God never makes mistakes

A King had a male servant who, in all circumstances always said to him; My king, do not be discouraged because everything God does is perfect, no mistakes.

True life story: Never underestimate the power of your actions.

One day, when I was a freshman in high school,
I saw a kid from my class was walking home from school.
His name was Kunle.
It looked like he was carrying all of his books.
I thought to myself, 'Why would anyone bring home all his books on a Friday?
He must really be a nerd.'
I had quite a weekend planned (parties and a football game with my friend’s tomorrow afternoon), so I shrugged my shoulders and went on.
As I was walking, I saw a bunch of kids running toward him.
They ran at him, knocking all his books out of his arms and tripping him so he landed in the dirt.
His glasses went flying, and I saw them land in the grass about ten feet from him...
He looked up and I saw this terrible sadness in his eyes.
My heart went out to him. So, I jogged over to him as he crawled around looking for his glasses, and I saw a tear in his eye.
As I handed him his glasses, I said, 'Those guys are jerks.'
They really should get lives.
‘He looked at me and said, 'Hey thanks!'
There was a big smile on his face.
It was one of those smiles that showed real gratitude.
I helped him pick up his books, and asked him where he lived.
As it turned out, he lived near me, so I asked him why I had never seen him before.
He said he had gone to private school before now.
I would have never hung out with a private school kid before.
We talked all the way home, and I carried some of his books.
He turned out to be a pretty cool kid.
I asked him if he wanted to play a little football
With my friends.
He said yes.
We hung out all weekend and the more I got to know Kunle, the more I liked him, and my friends thought the same of him.
Monday morning came, and there was Kunle with the huge stack of books again.
I stopped him and said, 'Boy, you are going to really build some serious muscles with this pile of books every day!
‘He just laughed and handed me half the books.
Over the next four years, Kunle and I became best friends.
When we were seniors we began to think about college.
Kunle decided on UI and I was going to UNILAG.
I knew that we would always be friends, that the miles would never
Be a problem.
He was going to be a doctor and I was going to be an Engineer.
Kunle was valedictorian of our class.
I teased him all the time about being a nerd.
He had to prepare a speech for graduation.
I was so glad it wasn't me having to get up there and speak.
Graduation day, I saw Kunle.
He looked great.
He was one of those guys that really found himself during high school.
He filled out and actually looked good in glasses.
He had more dates than I had and all the girls loved him.
Boy, sometimes I was jealous!
Today was one of those days.
I could see that he was nervous about his speech.
So, I smacked him on the back and said, 'Hey, big guy, you'll be great!'
He looked at me with one of those looks (the really grateful one) and smiled....
‘Thanks,' he said.
As he started his speech, he cleared his throat, and began ...
'Graduation is a time to thank those who helped you make it through those tough years.
Your parents, your teachers, your siblings, maybe a coach...but mostly your friends....
I am here to tell all of you that being a friend to someone is the best gift you can give them.
I am going to tell you a story.'
I just looked at my friend with disbelief as he told the first day we met.
He had planned to kill himself over the weekend.
He talked of how he had cleaned out his locker so his Mom wouldn't have to do it later and was carrying his stuff home.
He looked hard at me and gave me a little smile.
'Thankfully, I was saved.
My friend saved me from doing the unspeakable.'
I heard the gasp go through the crowd as this handsome, popular boy told us all about his weakest moment.
I saw his Mom and dad looking at me and smiling that same grateful smile.
Not until that moment did I realize it's depth.

Clay Balls!

A man was exploring caves by the Seashore. In one of the caves he found a canvas bag with a bunch of hardened clay balls. It was like someone had rolled clay balls and left them out in the sun to bake. They didn't look like much, but they intrigued the man, so he took the bag out of the cave with him. As he strolled along the beach, he would throw the clay balls one at a time out into the ocean as far as he could.

He thought little about it, until he dropped one of the clay balls and it cracked open on a rock. Inside was a beautiful, precious stone!

Excited, the man started breaking open the remaining clay balls. Each contained a similar treasure. He found thousands of dollars worth of jewels in the 20 or so clay balls he had left.

Then it struck him. He had been on the beach a long time. He had thrown maybe 50 or 60 of the clay balls with their hidden treasure into the ocean waves. Instead of thousands of dollars in treasure, he could have taken home tens of thousands, but he had just thrown it away!

It's like that with people.. We look at someone, maybe even ourselves, and we see the external clay vessel. It doesn't look like much from the outside. It isn't always beautiful or sparkling, so we discount it.

We see that person as less important than someone more beautiful or stylish or well known or wealthy. But we have not taken the time to find the treasure hidden inside that person..

There is a treasure in each and every one of us. If we take the time to get to know that person, and if we ask God to show us that person the way He sees them, then the clay begins to peel away and the brilliant gem begins to shine forth.

May we not come to the end of our lives and find out that we have thrown away a fortune in friendships because the gems were hidden in bits of clay. May we see the people in our world as God sees them.

DEDICATION TO EVERYONE THAT LOST LOVED ONES LATELY:

A Young Man Called Rama Swami Died An Untimely Death.
His Parents, Wife And Nine Year Old Son Were Crying Bitterly Sitting Next To His Dead Body.
They All Happened To Be Disciples Of A Holy Man Whom They Called 'Maharaj Ji'.
When Maharaj Ji Learnt That Rama Swami Had Died, He Came To Visit The Family.
He Entered The House And Found The Family Wailing Inconsolably.
Seeing Maharaj Ji, The Wife Started Crying Even Louder.
She Sobbed Saying, "Maharaj Ji, He Has Died Too Early, He Was So Young...
Oh! I Would Do Anything To Make Him live Again. What Will Happen To Our Son?
I'm So Helpless And Miserable."
Maharaj Ji Tried To Pacify The Crying Lady And The Old Parents,
But The Loss Was Too Much For Them To Come To Terms With So Easily.
Eventually, Maharaj Ji Said, "Alright, Get Me A Glass Of Water."
Maharaj Ji Sat Near The Dead Body And Put The Glass Next To It.
He Said, "Now, Who Ever Wants That Rama Swami comes Alive Again May Drink This Water.
Rama Swami Shall Come Back To Life, But The Person Who Drinks The Water Shall Die Instead!"
Silence..!
"Come, Did You Not Say That Rama Swami Was The Sole Bread Winner Of The Family?
Who Would Die Instead Of Him?
It Is A Case Of Fair Exchange, Isn't It?"
The Wife Looked At The Old Mother And The Old Mother Looked At The Wife.
The Old Father Looked At Rama Swami's Son.
But No One Came Forward...
Then Maharaj Ji Said To The Old Father, "Babuji, Wouldn't You Give Your Life For Your Son?"
The Old Man Said, "Well, I Have My Responsibility Towards My Wife. If I Die Who Will Look After Her?
I Cannot Offer My Life To You."
Maharaj Ji Looked Questioningly At The Old Woman And Said, "Amma?"
Amma Said, "My Daughter Is Due To Deliver Her First Baby.
She Will Be Coming To Stay For A Month...
If I Die Who Will Look After Her And The Newborn.
Why Don't You Ask Rama Swami's Wife?
Maharaj Ji Smiled And Looked At The Young Widow.
She Widened Her Tear Filled Eyes And Said, "Maharaj Ji, I Need To Live For My Son...
If I Die, Who Will Look After Him? He Needs Me.
Please Don't Ask Me To Do This Sacrifice..
Maharaj Ji Asked The son, "Well Little Boy, Would You Like To Give Your Life For Your Father?"
Before The Boy Could Say Anything, His Mother Pulled Him To Her Breast And Said,..
"Maharaj Ji, Are You insane?..
My Son Is Only Nine. He Has Not Yet Lived His Life.
How Could You Even Think Or Suggest Such A Thing?"
Maharaj Ji Said, "Well It Seems, That All Of You Are Very Much Needed For The Things You Need
To Do In This World... It Seems Rama Swami Was The Only One That Could Be Spared...
That Is Why God Choose To Take Him Away.
So Shall We Now Proceed With His Last Rites?... It's Getting Late..
Having Said That, Maharaj Ji Got Up And Left.
God's Plan Is Impeccable.
Sometimes Man Is Unable To Understand God's Design.
The Time Of Entry And Exit For Each One Of Us, Is In God's Hands.
It Is His Prerogative Alone To Pluck The Flower He Wishes To.
It Is Nobody's Prerogative To Question His Will.
In The Words Of Dada, "We Tend A Plant Only When The Leaves Are Green;
When They Become Dry And The Plant Becomes A Life-Less Stick,
We Stop Loving It.
Love Lasts As Long As Life Exists
The Rest Is Only Memories Of Happy Times.