Five (5) lessons

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 is 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 the 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 le arned 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 t o 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.

Now you have 2 choices.

1 Delete this email, or
2. Forward it other people .
I hope that you will choose No. 2 and remember.

Most importantly................... 'Work like you
don't need the money, love like you've never been
hurt, and dance like you do when nobody's watching.'

NOW more than ever - Peace... Pass It

Cancer

She jumped up as soon as she saw the surgeon come out of the operating room.
She said:
"How is my little boy ?
Is he going to be all right ? When can I see him ?"
The surgeon said, "I'm sorry. We did all we could,
but your boy didn't make it."

Sally said,
"Why do little children
get cancer ?
Doesn't God care any more ?
"Where were you, God,
when my son needed you ?"

The surgeon asked,
"Would you like some
time alone with your son ? One of the nurses will be out in a few minutes,
before he's transported
to the university."

Sally asked the nurse to
stay with her while she said good bye to her son.
She ran her fingers lovingly through
his thick red curly hair.
"Would you like a lock of his hair ?" the nurse asked.

Sally nodded yes. The nurse cut a lock of the boy's
hair, put it in a plastic bag and handed it to Sally.

The mother said,
"It was Jimmy's idea
to donate his body to
The University for Study.
He said it might help somebody else.
"I said no at first, but Jimmy said,
" Mom , I won't be using it after I die.
Maybe it will help some other little boy
spend one more day
with his Mom ."
She went on,
"My Jimmy had
a heart of gold.
Always thinking of
someone else.
Always wanting to help others
if he could."

Sally walked out of Children's Mercy Hospital for the last
time, after spending most of the last six months there.
She put the bag with Jimmy's belongings on the seat beside her in the car.

The drive home was difficult. It was even harder
to enter the empty house.
She carried Jimmy's belongings, and the plastic bag with the lock of his hair
to her son's room.

She started placing the model cars and other personal
things back in his room exactly where
he had always kept them.
She laid down
across his bed
and, hugging his pillow,
cried herself to sleep.

It was around midnight
when Sally awoke.
Laying beside her on the bed was a folded letter.
The letter said :

* Dear Mom ,
I know you're going to miss me; but don't think that I will ever forget you, or stop loving you, just 'cause I'm not around to say
"I Love You" .
I will always love you, Mom , even more with each day. Someday we will see
each other again.
Until then, if you want to adopt a little boy
so you won't be so lonely, that's okay with me.
He can have my room and all my stuff to play with.
But, if you decide to get a girl instead,
she probably wouldn't like the same things us boys do.
You'll have to buy her dolls and stuff girls like, you know. Don't be sad
thinking about me.
This really is a neat place Grandma and Grandpa met me as soon as I got here
and showed me around some, but it will take a long time
to see everything.
The angels are so cool.
I love to watch them fly.
And, you know what?
Jesus doesn't look
like any of his pictures.
Yet, when I saw Him,
I knew it was Him.
Jesus himself took me to see GOD !
And guess what, Mom ?
I got to sit on God's knee
and talk to Him,
like I was
somebody important.
That's when I told Him that
I wanted
to write you a letter,
to tell you good bye
and everything.
But I already knew that wasn't allowed.
Well, you know what Mom ? God handed me some paper and His own personal pen
to write you this letter.
I think Gabriel is the name of the angel who is going to drop this letter off to you.
God said
for me to give you
the answer
to one of the questions you asked Him
"Where was He
When I needed him ?"
"God said
He was in the same place with me,
as when
His son Jesus,
was on the cross.
He was right there,
as He Always Is
With All His Children ." Oh, by the way, Mom ,
no one else can see what I've written ..except you.
To everyone else this is just a blank piece of paper.
Isn't that cool ?
I have to give God
His pen back now.
He needs it to write some
more names in
The Book of Life.
Tonight I get to sit at the table with Jesus for supper.
I'm sure the food will be great.

Oh, I almost forgot to tell you. I don't hurt anymore.
The cancer is all gone.
I'm glad because I couldn't
stand that pain anymore
...and God
couldn't stand to see me hurt so much, either.
That's when He sent
The Angel of Mercy
to come get me.
The Angel said,
I was a Special Delivery !
How about that ?
Signed With Love from God, Jesus & Me.