God's Perfection
We can only hope that our children will achieve such perfection...

In Brooklyn, New York, Chush is a school that caters to
learning-disabled children. Some children remain in Chush for their
entire school career, while others can be main-streamed into
conventional schools.

At a Chush fund-raising dinner, the father of a Chush child delivered
a speech that would never be forgotten by all who attended.

After praising the school and its dedicated staff, he cried out,
"Where is the perfection in my son Shaya? Everything God does is done
with perfection. But my child cannot understand things as other
children do. My child cannot remember facts and figures as other children do.
Where is God's perfection?"

The audience was shocked by the question, pained by the father's
anguish and stilled by the piercing query.

"I believe," the father answered, "that when God brings a child like
this into the world, the perfection that He seeks is in the way people
react to this child."

He then told the following story about his son, Shaya:

One afternoon Shaya and his father walked past a park where some boys
Shaya knew were playing baseball. Shaya asked, "Do you think they will
let me play?" Shaya's father knew that his son was not at all athletic
and that most boys would not want him on their team. But Shaya's
father understood that if his son was chosen to play it would give him
a comfortable sense of belonging.

Shaya's father approached one of the boys in the field and asked if
Shaya could play. The boy looked around for guidance from his
team-mates.

Getting none, he took matters into his own hands and said, "We are
losing by six runs and the game is in the eighth inning. I guess he
can be on our team and we'll try to put him up to bat in the ninth
inning."

Shaya's father was ecstatic as Shaya smiled broadly. Shaya was told to
put on a glove and go out to play short center field.

In the bottom of the eighth inning, Shaya's team scored a few runs
but was still behind by three. In the bottom of the ninth inning,
Shaya's team scored again and now with two outs and the bases loaded
with the potential winning run on base, Shaya was scheduled to be up.
Would the team actually let Shaya bat and give away
their chance to win the game?
Surprisingly, Shaya was given the bat. Everyone knew that it was all
but impossible because Shaya didn't even know how to hold the bat
properly, let alone hit with it.

However, as Shaya stepped up to the plate, the pitcher moved a few
steps to lob the ball in softly so Shaya should at least be able to
make contact. The first pitch came in and Shaya swung clumsily and
missed. One of Shaya's team-mates came up to Shaya and together they
held the bat and faced the pitcher waiting for the next pitch. The
pitcher again took a few steps forward to toss the ball softly toward
Shaya.

As the pitch came in, Shaya and his team-mate swung the bat and
together they hit a slow ground ball to the pitcher. The pitcher
picked up the soft grounder and could easily have thrown the ball to
the first baseman. Shaya would have been out and that would have ended
the game.

Instead, the pitcher took the ball and threw it on a high arc to right
field, far beyond reach of the first baseman.

Everyone started yelling, "Shaya, run to first. Run to first!" Never
in his life had Shaya run to first. He scampered down the baseline
wide eyed and startled. By the time he reached first base, the right
fielder had the ball. He could have thrown the ball to the second
baseman who would tag out Shaya, who was still running. But the right
fielder understood what the pitcher's intentions were, so he threw the
ball high and far over the third baseman's head.

Everyone yelled, "Run to second, run to second." Shaya ran towards
second base as the runners ahead of him deliriously circled the bases
towards home. As Shaya reached second base, the opposing short stop
ran to him, turned him in the direction of third base and shouted,
"Run to third." As Shaya rounded third, the boys from both teams ran
behind him screaming, "Shaya run home!" Shaya ran home, stepped on
home plate and all 18 boys lifted him on their shoulders and made him
the hero, as he had just hit a "grand slam" and won the game for his team.

That day," said the father softly with tears now rolling down his
face, "those 18 boys reached their level of God's perfection."


Author Unknown


Five (5) lessons about the way we treat people

1 - First Important Lesson - Cleaning Lady.

During my second month of college, our professor

Gave us a pop quiz. I was a conscientious student

And had breezed through the questions until I read
The last one:

"What is the first name of the woman who cleans the school?"

Surely this was some kind of joke. I had seen the

Cleaning woman several times. She was tall,

Dark-haired and in her 50's, but how would I know her name?

I handed in my paper, leaving the last question

Blank. Just before class ended, one student asked if

The last question would count toward our quiz grade.

"Absolutely, " said the professor. "In your careers,

You will meet many people. All are significant. They

Deserve your attention and care, even if all you do

Is smile and say "hello."

I've never forgotten that lesson. I also learned her

Name was Dorothy.


2. - Second Important Lesson - Pickup in the Rain

One night, at 11:30 p.m., an older African American

Woman was standing on the side of an Alabama highway

Trying to endure a lashing rain storm. Her car had

Broken down and she desperately needed a ride.

Soaking wet, she decided to flag down the next car.

A young white man stopped to help her, generally

Unheard of in those conflict-filled 1960's. The man

Took her to safety, helped her get assistance and

Put her into a taxicab.

She seemed to be in a big hurry, but wrote down his

Address and thanked him. Seven days went by and a

Knock came on the man's door. To his surprise, a

Giant console color TV was delivered to his home. A

Special note was attached.

It read: "Thank you so much for assisting me on the highway

The other night. The rain drenched not only my

Clothes, but also my spirits. Then you came along.

Because of you, I was able to make it to my dying

Husband's' bedside just before he passed away... God

Bless you for helping me and unselfishly serving

Others."

Sincerely,

Mrs Nat King Cole.


3 - Third Important Lesson - Always remember those

Who serve.

In the days when an ice cream sundae cost much less,

A 10-year-old boy entered a hotel coffee shop and

Sat at a table. A waitress put a glass of water in

Front of him.

"How much is an ice cream sundae?" he asked.

"Fifty cents," replied the waitress.

The little boy pulled his hand out of his pocket and

Studied the coins in it.

"Well, how much is a plain dish of ice cream?" he inquired.

By now more people were waiting for a table and the

Waitress was growing impatient.

"Thirty-five cents," she brusquely replied.

The little boy again counted his coins.

"I'll have the plain ice cream," he said.

The waitress brought the ice cream, put t he bill on

The table and walked away The boy finished the ice

Cream, paid the cashier and left. When the waitress

Came back, she began to cry as she wiped down the

Table. There, placed neatly beside the empty dish,

Were two nickels and five pennies..

You see, he couldn't have the sundae, because he had

To have enough left to leave her a tip.


4 - Fourth Important Lesson. - The obstacle in Our Path.

In ancient times, a King had a boulder placed on a

Roadway. Then he hid himself and watched to see if

Anyone would remove the huge rock. Some of the

King's' wealthiest merchants and courtiers came by

And simply walked around it. Many loudly blamed the

King for not keeping the roads clear, but none did

Anything about getting the stone out of the way.

Then a peasant came along carrying a load of

Vegetables. Upon approaching the boulder, the

peasant laid down his burden and tried to move the

stone to the side of the road. After much pushing

and straining, he finally succeeded. After the

peasant picked up his load of vegetables, he noticed

a purse lying in the road where the boulder had

been. The purse contained many gold coins and a note

from the King indicating that the gold was for the

person who removed the boulder from the roadway. The

peasant learned what many of us never understand!

Every obstacle presents an opportunity to improve

our condition.


5 - Fifth Important Lesson - Giving When it Counts...

Many years ago, when I worked as a volunteer at a

hospital, I got to know a little girl named Liz who

was suffering from a rare & serious disease. Her only

chance of recovery appeared to be a blood

transfusion from her 5-year old brother, who had

miraculously survived the same disease and had

developed the antibodies needed to combat the

illness. The doctor explained the situation to her

little brother, and asked the little boy if he would

be willing to give his blood to his sister.

I saw him hesitate for only a moment before taking a

deep breath and saying, "Yes I'll do it if it will save

her." As the transfusion progressed, he lay in bed

next to his sister and smiled, as we all did, seeing

the color returning to her cheek. Then his face

grew pale and his smile faded.

He looked up at the doctor and asked with a

trembling voice, "Will I start to die right away".

Being young, the little boy had misunderstood the

doctor; he thought he was going to have to give his

sister all of his blood in order to save her.