports car he had desired.
On the tag was the date of his graduation, and the words ...
PAID IN FULL.

How many times do we miss God's blessings because they
are not packaged as we expected?

A nice article named "Cracked Pot" from JR Things

An elderly Chinese woman had two large pots, each hung on the
ends of a pole which she carried across her neck.
One of the pots had a crack in it while the other pot was perfect
and always delivered a full portion of water.
At the end of the long walks from the stream to the house,
the cracked pot arrived only half full.
For a full two years this went on daily, with the woman bringing
home only one and a half pots of water.
Of course, the perfect pot was proud of its accomplishments.
But the poor cracked pot was ashamed of its own imperfection, and
miserable that it could only do half of what it had been made to do.
After two years of what it perceived to be bitter failure, it spoke
to the woman one day by the stream.
"I am ashamed of myself, because this crack in my side causes
water to leak out all the way back to your house."
The old woman smiled, "Did you notice that there are flowers on
your side of the path, but not on the other pot's side?"
"That's because I have always known about your flaw,
so I planted flower seeds on your side of the path, and
every day while we walk back, you water them."
"For two years I have been able to pick these beautiful flowers
to decorate the table.
Without you being just the way you are, there would not be
this beauty to grace the house."
Each of us has our own unique flaw. But it's the cracks and flaws
we each have that make our lives together so very interesting and
rewarding.
You've just got to take each person for what they are and look
for the good in them.
SO, to all of my crackpot friends, have a great day and remember
to smell the flowers on your side of the path!