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Friday, November 18, 2005
Two e-mails, different ideas
By Henrylito D. Tacio
Regarding Henry
CHRISTMAS season is fast approaching. You know this because it's getting colder each day. Much more if the wind blows. Speaking of winds, a friend sent me an e-mail that is not only inspiring but very thought-provoking. To prove this, read the story below aloud:
Years ago a farmer owned land along the Atlantic seacoast. He constantly advertised for hired laborers. Most people were reluctant to work on farms along the Atlantic. They dreaded the awful storms that raged across the Atlantic, wreaking havoc on the buildings and crops.
As the farmer interviewed applicants for the job, he received a steady stream of refusals. Finally, a short, thin man, well past middle age, approached the farmer.
"Are you a good farm laborer?" the farmer asked him.
"Well, I can sleep when the wind blows," answered the little man.
Although puzzled by this answer, the farmer, desperate for help, hired him. The little man worked well around the farm, busy from dawn to dusk, and the farmer felt satisfied with the man's work. Then one night the wind howled loudly in from offshore. Jumping out of bed, the farmer grabbed a lantern and rushed next door to the hired hand's sleeping quarters.
He shook the little man and yelled, "Get up! A storm is coming! Tie things down before they blow away!" The little man rolled over in bed and said firmly, "No sir. I told you, I am asleep when the wind blows." Enraged by the response, the farmer was tempted to fire him on the spot. Instead, he hurried outside to prepare for the storm.
To his amazement, he discovered that all of the haystacks had been covered with tarpaulins. The cows were in the barn, the chickens were in the coops, and the doors were barred. The shutters were tightly secured. Everything was tied down. Nothing could blow away. The farmer then understood what his hired hand meant, so he returned to his bed to also sleep while the wind blew.
Moral of the story: When you're prepared, spiritually, mentally, and physically, you have nothing to fear. You can sleep when the wind blows through your life. The hired laborer in the story was able to sleep because he had secured the farm against the storm.
The email ended with this note: "We, as believers in Christ, secure ourselves against the storms of life by grounding ourselves in the Word of God. We don't need to understand, we just hold His hand to have Peace in the midst of the storms. So, sleep well."
Another email sent to me was a poem--"If I Knew"--in memory for those who perished in the 9/11 tragedy. Read it silently:
If I knew it would be the last time that I'd see you fall asleep, I would tuck you in more tightly and pray the Lord, your soul to keep.
If I knew it would be the last time that I see you walk out the door, I would give you a hug and kiss and call you back for one more.
If I knew it would be the last time I'd hear your voice lifted up in praise, I would videotape each action and word, so I could play them back day after day.
If I knew it would be the last time, I could spare an extra minute to stop and say "I love you," instead of assuming you would KNOW I do.
If I knew it would be the last time I would be there to share your day, well I'm sure you'll have so many more, so I can let just this one slip away.
For surely there's always tomorrow to make up for an oversight, and we always get a second chance to make everything just right.
There will always be another day to say "I love you," and certainly there's another chance to say our "Anything I can do?"
But just in case I might be wrong, and today is all I get, I'd like to say how much I love you and I hope we never forget.
Tomorrow is not promised to anyone, young or old alike, and today may be the last chance you get to hold your loved one tight.
So if you're waiting for tomorrow, why not do it today? For if tomorrow never comes, you'll surely regret the day,
That you didn't take that extra time for a smile, a hug, or a kiss and you were too busy to grant someone what turned out to be their one last wish.
So hold your loved ones close today, and whisper in their ear, tell them how much you love them and that you'll always hold them dear.
Take time to say "I'm sorry," "Please forgive me," "Thank you," or "It's okay." And if tomorrow never comes, you'll have no regrets about today.
For comments, write me at tasyo2002@yahoo.com
For Bisaya stories from Davao. Click here. (November 18, 2005 issue)
Write letter to the editor.Click here.
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