colors98
"...the greatest of these, is love." (Gratitude Week: Day 7)
"1 Corinthians 13:13 And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love."
I know this is a day late but still, I have to finish what I started. Things have been quite hectic (to say the least) around here and weekends are usually the busiest.
This is for all my flickr friends. May love always live in our hearts everyday. Thank you for your friendship.
So for my final post for my Gratitude week, I can't pass up the chance to touch on this subject, love. Be it romantic love, familial love, parental love - whatever it is, we all love. That intangible thing that makes us feel. It is not an exclusive or elusive something that is so rare but rather, it is out there for everyone to have, share and cherish. And the best thing about it is, it's free! We only have to open our hearts and it's ours for the taking...
ps. Sorry for being so delinquent, will catch up on your streams tonight. Just overwhelmingly busy this weekend. :-)
The Empty Box
Even though it was only September, the air was crisp and children were already whispering about Christmas plans and Santa Claus. It made the already long winter months until Christmas seem even longer. With each passing day the children became more anxious, waiting for the final school bell. Upon its ringing everyone would run for their coats and go home, everyone except David.
David was a small boy with messy brown hair and tattered clothes. I had often wondered what kind of home life David had and often asked myself what kind of mother could send her son to school dressed so inappropriately for the cold winter months, without a coat, boots, or gloves. But something made David special. It wasn't his intelligence or manners, for they were lacking just as his winter clothes were. But I can never recall looking at David and not seeing a smile. He was always willing to help and not a day passed that David didn't stay after school to straighten chairs and clean erasers. We never talked much, he would just simply smile and ask what else he could do, then thank me for letting him stay and slowly head for home.
Weeks passed and the excitement over the coming Christmas grew into restlessness until the last day of school before the holiday break. I can't recall a more anxious group of children as that final bell rang and they scattered out the door. I smiled in relief as the last of them hurried out the door. Turning around I saw David quietly standing by my desk.
"Aren't you anxious to get home David?" I asked.
"No," he replied quietly.
Ready to go home myself, I said, "Well, I think the chairs and erasers will wait, why don't you hurry home?"
"I have something for you," he said and pulled from behind his back a small box wrapped in old paper and tied with string. Handing it to me, he said anxiously, "Open it." I took the box from him, thanked him and slowly unwrapped it. I lifted the lid and to my surprise saw nothing. I looked at David's smiling face and back into the empty box and said, "The box is nice David, but it's empty."
"Oh no it isn't," said David. "It's full of love. My mum told me before she died that love was something you couldn't see or touch unless you know it's there... can you see it?"
Tears filled my eyes as I looked at the proud dirty face that I had rarely given attention to. "Yes, David, 'I can see it," I replied. "Thank you." David and I became good friends after that Christmas and I can say that with the passing years, I never again let the uncombed hair bother me, and never forgot the meaning behind the little empty box that set on my desk.
I guess this concludes my gratitude series. I can go on and still have more to add to this short list but that would be for another time... One thing I learned, it is not easy to post everyday! I don't know how you guys do it but it is a challenge for me. This exercise did make me realize that we do have a lot to be thankful for and if we just list down everything we are thankful for, I'm sure we'll exceed more than a hundred gratitude thoughts..
So let this be a challenge, can you write down (and photograph, perhaps) 100 things you are thankful for? hmmm, it's a thought, isn't it?
"...the greatest of these, is love." (Gratitude Week: Day 7)
"1 Corinthians 13:13 And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love."
I know this is a day late but still, I have to finish what I started. Things have been quite hectic (to say the least) around here and weekends are usually the busiest.
This is for all my flickr friends. May love always live in our hearts everyday. Thank you for your friendship.
So for my final post for my Gratitude week, I can't pass up the chance to touch on this subject, love. Be it romantic love, familial love, parental love - whatever it is, we all love. That intangible thing that makes us feel. It is not an exclusive or elusive something that is so rare but rather, it is out there for everyone to have, share and cherish. And the best thing about it is, it's free! We only have to open our hearts and it's ours for the taking...
ps. Sorry for being so delinquent, will catch up on your streams tonight. Just overwhelmingly busy this weekend. :-)
The Empty Box
Even though it was only September, the air was crisp and children were already whispering about Christmas plans and Santa Claus. It made the already long winter months until Christmas seem even longer. With each passing day the children became more anxious, waiting for the final school bell. Upon its ringing everyone would run for their coats and go home, everyone except David.
David was a small boy with messy brown hair and tattered clothes. I had often wondered what kind of home life David had and often asked myself what kind of mother could send her son to school dressed so inappropriately for the cold winter months, without a coat, boots, or gloves. But something made David special. It wasn't his intelligence or manners, for they were lacking just as his winter clothes were. But I can never recall looking at David and not seeing a smile. He was always willing to help and not a day passed that David didn't stay after school to straighten chairs and clean erasers. We never talked much, he would just simply smile and ask what else he could do, then thank me for letting him stay and slowly head for home.
Weeks passed and the excitement over the coming Christmas grew into restlessness until the last day of school before the holiday break. I can't recall a more anxious group of children as that final bell rang and they scattered out the door. I smiled in relief as the last of them hurried out the door. Turning around I saw David quietly standing by my desk.
"Aren't you anxious to get home David?" I asked.
"No," he replied quietly.
Ready to go home myself, I said, "Well, I think the chairs and erasers will wait, why don't you hurry home?"
"I have something for you," he said and pulled from behind his back a small box wrapped in old paper and tied with string. Handing it to me, he said anxiously, "Open it." I took the box from him, thanked him and slowly unwrapped it. I lifted the lid and to my surprise saw nothing. I looked at David's smiling face and back into the empty box and said, "The box is nice David, but it's empty."
"Oh no it isn't," said David. "It's full of love. My mum told me before she died that love was something you couldn't see or touch unless you know it's there... can you see it?"
Tears filled my eyes as I looked at the proud dirty face that I had rarely given attention to. "Yes, David, 'I can see it," I replied. "Thank you." David and I became good friends after that Christmas and I can say that with the passing years, I never again let the uncombed hair bother me, and never forgot the meaning behind the little empty box that set on my desk.
I guess this concludes my gratitude series. I can go on and still have more to add to this short list but that would be for another time... One thing I learned, it is not easy to post everyday! I don't know how you guys do it but it is a challenge for me. This exercise did make me realize that we do have a lot to be thankful for and if we just list down everything we are thankful for, I'm sure we'll exceed more than a hundred gratitude thoughts..
So let this be a challenge, can you write down (and photograph, perhaps) 100 things you are thankful for? hmmm, it's a thought, isn't it?