IT'S WHAT YOU SCATTER

I was at the corner grocery store buying some early potatoes... I noticed a small boy, delicate of bone and feature, ragged but clean, hungrily apprising a basket of freshly picked green peas.

I paid for my potatoes but was also drawn to the display of fresh green peas. I am a pushover for creamed peas and new potatoes.

Pondering the peas, I couldn't help overhearing the conversation between Mr. Miller (the store owner)and the ragged boy next to me.
'Hello Barry, how are you today ?'

'H'lo, Mr. Miller. Fine, thank ya. Jus' admirin' them peas. They sure look good.'

'They are good, Barry. How's your Ma ?'
'Fine. Gittin' stronger alla' time.'
'Good. Anything I can help you with ?'
'No, Sir. Jus' admirin' them peas.'

'Would you like to take some home ?' Asked Mr. Miller.
'No, Sir. Got nuthin' to pay for 'em with.'

'Well, what have you to trade me for some of those peas ?'

'All I got's my prize marble here.'
'Is that right ? Let me see it' said Miller.
'Here 'tis. She's a dandy.'
'I can see that. Hmm mmm, only thing is this one is blue and I sort of go for red. Do you have a red one like this at home ?' the store owner asked.

'Not zackley but almost.'

'Tell you what. Take this sack of peas home with you and next trip this way let me look at that red marble'.. Mr. Miller told the boy.

'Sure will. Thanks Mr. Miller.'
Mrs. Miller, who had been standing nearby, came over to help me..

With a smile she said, 'There are two other boys like him in our community, all three are in very poor circumstances. Jim just loves to bargain with them for peas, apples, tomatoes, or whatever.
When they come back with their red marbles, and they always do, he decides he doesn't like red after all and he sends them home with a bag of produce for a green marble or an orange one, when they come on their next trip to the store.'
I left the store smiling to myself, impressed with this man. A short time later I moved to Colorado , but I never forgot the story of this man, the boys, and their bartering for marbles.
Several years went by, each more rapid than the previous one. Just recently I had occasion to visit some old friends in that Idaho community and while I was there learned that Mr. Miller had died.. They were having his visitation that evening and knowing my friends wanted to go, I agreed to accompany them. Upon arrival at the mortuary we fell into line to meet the relatives of the deceased and to offer whatever words of comfort we could.
Ahead of us in line were three young men. One was in an army uniform and the other two wore nice haircuts, dark suits and white shirts...all very professional looking. They approached Mrs. Miller, standing composed and smiling by her husband's casket.
Each of the young men hugged her, kissed her on the cheek, spoke briefly with her and
moved on to the casket. Her misty light blue eyes followed them as, one by one; each young man stopped briefly and placed his own warm hand over the cold pale hand in the casket. Each left the mortuary awkwardly, wiping hiseyes.
Our turn came to meet Mrs. Miller. I told her who I was and reminded her of the story from those many years ago and what she had told me about her husband's bartering for marbles. With her eyes glistening, she took my hand and led me to the casket.

'Those three young men who just left were the boys I told you about.

They just told me how they appreciated the things Jim 'traded' them. Now, at last, when Jim could not change his mind about color or size....they came to pay their debt.'
'We've never had a great deal of the wealth of this world,' she confided, 'but right now, Jim would consider himself the richest man in Idaho ..'
With loving gentleness she lifted the lifeless fingers of her deceased husband. Resting underneath were three exquisitelyshined red marbles.

The Moral:
We will not be remembered by our words, but by our kind deeds. Life is not measured by the breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath.
Today I wish you a day of ordinary miracles ~ A fresh pot of coffee you didn't make yourself...
An unexpected phone call from an old friend.... Green stoplights on your way to work....
The fastest line at the grocery store....
A good sing-along song on the radio...
Your keys found right where you left them.

Send this to the people you'll never forget. I just did...

If you don't send it to anyone, it means you are in way too much of a hurry to even notice the ordinary miracles when they occur.

IT'S NOT WHAT YOU GATHER, BUT WHAT YOU SCATTER THAT TELLS WHAT KIND OF LIFE YOU HAVE LIVED !
~anonymous~

A Miracle - The Operation Of A Higher Law

This is another of the myriad of messages that reached my inbox.

SUBJECT: Miracle -- You Want It ASAP ...

I'D LIKE THIS BACK IF IT APPLIES

A little girl went
to her bedroom and pulled a glass jelly jar from its hiding place in the closet..


She poured the change out on the floor and counted it carefully. Three
times, even. The total had to be exactly perfect. No chance here for mistakes.


Carefully placing the coins back in the jar and twisting on the cap, she
slipped out the back door and made her way 6 blocks to Rexall's Drug Store with
the big red Indian Chief sign above the door.

She waited patiently for
the pharmacist to give her some attention, but he was too busy at this moment.
Tess twisted her feet to make a scuffing noise. Nothing. She cleared her throat
with the most disgusting sound she could muster. No
good. Finally she took a
quarter from her jar and banged it on the glass counter. That did it!


'And what do you want?' the pharmacist asked in an annoyed tone of
voice. I'm talking to my brother from Chicago whom I haven't seen in ages,' he
said without waiting for a reply to his question.

'Well, I want to talk
to you about my brother,' Tess answered back in the same annoyed tone. 'He's
really, really sick....and I want to buy a miracle.'

'I beg your pardon?'
said the pharmacist.

'His name is Andrew and he has something bad
growing inside his head and my Daddy says only a miracle can save him now. So how
much does a miracle cost?'

'We don't sell miracles here, little girl.
I'm sorry but I can't help you,' the pharmacist said, softening a little.


'Listen, I have the money to pay for it. If it isn't enough, I will get
the rest. Just tell me how much it costs.'


The pharmacist's brother was
a well dressed man. He stooped down and asked the little girl, 'What kind of a
miracle does your brother need?'

' I don't know,' Tess replied with her
eyes welling up. I just know he's really sick and Mommy says he needs an
operation. But my Daddy can't pay for it, so I want to use my money.'


'How much do you have?' asked the man from Chicago ..

'One dollar
and eleven cents,' Tess answered barely audible.

'And it's all the money
I have, but I can get some more if I need to.'

'Well, what a
coincidence,' smiled the man. 'A dollar and eleven cents---the exact price of a
miracle for little brothers.'

He took her money in one hand and with
the other hand he grasped her mitten and said 'Take me to where you live. I want
to see your brother and meet your parents. Let's see if I have the miracle you need.'

That well-dressed man
was Dr. Carlton Armstrong, a surgeon,
specializing in neuro-surgery. The operation was completed free of charge and it
wasn't long until Andrew was home again and doing well.

Mom and Dad were
happily talking about the chain of events that had led them to this place..


'That surgery,' her Mom whispered. 'was a real miracle.. I wonder how
much it would have cost?'

Tess smiled. She knew exactly how much a
miracle cost...one dollar and eleven cents...plus the faith of a little child.


In our lives, we never know how many miracles we will need.

A
miracle is not the suspension of natural law, but the operation of a higher law.
I know you'll keep the ball moving!

Here it goes. Throw it back to
someone who means something to you!

A ball is a circle, no beginning, no
end. It keeps us together like our Circle of Friends. But the treasure inside
for you to see is
the treasure of friendship you've granted to me.

Today
I pass the friendship ball to you.

Pass it on to someone who is a friend
to you.

MY OATH TO YOU....

When you are sad.....I will dry your
tears.

When you are scared......I will comfort your fears.

When
you are worried......I will give you hope.

When you are confused......I
will help you cope.

And when you are lost.....and can't see the light, I
shall be your beacon...shining ever so bright.

This is my oath......I
pledge till the end.

Why you may ask?....Because you're my friend.


Signed: GOD

INSTANTLY WHEN YOU RECEIVE THIS LETTER, YOU ARE
REQUESTED TO SEND IT TO AT LEAST 10 PEOPLE, INCLUDING THE PERSON WHO SENT IT TO
YOU.

Quotable Quotes

"Luck? I don't know anything about luck. I've never banked on it and I'm afraid of people who do. Luck to me is something else: hard work — and realizing what is opportunity and what isn't."
– Lucille Ball

"Whatever you can do or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it."
– Johann Wolfgang von Goethe