Postcards from the Fast Lane

If a child lives with criticism, he learns to condemn . . .

If a child lives with hostility, he learns to fight . . .

If a child lives with fear, he learns to be apprehensive . . .

If a child lives with pity, he learns to feel sorry for himself . . .

If a child lives with ridicule, he learns to be shy . . .

If a child lives with jealousy, he learns what envy is . . .

If a child lives with shame, he learns to feel shame…

BUT

If a child lives with tolerance, he learns to be patient . . .

If a child lives with encouragement, he learns to be confident . . .

If a child lives with praise, he learns to be appreciative . . .

If a child lives with acceptance, he learns to love . . .

If a child lives with approval, he learns to like himself…

If a child lives with recognition, he learns it is good to have a goal…

If a child lives with sharing, he learns about generosity…

If a child lives with honesty, he learns what truth is . . .

If a child lives with fairness, he learns justice . . .

If a child lives with security, he learns to have faith in himself…and those about him . . .

If a child lives with friendliness, he learns the world is a nice place in which to live . . .

If you live with serenity, your child will live with peace of mind…

****

Dear Readers,

How are you teaching your children and grandchildren to live?

As you might remember, the head of a company survived
911 because he took his son to his first day of kindergarten.

Another fellow was alive because it was
his turn to bring donuts.

One woman was late because her 
alarm clock didn’t go off in time.

One was late because of being stuck on the NJ Turnpike
due to an auto accident.

One of them 
missed his bus.

One spilled food on her clothes and had to take
time to change.

One’s 
car wouldn’t start.

One couldn’t 
get a taxi. 

The one that struck me most was the man 
who put on a new pair of shoes that morning,
took the various means to get to work,
but before he got there, he developed
a blister on his foot
and stopped at a drugstore to buy a Band-Aid.
That is why he is alive today..

Now when I am
stuck in traffic ,
miss an elevator,
turn back to answer a ringing telephone …
All the little things that annoy me…
I think to myself,
this is exactly where
God wants me to be
at this very moment..

Next time your morning seems to be
going wrong…

You can’t seem to find the car keys,
you hit every traffic light…
Don’t get mad or frustrated;
it may be just that
God is at work watching over you.

****

Dear Readers, may God continue to bless you
with all those annoying little things
and may you remember their possible purpose…

     Two traveling angels stopped to spend the night in the home of a wealthy family. The family was rude and refused to let the angels stay in the mansion’s guest room. Instead the angels were given a small space in the cold basement.

As they made their bed on the hard floor, the older angel saw a hole in the wall and repaired it. When the younger angel asked why, the older angel replied, “Things aren’t always what they seem”

The next night the pair came to rest at the house of a very poor, but very hospitable farmer and his wife.

After sharing what little food they had the couple let the angels sleep in their bed where they could have a good night’s rest.

When the sun came up the next morning the angels found the farmer and his wife in tears. Their only cow, whose milk had been their sole income, lay dead in the field.

The younger angel was infuriated and asked the older angel, “How could you have let this happen? The first man had everything, yet you helped him…but the second family had little but was willing to share everything, and you let the cow die!”

“Things aren’t always what they seem,” the older angel replied.

The older angel continued, “When we stayed in the basement of the mansion, I noticed there was gold stored in that hole in the wall. Since the owner was so obsessed with greed and unwilling to share his good fortune, I sealed the wall so he wouldn’t find it.”

“Then last night as we slept in the farmers bed, the angel of death came for his wife I gave him the cow instead. Things aren’t always what they seem.”

****

Sometimes that is exactly what happens when things don’t turn out the way we think they should. If you have faith, you just need to trust that every outcome is always to your advantage. You just might not know it until sometime later…

After living what I felt was a “decent” life, my time on earth came to the end. The first thing I remember is sitting on a bench in the waiting room of what I thought to be a courthouse.

The doors opened and I was instructed to come in and have a seat by the defense table. As I looked around I saw the “prosecutor.”

He was a villainous-looking gent who snarled as he stared at me. He definitely was the most evil person I have ever seen.

I sat down and looked to my left and there sat my Attorney…a kind and gentle-looking man whose appearance seemed so familiar to me. I felt I knew Him.

The corner door flew open and there appeared the Judge in full flowing robes. He commanded an awesome presence as He moved across the room. I couldn’t take my eyes off of Him.

As He took His seat behind the bench, He said, “Let us begin.”

The prosecutor rose and said, “My name is Satan and I am here to show you why this man belongs in hell.”

He proceeded to tell of lies that I had told, things that I had stolen and in the past when I had cheated others. Satan told of other horrible perversions that were once in my life and the more he spoke, the further down in my seat I sank.

I was so embarrassed I couldn’t look at anyone…especially my own Attorney…as the devil told of sins that even I had completely forgotten about.

As upset as I was at Satan for telling all these things about me, I was equally upset at my Attorney who sat there…silently…not offering any form of defense at all.

I knew I was guilty of those things, but I had done some good in my life…couldn’t that at least equal out part of the harm I’d done?

Satan finished with a fury. “This man belongs in hell, he is guilty of all that I have charged and there is not one person who can prove otherwise.”

When it was His turn, my Attorney first asked if He might approach the bench. The Judge allowed this over the strong objection of Satan. The Judge beckoned my Attorney to come forward.

As He got up and started walking, I was able to see Him in His full splendor and majesty. I realized why He seemed so familiar; this was Jesus representing me, my Lord and Savior.

He stopped at the bench and softly said to the Judge, “Hi, Dad.”

Then He turned to address the court. “Satan is correct in saying that this man has sinned. I won’t deny any of these allegations. And yes, the wages of sin is death, and yes, this man deserves to be punished.”

Jesus took a deep breath. Turning to His Father with outstretched arms, He proclaimed, “However, I died on the cross so that this person might have eternal life. He has accepted Me as his Lord and Savior, so he is Mine.”

My Lord continued. “His name is written in the Book of Life and no one can snatch him from Me. Satan still does not understand yet that this man is not to be given justice, but rather mercy.”

As Jesus sat down, He paused and looked at His Father. “There is nothing else that needs to be done. I’ve done it all.”

The Judge lifted His mighty hand and slammed the gavel down. The following words bellowed from His lips…

    “This man is free.
The penalty for him has already been paid in full.
Case dismissed!”

As my Lord led me away, I could hear Satan ranting and raving, “I won’t give up, I will win the next one.”

I asked Jesus as He gave me my instructions where to go next, “Have you ever lost a case?”

Christ lovingly smiled. “Everyone who has come to Me and asked Me to represent them has received the same verdict as you…

Paid In Full!

Young Irena

Tomorrow, May 8 is Mother’s Day and mothers across the nation will be honored. However odd as it may appear, I feel it altogether proper and fitting that we celebrate the life of a lady who passed away May 12, 2008.

Listen to her story…

Irena Sendler was a Polish Catholic woman who rescued 2,500 Jewish children in Poland during World War II. She talked Jewish parents and grandparents out of their children, rightly saying that all were going to die in the Ghetto or in death camps, taking the children past the Nazi guards …and then adopting them into the homes of Polish families or hiding them in convents and orphanages.

She made lists of the children’s real names and put the lists in jars, then buried the jars in the garden, so that someday she could dig up the jars and find the children to tell them about their true identity.

The Ghetto enclosed 16 square blocks of the city and 450,000 Jewish people were forced into this area. Irena used her papers as a Polish social worker and papers of the workers of the Contagious Disease Department (as part of the underground Zegota) to enter the Warsaw Ghetto.

She used the old courthouse at the edge of the Warsaw Ghetto (still standing) as one of the main routes of smuggling children out. There were five main means of escape: 1. Using an ambulance, a child could be taken out hidden under a stretcher. 2. Escape through the courthouse. 3. A child could be taken out using the sewer pipes or other secret underground passages. 4. A trolley could carry out children hiding in a sack, in a trunk, a suitcase or something similar. 5. If a child could pretend to be sick or was actually ill, it could be legally removed using the ambulance.

Irena (code name Jolanta) was arrested on October 20, 1943 and placed in the notorious Pawiak prison, were she was constantly questioned and tortured. During the questioning, her legs and feet were broken. She received a death sentence and was to be shot. Unknown to her, Zegota had bribed the German executioner who helped her escape.

Irena 2007

During the remaining years of the war, she lived hidden, just like the children she rescued. Irena was the only one who knew where the children were to be found. When the war was finally over, she dug up the bottles and began the job of finding the children and trying to find a living parent. Almost all the parents of the children Irena saved died at Treblinka death camp.

“It took a true miracle to save a Jewish child,” Elzbieta Ficowska, who was saved by Sendler’s team as a baby in 1942, recalled in an AP interview in 2007. “Mrs. Sendler saved not only us, but also our children and grandchildren and the generations to come.”

We Shall Never Forget

A true angel lived on earth amidst the death and despair of the Nazis.

Irena Sendler…Holocaust Mother

     There was a big wedding in England this week. Anybody who is anybody was invited. It was the beautiful people on earth all gathered to see Prince William wed Kate Middleton at Westminster Abbey. However, the man who occupies the Oval Office was not invited. Nor was the Ambassador to Syria, a terrorist sponsoring nation.

There’s going to be another wedding even bigger than the royals. Not everybody will make the list on this wedding either. In fact, you will be most likely surprised who is there.

It’s been a long time in preparation.

In typical Jewish tradition, the bridegroom has gone to prepare a place for his bride at his father’s estate. When the father says that the abode is ready, the bridegroom will return for his bride.

The bride is supposed to be spotless and ready, for she does not know at what day or time her groom will return. She should have her life in order, ready to leave with her husband on a moments notice. She has many, many who tend to her. They are also to keep watch for the return of the groom, as it may be like a thief in the night.

Unlike the royals’ guest book, the names of those who will attend this wedding are kept in a book away from the public’s eye. In fact, not all who know the groom and have done many wonderful works in his name will be allowed to enter in. Some who have known the groom for a long time while others who have known him only a short time will both be allowed to come.

It’s not a list of celebrities. In fact, a lot of common folk will make the list, to the great astonishment of others. Some might be those who work in the field, others in factories, still others who are fishermen. Some might have a lot of money, but most will not.

Notwithstanding, this will be the most important of royal weddings in history.

By now you may have figured out that I am referring to the wedding of the Church with Jesus Christ. It is the wedding that nobody would want to miss. And it’s not going to matter whether you are the president of the United States or the ambassador to Syria. All that matters is your heart and whether you have accepted Jesus as your savior and have kept his commandments.

While many may have wished and hoped they were in the guest book for the Will and Kate wedding, the one thing everyone should want to be sure of is to have your name written in the book of life. Revelation 20:15 says, “And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.”

Do you have an invitation?

Bill Wilson

An old and beautiful legend…the story of the Dogwood Tree…appropriately reminds us that Easter is a time of new beginnings and freshness. It’s a special time of celebrating the new life…eternal life after death…of Jesus Christ.

The legend goes like this…the Dogwood Tree was once a proud tree which grew straight and tall. Builders, because of the tree’s strength, prized its lumber. The builder who was contracted to build the cross upon which Jesus was to be crucified, chose the dogwood tree because it towered above the rest with all the majesty of the forest.

The Dogwood Tree chosen by the builder was proud to have been chosen, but it did not know what it was about to be used for. When the builder had completed his work, the Dogwood was filled with pride. However, when the Dogwood realized what it had truly been chosen for, it was devastated. It begged God to forgive it and take away its majesty.

God the Son who noted even a sparrow’s fall, whose last compassion was for a repentant thief, similarly forgave the repentant Dogwood Tree for its unfortunate fate.

God agreed to remove the majesty the Dogwood once possessed. The Dogwood also requested that God make it a symbol of remembrance of the death of Christ Jesus who died for all our sins. God first transformed the tall, strong, majestic tree into a slender, bent, twisted tree that was no longer prized by builders. Once this was done, God gave the Dogwood a blossom with four pedals to symbolize the cross to which Jesus was nailed. On the tips of each pedal, He left a notch to symbolize the holes created by the nails used to place Jesus on the cross. God also placed a crimson stain around the notches, signifying the blood from Jesus’ hands and feet being nailed to the cross. In the center of the blossom, God placed the crown of thorns that Jesus wore.

Every spring, before Easter arrives, the Dogwood Tree blossoms to remind us of what Jesus did for us. It grows gracefully… blooming in Spring when there is joy in the renewing of life. As the blooms mature, the red begins to fade and white becomes more dominant. White is symbolic for forgiveness through the blood.

The Dogwood Tree gave up its strength, height and majesty to tell us the story of the crucifixion of Jesus.

****

Dear Readers, you can read for yourselves about
the crucifixion of Jesus  in John, chapters 18, 19, and 20…

Postscript: See you Saturday, April 30