askyourdreamsforideas: God Wants You to....

This is a picture of my second son wearing a police officer's helmet that was kindly given to him for the specific reason of being photographed in it

''Set yourself free tonight! It’s not your job to change anyone else. Sometimes we actually use our focus on fixing others as an excuse not to focus on our own growth. This doesn’t work, it’s annoying, and nobody gets anything out of it. Why do it? Nobody wants to admit they are wrong,you included!''

Here's an interesting ( and funny) incident that actually happened at my school this morning that illustrates the above mentioned quote:

A nice little old lady walks in, holding some new year calendars to sell. Before I have any chance to go talk to her, Christopher ( one of the teachers) walks up to her. I know what happens in such cases,I have a moment of deja-vou, but this time I am not too worried,because what are the chances of the nice old lady speaking any English? Zero. So I rest assured that no interaction is going to happen. To my dismay,though,this nice little old lady in her seventies speaks fluent English! But now it's too late for me to save it. It's already happening. And this is the conversation that I witnessed, word-for-word:

Christopher: - How may I help you ma'am?

Nice little old lady: -Hello,we're selling those callendars to help raise money for the poor people in Africa. Perhaps you can help too?

Christopher:- I don't see how calendars can help poor people in Africa, ma'am.

Nice little old lady: - Not the calendars,my boy. The money we are raising will help those poor people in Africa.

Christopher:- And what makes you think this money is actually going to end up helping the poor in Africa,ma'am?

Nice little old lady: ( smiling condescendingly)- Because the church is in charge of it,my son.

Christopher:- But still,what makes you think the church is actually going to give that money to the poor people in Africa?

Nice little old lady: ( getting a little flustered): Because this is what the church does; it helps people in need!

Christopher:- So you are sayin' ,ma'am, that the church would do anything within its power to help people in need?

Nice little old lady: - Of course,that's exactly what I am saying!

Christopher:- Then how come the church is not selling one of those big church buildings it owns,along with everything in it, to raise a nice amount of money for people in need,in Africa or elsewhere? I am sure that would raise more funds than have its representatives going door-to-door,asking other people who are for the most part poor themselves to contribute!

Nice little old lady: (now getting visibly angry): - And where do you suppose people who would like to praise the Lord or learn about Him would go to?

Christopher:- But you see,ma'am,true Christians have no need for such church buildings. Because wasn't He the one that said to His followers ''If there are two or three of you gathered in My name,I am there amongst you? Don't you think that He'd be infinitely more pleased if His people would sacrifice the comfort of having a building for their gatherings to provide comfort and nourishment for those in need?

Nice little old lady ( getting angrier and angrier): Obviously you are not a true Christian,judging by the way you speak!

Christopher:- No ma'am,I am not,I am an atheist.

Nice little old lady: ( getting all worked up now) Oh,so you are an atheist,aren't you? Who do you think created all this beauty,mountains and rivers, around us,If not God,then?

Christopher:- I have no idea,ma'am.

Nice little old lady:- You should know! Don't you think you are old enough to have found answers to such questions for yourself?

Christopher:- No ma'am,I don't. You see, whether I knew the answer to your question or not would't make the least of difference to how I conduct my life or how I behave towards other people. What about you,ma'am? Does your idea about whether God created all this or not,or whether He really exists or not,make you behave towards others in a certain way? Because if this is the case,you probably do not love God,you just FEAR him. Is that so,ma'am?Am I right?

Nice little old lady: - I won't stand here anymore talking to a heathen like you! May God have mercy on your soul! (storming out of the school,muttering things to herself).

Me:- Now, Christopher,you did it again! You upset this nice little old lady for nothing!

Christopher:- She didn't seem like a nice little old little lady when she left... She looked more like a very pissed off little lady to me! And I hope she gets to reflect a little upon our discussion,though I very much doubt it....

Nobody wants to change guys.. Everybody believes they know 'the way' to God and enlightenment. But in reality we are all stumbling and searching...those that are convinced they know best are usually the more confused ones...so rest well tonight,relax and be assured that neither God nor anyone else out there wants you to save anybody from themselves...this is God's job and He can do a much better job than you,you know!Because,unlike you and me and our intellectual rantings,He can speak straight to hearts!