“Piggies”
I recall walking along a Texas creek many years ago with my brother-in-law Ed and his 3-year-old son David. David had been collecting smooth, round stones from the stream while we walked. He called them“ piggies,” because their rounded shape reminded him of little pigs.
Sharks!
The thought of being surrounded by sharks is not pleasant. I've spent enough time fishing in the Gulf of Mexico, I've read enough articles about their razor-sharp teeth, and I've seen enough films of shark attacks to know how dangerous they can be. But I've also been surrounded by sharks and felt perfectly safe.
Sea World in Florida has an underwater exhibit that allows you to be in a tank with thousands of pounds of living sharks. A plexiglass corridor makes it possible for you to pass through an aquarium housing scores of them. Guided tours allow you to enter the world of these predators, to sense their presence and power, and yet to be safely shielded from attack.
Too Much To Do?
I'm usually a happy person. Most of the time I can take on as much work as anyone can give me. But some days there just seems to be too much to do. The schedule may be so full of meetings, appointments, and deadlines that there's no room to breathe. Life often contains too much work, parenting, home improvement, and other responsibilities for one person to handle.
Unexpected Alligators
A friend of actress and comedienne Gracie Allen once sent a small, live alligator to her as a gag. Not knowing what to do with it, Gracie put it in the bathtub and then left for an appointment. When she returned home, she found a note from her maid. "Dear Miss Allen: Sorry, but I have quit. I don't work in houses where there is an alligator. I would have told you this when I started, but I never thought it would come up."
The Miracle Goes On
Did you ever think of a prayer meeting as a miracle? That thought came to my mind one evening at church after we divided into small prayer groups. As someone in each group prayed, I heard several people talking to God at the same time. It sounded like a jumble of words. But that's the miracle. God was hearing each prayer—along with millions of others being lifted to Him around the world in many different languages.
Give Him Your Burden
A poor man in Ireland was plodding along toward home, carrying a huge bag of potatoes. A horse and wagon finally drew up alongside him on the road, and the driver invited the man to climb aboard. After getting on the wagon, he sat down but continued to hold the heavy bag.
Love That Lifts
When King David looked back on his life, he remembered some painful experiences. In Psalm 40, he recalled one especially severe difficulty, a time when he felt as if he had sunk deep into "the miry clay" (v.2).
Chess Master
An intriguing painting is on display in the Louvre in Paris. It portrays Faust (the legendary German magician who bartered away his soul to the devil) sitting across from Satan at a chessboard. Satan is gloating over what appears to be the checkmate of Faust's king. The magician's expression is that of a beaten man.
The Beacon
When a helicopter crashed in a cold, mountainous wilderness, the pilots survived but were seriously injured. The frozen afternoon stretched toward an even more freezing night. The situation seemed hopeless—until a rescue helicopter appeared, its searchlights illuminating the darkness. It spotted the wreckage, landed nearby, and carried them off to safety.
