Fairy cakes and juice

Julie Manhan tells the story of a little boy who wanted to meet God.

He knew it was a long trip to where God lived, so he packed his suitcase with fairy cakes and Juice and started on his journey.

He’d not gone very far when he saw an elderly woman. She was sitting on a park bench watching the pigeons. The boy sat down next to her and opened his suitcase. He was about to take a drink of juice when he noticed the lady looked hungry so he offered her a fairy cake. She gratefully accepted and smiled at him.

Her smile was so wonderful that he wanted to see it again, so he offered her a juice as well. Once again she smiled at him. The boy was delighted!

They sat there all afternoon eating and smiling without saying a word.

As it began to grow dark, the boy realized how tired he was and wanted to go home. He got up to leave but before he had gone no more than a few steps, he turned around and ran back to the old woman, giving her a big hug. She gave him her biggest smile ever.

When the boy arrived home his Mother was surprised by the look of joy on his face. She asked, "What has made you so happy today?" He replied, "I had lunch with God." Before his mother could respond he added, "You know what? She's got the most beautiful smile in the whole world!"

The old woman, also radiant with joy, returned to her home. Her son was stunned by the look of peace on her face. He asked, "Mother, what has made you so happy today?" She replied, "I ate fairy cakes in the park with God." And before her son could reply, she added, "You know, he is much younger than I expected."

Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring; all of which have the potential to turn a life around.

Both the young boy and the older woman found joy in that encounter.

What could be considered to be an ordinary, simple, everyday encounter.

But they found joy in it.

And they found joy in it because they found God in it!

Peace Prayer

The Peace Prayer of Saint Francis

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.

Where there is hatred, let me sow love;

Where there is error, truth;

Where there is injury, pardon;

Where there is doubt, faith;

Where there is despair, hope;

Where there is darkness, light;

And where there is sadness, joy.

O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek

To be consoled as to console;

To be understood as to understand;

To be loved as to love. 

For it is in giving that we receive;

It is in pardoning that we are pardoned;

It is in self-forgetting that we find;

And it is in dying to ourselves that we are born to eternal life.

Amen.

Less Ambitious Books

I've been Twittering away recently and enjoying the vast array of subjects that arise each day. Yesterday's fun slot were postings called #lessambitiousbooks. (The hash sign is a hashtag and links all posts with that tag word/s in it).


Some examples of #lessambitiousbooks were:-


'The Mediocre Gatsby',
'Medium Expectations', 
'Near the Looking Glass', 
'Harry Potter and the chamber of common knowledge', 
'The Grapes of Irritation' 
'The Girl with the Dragon Sticker,
 'Mildly Depressing House',
'Sort-Of Difficult Times'
& 'The Now-and-then Gardener'.


You get the drift! I love playing on words like that. Some made me laugh out loud and that is not a bad thing. We all need to find things that bring a little light to our days when so much of the input from the news and media is gloomy. 

Of course, nothing compares to joy that comes from inside.

The fruit of the Spirit. 

The joy of feeling right with God, 

at one with the folk around you 

and at peace with the world. 

That kind of joy is not a mediocre or a medium gift 

but one of the greatest gifts of all.