Mary’s Sanctuary

Sometimes:

Sometimes I wish I were a painters ,so I could paint the sky at sunset. I’d mix the paint and create the perfect shade of fire; the sun gives off as it melts in to the horizon.Sometimes I wish I could write a song that spoke truth and beauty and really described the way I feel.

Sometimes I wish I were a poet with perfectly, carefully chosen words for every situation. I wish my words were music that expressed an important thought and got stuck in people’s mind. Sometimes I wish that I were funny so my days would be filled with laughter and smiles.

Sometimes I wish I wasn’t so shy and quiet, tired or emotional so that I didn’t feel so lacking.Sometimes I wish that I could summon all the perfect words and phrases to write about those matchless; special; perfect moments in coffee shop on sunny afternoon; in conversations ; smiles on road trips and in life that pass too soon and are forgotten.

Sometimes I wish I were anyone but MYSELF.but sometimes I know I was made with a purpose, a plan and a hope. Sometimes I hope I really do reflect God to the world around me. Sometimes I wish I believed in myself as much as he does.

A Beautiful Heart:

The more hurt and pain you have gone thou in life, the stronger and more
beautiful your heart will be…..

One day a young man was standing in the middle of the town proclaiming that he had the most beautiful heart in the whole valley.

A large crowd gathered and they all admired his heart for it was perfect. There was not a mark or a flaw in it. Yes, they all agreed it truly was the most beautiful heart they had ever seen. The young man was very proud and boasted more loudly about his beautiful heart.

Suddenly, an old man appeared at the front of the crowd and said, “Why your heart is not nearly as beautiful as mine.” The crowd and the young man looked at the old man’s heart. It was beating strongly, but full of scars, it had places where pieces had been removed and other pieces put in, but they didn’t fit quite right and there were several jagged edges. In fact, in some places there were deep gouges where whole pieces missing.

The people stared. How can he say his heart is more beautiful?? they thought. The young man looked at the old man’s heart and saw its state and laughed. “You must be joking,” he said. “Compare your heart with mine, mine is perfect and yours is a mess of scars and tears.”

“Yes,” said the old man, “Yours is perfect looking but I would never trade with you. You see, every scar represents a person to whom I have given my love – I tear out a piece of my heart and give it to them, and often they give me a piece of their heart which fits into the empty place in my heart, but because the pieces aren’t exact, I have some rough edges, which I cherish, because they remind me of the love we shared. Sometimes I have given pieces of my heart away, and the other person hasn’t returned a piece of his heart to me. These are the empty gouges – giving love is taking a chance. Although these gouges are painful, they stay open, reminding me of the love I have for these people too, and I hope someday they may return and fill the space I have waiting. So now do you see what true beauty is?”

The young man stood silently with tears running down his cheeks. He walked up to the old man, reached into his perfect young and beautiful heart, and ripped a piece out. He offered it to the old man with trembling hands.

The old man took his offering, placed it in his heart and then took a piece from his old scarred heart and placed it in the wound in the young man’s heart. It fit, but not perfectly, as there were some jagged edges.

The young man looked at his heart, not perfect anymore but more beautiful than ever, since love from the old man’s heart flowed into his.

They embraced and walked away side by side.

The Parable of a Pencil:

The Pencil Maker took the pencil aside, just before putting him into the box.

There are 5 things you need to know, he told the pencil, before I send you out into the world. Always remember them and never forget, and you will become the best pencil you can be.

One: You will be able to do many great things, but only if you allow yourself to be held in Someone’s hand.

Two: You will experience a painful sharpening from time to time, but you’ll need it to become a better pencil.

Three: You will be able to correct mistakes you will make.

Four: The most important part of you will always be what’s inside.

And Five:

On every surface you are used on, you must leave your mark. No matter what the condition, you must continue to write.

The pencil understood and promised to remember, and went into the box with purpose in its heart.

The Law of the Seed:

Take a look at an apple tree.
There might be five hundred apples on the tree, but each apple has just ten seeds.
That’s a lot of seeds!

We might ask, “Why would you need so many seeds to grow just a few more apple trees?”
Nature has something to teach us here.
It’s telling us: “Not all seeds grow. In life, most seeds never grow.

So if you really want to make something happen, you had better try more than once.”

This might mean:

You’ll attend twenty interviews to get one job.
You’ll interview forty people to find one good employee.
You’ll talk to fifty people to sell one house, one car, one vacuum cleaner, one insurance policy, or a business idea.

And you might meet a hundred acquaintances just to find one special friend.

When we understand the “Law of the Seed”, we don’t get so disappointed.

We stop feeling like victims.

We learn how to deal with things that happen to us.

Laws of nature are not things to take personally. We just need to understand them – and work with them.

IN A NUTSHELL

Successful people fail more often. But they plant more seeds.

When Things Are Beyond your control, here’s something that you must NOT DO so as to avoid misery in your life:

You must not decide how you think the world SHOULD be.
You must not make rules for how everyone SHOULD behave.
Then, when the world doesn’t obey your rules, you get angry!
That’s what miserable people do!

On the other hand, let’s say you expect that:

Friends SHOULD return favours.
People SHOULD appreciate you.
Planes SHOULD arrive on time.

Everyone SHOULD be honest.
Your husband or best friend SHOULD remember your birthday.

These expectations may sound reasonable. But often, these
things won’t happen!

So you end up frustrated and disappointed.

There’s a better strategy. Demand less, and instead, have preferences!

For things that are beyond your control, tell yourself:

“I WOULD PREFER “A”, BUT IF “B” HAPPENS, IT’S OK TOO!”

This is really a change in mindset. It is a shift in attitude, and it gives you more peace of mind …

You prefer that people are polite … but when they are rude, it doesn’t ruin your day.
You prefer sunshine … but if it rains, it is ok too!

To become happier, we either need to

a) Change the world, or
b) Change our thinking.

It is easier to change our Thinking!

IN A NUTSHELL

It is not the problem that is the issue, but rather it is your attitude attending to the problem that is the problem.

It’s not what happens to you that determine your happiness.

It’s how you think about what happens to you!