Motivational Stories:
Contents
(1) A
soldier who was finally coming home after having fought in
Vietnam.
(2)
What would you have done?
(3)
The Parable of the Lost Son from Luke 15:11 - 32 (NIV - New
International Version). (4) Unconditional Acceptance
(5) Struggles
...
(1) A soldier who
was finally coming home after having fought in Vietnam.
A story is told about a soldier who was finally coming home after
having fought in Vietnam. He called his parents from San
Francisco. "Mom and Dad, I'm coming home, but I've a favor
to ask. I have a friend I'd like to bring home with me."
"Sure," they replied, "we'd love to meet
him."
"There's something you should know, the son continued,
"he was hurt pretty badly in the fighting. He stepped on a
land mine and lost an arm and a leg. He has nowhere else to go,
and I want him to come live with us."
"I'm sorry to hear that, son. Maybe we can help him find
somewhere to live." "No, Mom and Dad, I want him to
live with us." "Son," said the father, "you
don't know what you're asking. Someone with such a handicap would
be a terrible burden on us. We have our own lives to live, and we
can't let something like this interfere with our lives. I think
you should just come home and forget about this guy. He'll find a
way to live on his own."
At that point, the son hung up the phone. The parents heard
nothing more from him. A few days later, however, they received a
call from the San Francisco police. Their son had died after
falling from a building, they were told.
The police believed it was suicide. The grief-stricken parents
flew to San Francisco and were taken to the city morgue to
identify the body of their son. They recognized him, but to their
horror they also discovered something they didn't know, their son
had only one arm and one leg.
The parents in this story are like many of us. We find it easy to
love those who are good-looking or fun to have around, but we
don't like people who inconvenience us or make us feel
uncomfortable. We would rather stay away from people who aren't
as healthy, beautiful, or smart as we are.
Thankfully, there's someone who won't treat us that way. Someone
who loves us with an unconditional love that welcomes us into the
forever family, regardless of how messed up we are. Tonight,
before you tuck yourself in for the night, say a little prayer
that God will give you the strength you need to accept people as
they are, and to help us all be more understanding of those who
are different from us!!!
There's a miracle called Friendship .... That dwells in the heart
You don't know how it happens .... Or when it gets started
But you know the special lift .... It always brings
And you realize that Friendship .... Is God's most precious gift!
Friends are a very rare jewel, indeed ....They make you smile and
encourage you to succeed
They lend an ear, they share a word of praise, and they always
want to open their hearts to us.
Show your friends how much you care....
Send this to everyone you consider a FRIEND.
(2)
What would you have done?
A man named Jack was walking along a steep cliff one day when he
accidentally got too close to the edge and fell. On the way down
he grabbed a branch, which temporarily stopped his fall. He
looked down and to his horror saw that the canyon fell straight
down for more than a thousand feet. He couldn't hang onto the
branch forever, and there was no way for him to climb up the
steep wall of the cliff.
So Jack began yelling for help, hoping that someone passing by
would hear him and lower a rope or something. "HELP! HELP!
Is anyone up there? HELP!"
He yelled for hours, but no one heard him. He was about to give
up when he heard a voice.
"Jack, Jack. Can you hear me?" "Yes, yes! I can
hear you. I'm down here!"
"I can see you, Jack. Are you all right?"
"Yes, but . . . Who are you, and where are you?"
"I am the Lord, Jack. I'm everywhere."
"The Lord? You mean, GOD?"
"That's Me."
"God, please help me! I promise if You'll get me down from
here, I'll stop sinning. I'll be a really good person. I'll serve
You for the rest of my life."
"Easy on the promises, Jack. Let's just get you down from
there; then we can talk. Now, here's what I want you to do.
Listen carefully."
"I'll do anything, Lord. Just tell me what to do."
"Okay. Let go of the branch."
"What?"
"I said, let go of the branch.. Just trust Me. Let go."
There was a long silence. Finally Jack yelled, "HELP! HELP!
IS ANYONE ELSE UP THERE?"
Have you ever felt like Jack? We say that we want to know the
will of God, but when we find out what it is, we can't handle it.
It sounds too scary, too
difficult. We decide to look elsewhere.
When He says,"Let go of the things that stand between you
and Me, and trust Me with your life," it sounds pretty
scary. But when we let go, we find freedom and safety in His
hands."
If this message has inspired you in anyway or you feel that it
can brighten someone else's day, please send it to that person.
Thank you.
Have a Blessed Day and remember that Jesus Loves You!
(3)
The Parable of the Lost Son from Luke 15:11 - 32 (NIV - New
International Version).
Jesus says ...
[11]...There was a man who had two sons. [12] The younger one
said to his father, 'Father, give me my share of the estate.' So
he divided his property between them.
[13] "Not long after that, the younger son got together all
he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his
wealth in wild living. [14] After he had spent everything, there
was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in
need. [15] So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that
country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs. [16] He longed
to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but
no one gave him anything.
[17] "When he came to his senses, he said, 'How many of my
father's hired men have food to spare, and here I am starving to
death! [18] I will set out and go back to my father and say to
him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. [19] I
am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of
your hired men.' [20] So he got up and went to his father.
"But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him
and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw
his arms around him and kissed him.
[21] "The son said to him, 'Father, I have sinned against
heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your
son.'
[22] "But the father said to his servants, 'Quick! Bring the
best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals
on his feet. [23] Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let's have
a feast and celebrate. [24] For this son of mine was dead and is
alive again; he was lost and is found.' So they began to
celebrate.
[25] "Meanwhile, the older son was in the field. When he
came near the house, he heard music and dancing. [26] So he
called one of the servants and asked him what was going on. [27]
'Your brother has come,' he replied, 'and your father has killed
the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound.'
[28] "The older brother became angry and refused to go in.
So his father went out and pleaded with him. [29] But he answered
his father, 'Look! All these years I've been slaving for you and
never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me even a young
goat so I could celebrate with my friends. [30] But when this son
of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes
home, you kill the fattened calf for him!'
[31] " 'My son,' the father said, 'you are always with me,
and everything I have is yours. [32] But we had to celebrate and
be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive
again; he was lost and is found.' "
I am a mother of three (ages 14, 12, 3) and
have recently completed my college degree. The last class I had
to take was Sociology. The teacher was absolutely inspiring with
the qualities that I wish every human being had been graced with.
Her last project of the term was called "Smile."
The class was asked to go out and smile at three people and
document their reaction. I am a very friendly person and always
smile at everyone and say, hello anyway.....so, I thought, this
would be a piece of cake, literally.
Soon after we were assigned the project, my husband, youngest
son, and I went out to McDonalds, on a crisp March morning. It
was just our way of sharing special play time with our son. We
were standing in line, waiting to be served, when all of a sudden
everyone around us began to back away, and then even my husband
did.
I did not move an inch...an overwhelming feeling of panic welled
up inside of me as I turned to see why they had moved. As I
turned around, I smelled a horrible "dirty body" smell,
and there standing behind me were two, poor homeless men.
As I looked down at the shortest gentleman, close to me, he was
smiling. His beautiful sky-blue eyes were full of God's Light as
he searched for acceptance. He said, "Good day" as he
counted the few coins he had been clutching. The second man
fumbled with his hands as he stood behind his friend. I realized
the second man was mentally deficient, and the blue-eyed
gentleman was his salvation. I held my tears as I stood there
with them. The young lady at the counter asked him what they
wanted. He said, "Coffee is all, Miss." because that
was all they could afford to be able to sit in the restaurant and
warm up; they had to buy something ..they just wanted to be warm.
Then I really felt it...a compulsion so great I almost reached
out and embraced the little man with the blue eyes. That is when
I noticed all eyes in the restaurant were set on me ... judging
my reaction.
I smiled and asked the young lady behind the counter to give me
two more breakfast meals on a separate tray. I then walked around
the corner to the table that the men had chosen as a resting
spot. I put the tray on the table and laid my hand on the blue
eyed gentleman's cold hand. He looked up at me, with tears in his
eyes, and said, "Thank you." I leaned over, began to
pat his hand and said," I did not do this for you...God is
here working through me to give you hope."
I started to cry as I walked away to join my husband and son.
When I sat down my husband smiled at me and said, "That is
why God gave you to me, honey....to give me hope."
We held hands for a moment, and at that time we knew that only
because of the Grace that we had been given, were we able to
give.
We are not church goers, but we are believers. That day showed me
the pure Light of God's sweet love. I returned to college, on the
last evening of class, with this story in hand. I turned in
"my project" and the instructor read it ... then she
looked up at me and said,
"Can I share this?" I slowly nodded as she got the
attention of the class. She began to read and that is when I knew
that we, as human beings and being part of God, share this need
to heal people and be healed. In my own way I had touched the
people at McDonalds, my husband, son, instructor, and every soul
that shared the classroom on the last night I spent as a college
student.
I graduated with one of the biggest lessons I would ever
learn....
UNCONDITIONAL ACCEPTANCE.
Much love and compassion sent to each and every person who may
read this learn how to LOVE PEOPLE AND USE THINGS - NOT LOVE
THINGS AND USE PEOPLE.
If you think this story has touched you in any way, please send
this to everyone you know.
May God bless you.
Laura Gormley
(5) Struggles ...
A man found the cocoon of a
butterfly. One day a small opening appeared, he sat and watched
the butterfly for several hours as it struggled to force its body
through that little hole. Then it seemed to stop making any
progress. It appeared as if it had gotten as far as it could and
it could go no further. So the man decided to help the butterfly,
he took a pair of scissors and snipped off the remaining bit of
the cocoon. The butterfly then emerged easily. But it had a
swollen body and small, shriveled wings.
The man continued to watch the butterfly because he expected that, at any moment, the wings would enlarge and expand to be able to support the body, which would contract in time. Neither happened! In fact, the butterfly spent the rest of its life crawling around with a swollen body and shriveled wings. It never was able to fly. What the man in his kindness and haste did not understand was that the restricting cocoon and the struggle required for the butterfly to get through the tiny opening were God's way of forcing fluid from the body of the butterfly into its wings so that it would be ready for flight once it achieved its freedom from the cocoon.
Sometimes struggles are exactly what we need in our life. If God allowed us to go through our life without any obstacles, it would cripple us. We would not be as strong as what we could have been. We could never fly.
I asked for Strength.........
And God gave me
Difficulties to make me strong.
I asked for Wisdom.........
And God gave me Problems to
solve.
I asked for Prosperity.........
And God gave me Brain and
Brawn to work.
I asked for Courage.........
And God gave me Danger to
overcome.
I asked for Love.........
And God gave me Troubled
people to help.
I asked for Favours.........
And God gave me
Opportunities.
I received nothing I wanted
I received everything I
needed.