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{SFTH} *I Won't Give Up On Him* 4/20/01
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Enjoy another wonderful story from Joseph Walker today. Here's
to hoping you have had a great week and that you have a wonderful
weekend ahead of you!
Next e-mail heading your way on Sunday night!
Michael
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I WON'T GIVE UP ON HIM
By Joseph Walker
I recently heard about a father who was working outside his home when
he noticed his 5-year-old daughter sprawled on the driveway, completely
focused on the cement in front of her.
Curious, he strolled up behind her to see what was so mesmerizing.
There on the driveway a caterpillar was making its way across what, for it,
was a vast expanse, fraught with obstacle and danger. The girl was
absolutely spellbound, watching as the creature's tiny legs and body
propelled its slinky way to... well, wherever it was going.
"Caterpillars sure are interesting, aren't they?" the father said at last.
The little girl didn't take her eyes off the driveway. She just
grunted: "Uh-huh."
"It looks like it would take a lot of work to move like that, doesn't
it?" Dad asked.
"Uh-huh."
He understood. He remembered the fascination of watching creeping
things crawl as a boy. They quietly watched for a few minutes, as the
caterpillar struggled to negotiate a wide crack in the pavement. "Before
too long," the father noted, "he won't have to worry about big cracks like
that."
"Why not?" the girl wondered.
"He'll just fly over the top of it," Dad said.
For the first time, the little girl looked up. "Nuh-uhhhh," she said.
"Caterpillars don't fly."
"You're right -- they don't," Dad replied. "But they turn into
butterflies, and you've seen how well butterflies can fly."
"Nuh-uhhhhh," the little girl said. "You're teasing."
"It's the truth," Dad said. "You can ask Mom. One of these days this
caterpillar will build a little home for itself called a cocoon, and then
he'll go to sleep for a while. When he wakes up he'll crawl out of his
cocoon, only by then he will have turned into a butterfly, and he'll fly
away."
His daughter was suspicious. "Daddy, is this sort of like that tooth
fairy story?"
"No, sweetheart," he replied, "this is true. It's really going to
happen. Honest."
"Well, OK," she said. Then she smiled and turned her attention back
to the caterpillar. "I was worried about him," she said. "But if he's
really going to be able to fly, I won't give up on him."
All of us find ourselves occasionally limited by mortality. Sometimes
we're forced by circumstances to move slowly, struggling to overcome each
new obstacle in our way. At other times we encounter limitations that are
even more restrictive, binding us in a cocoon of disability, depression or
hardship. At such times the easiest solution would be to simply give up.
And while I understand why some choose to do exactly that, I am in awe of
those who refuse to surrender to life's vicissitudes. Like the caterpillar
that emerges from its confining chrysalis to spread its wings as a
beautiful butterfly, they burst free of the constraints mortality imposes
upon them. And they fly.
Which is not to imply that one who refuses to give up in the face of
adversity will always emerge victorious. That would be unrealistic, and
reality must occasionally have its due. But an amazing number of
courageous folks do overcome, even though it's impossible to know in
advance which ones will. And the funny thing is, those who "lose" still
gain much from trying -- so who's to say they haven't really won, after
all?
In a world where earth-bound caterpillars end up soaring with the
birds, you learn not to give up on anyone who hasn't already given up on
themselves.
Joseph B Walker
valuescom@juno.com
Send Joseph an e-mail and let him know what you thought of his story!
__________________
Joseph Walker has been writing professionally since 1980, when he left
college to join the staff of a daily metropolitan newspaper. For 10
years -- including six as the paper's TV columnist and critic -- he was
part of the mainstream media, and was painfully aware of the
overwhelming negativity of contemporary journalism. Joe says, "Nobody
was looking for real solutions to the problems society was facing; they
were just looking for someone or something to blame the problems on." So
in 1990 Joe began writing ValueSpeak, a weekly syndicated column that
attempts to look at contemporary issues from the perspective of
traditional values. Joe and his wife, Anita, are parents of five
children and one grandchild.
You'll love his new book, "How Can you Mend a Broken Spleen!"
Ordering is simple and fast at the following Amazon address:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1573453005/qid=972961681/sr=1-6/straighfromthe0a
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Thought For The Day:
"Kind words can be short and easy to speak, but their echoes
are truly endless." --Mother Teresa
Verse for the Day:
"She speaks with wisdom, and faithful instruction is on her tongue."
Proverbs 31:26
Kid's Thought For The Day:
"Don't sneeze in front of your mom when you're eating crackers."
Parent's Thought For The Day:
"There are two great injustices that can befall a child. One is to punish
him for something he didn't do. The other is to let him get away with
doing something he knows is wrong." --Robert Gardner
Coach's Thought For The Day:
"Be a champion in practice, that's where champions are made."
Deep Thought For The Day:
"If there was any logic in this world, it would be men who ride side-saddle,
not women."
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_
/_/\/\ MICHAEL T. POWERS
\_\ / THUNDER27@aol.com
/_/ \ "For I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but
\_\/\ \ Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body I live for the Son
\_\/ of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me." Galatians 2:20
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