One day I decided to quit... I quit my job, my relationship, my spirituality... I wanted to quit my life. I went to the woods to have one last talk with God."God", I said. "Can you give me one good reason not to quit?"His answer surprised me..."Look around", He said. "Do you see the fern and the bamboo?" "Yes", I replied."When I planted the fern and the bamboo seeds, I took very good care of them. I gave them light. I gave them water. The fern quickly grew from the earth. Its brilliant green covered the floor. Yet nothing came from the bamboo seed. But I did not quit on the bamboo. In the second year the Fern grew more vibrant and plentiful. And again, nothing came from the bamboo seed. But I did not quit on the bamboo". He said. "In the third year, there was still nothing from the bamboo seed. But I would not quit. In the fourth year, again, there was nothing from the bamboo seed. I would not quit." He said. "Then in the fifth year a tiny sprout emerged from the earth. Compared to the fern it was seemingly small and insignificant. But just 6 months later the bamboo rose to over 100 feet tall. It had spent the five years growing roots. Those roots made it strong and gave it what it needed to survive. I would not give any of my creations a challenge it could not handle." He said to me. "Did you know, my child, that all this time you have been struggling, you have actually been growing roots. I would not quit on the bamboo. I will never quit on you. Don't compare yourself to others." He said. "The bamboo had a different purpose than the fern, yet, they both make the forest beautiful." "Your time will come, "God said to me. " You will rise high!""How high should I rise?" I asked."How high will the bamboo rise?" He asked in return."As high as it can?" I questioned. "Yes." He said, "Give me glory by rising as high as you can."I left the forest and brought back this story. I hope these words can help you see that God will never give up on you.Never regret a day in your life.
Good days give you happiness.
Bad days give you experiences.
Both are essential to life. Keep going...Happiness keeps you Sweet,
Trials keep you Strong,
Sorrows keep you Human,
Failures keep you humble,
Success keeps You Glowing,
but Only God keeps You Going! Had a very stretching week, imagine working late in office 4 nights in a week, cannot attend PM, left office at 12am. Oh my.. it really must have been the strength & grace of God that had substained me...
was rather encouraged when i read this email. actually got this forwarded mail from my colleague, but really have no time to read in the office, so FWD home. Wow, what a good word in season for me, at least for me at this point of my life...
BS was great! at least can have 1 evening out of 5 to go to a God's-presence-saturated place to be recharged... RIVERWALK! Charmaine was the BS teacher, she's good! & I'm blessed. :)
next week will be another hectic hectic week! i just hope for the 2000 accounts to be established asap... then perhaps can have a better work week?? about 1000 gone, another 1000 to clear!! or can there be a huge fire to burn all these account opening forms away... LOL... just kidding...
hmmm.. CG has been stagnanting in a way, felt very burdened lo... really don't wish to see Pastor feeling so burdened.. W116, we ought to do what we are called to do... yeah? :)
joshua, if u are reading this, hope u are encouraged by this short story too.. dun look at things in the natural, look at things with your spiritual eyes. allow God to reveal His goodness over your life. Bible says when we seek the Lord with all our hearts, we will find Him. There is no good thing that a child of God will lack when we put Him first in our lives. Trust God with your studies... Don't carry everything upon your own shoulders... Yeah.
Bro, just hope that you can pick yourself up & move on with life. if there's anything, let's be open & talk about it. be a man. dun run away from situation, face it with the strength & courage of God. He will walk you through. Dun carry whatever huge burden or harbour any resentment in your heart. we are not created to be that way, life is not meant to be like this... so, release it, and you will find yourself to be so much happier.. :)
Everyone wishes that life can such be a smooth-sailing one.. no problems, no heartaches, no rejections, no tears, no anger, no exams, no work, no "this", no "that"... where everything can be "sui sui" (nice nice).... where to find such kind of life? perhaps have lo... 6 feet under the ground? when one is dead then nothing is there anymore! isn't it? (except maybe to see where do u go, up or down).. yet how many would agree that character will only comes with experiences of trials & hard lessons. just like what the bible talks about the purest & finest gold are those that had gone through the fire of the most intense temperature.
let's make a decision not to be wimpy, intimidated / discouraged by hardships & hard moments of life!.. be BOLD! Be couragous! We are children of God!
remember this story of the bamboo... it's not about how you start, it's about how you end. maybe these 2 months of 2007 had been a very tough one, but, learn to be positive, look forward to the great things that God will do for us!
"Faith with patience obtain the promises of God". Amen.
