Sil Fox, the comedian, tells about the bishop who asked a
boy in Confirmation class a simple question: “Where did Jesus come
from?”
He answered: “I don’t know where he came from, but I know where he didn’t come from.”
“I’m not sure I know what you mean,” said the Bishop. “Where did he not come from?”
“He certainly didn’t come from Dublin.”
“How do you know that?” asked the Bishop.
“Because he fell three times and he didn’t even put in a claim for compo.”
Confucius claimed that “the greatest glory is not in never falling; it’s rather in rising each time we fall”.
The Mormons go on missionary work in pairs for a reason. There’s strength and security in companionship. You know the story about the sceptic who was visited by two Mormons.
He was in a hurry on his way to
work, but decided to be kind to them. He brought them in, sat them down
and gave them herbal tea since they don’t drink normal tea.
He took a cup of decent tea himself and sat down to listen to them.
As they nibbled on their biscuits there was silence. Impatiently he
asked: “What happens next?” They looked at each other and admitted: “We
don’t know. We never got this far before.”
I have a prayer card which reads: “May God continue to bless you
with annoying little mishaps.” I didn’t really appreciate it then, but I
realise now that mishaps are God’s way of changing our lives forever.
I read a book written by survivors of 9/11. In it, they speak about
the small things which not only changed their lives, but actually saved
their lives. One man, on his way to
work, realised he had forgotten a document he needed for a meeting that
day. He worked in the Twin Towers.
He returned home to collect the document and walked back to the
station. As he arrived at the platform his train was pulling out. The
next train was 15 minutes later. That was the 15 minutes which saved
his life. When he got back to the Twin Towers they were collapsing.
Another man wore a new pair of shoes to work, resulting in a nasty
heel blister. He went to the shop and bought a Band-Aid which he applied
to his heel. Late for work, he rushed to his offices in the Twin Towers
to discover they were no more. That’s the value of those “annoying
little mishaps”.
I’ll leave you with some wisdom from The Diary of Anne Frank.
One of the points she made was this: “How wonderful it is that
nobody has to wait a single moment before starting to improve the
world.”