The People I meet
Once I met a man who had lost most everything: his country, much of his family, his profession; had been in war, starvation and prison - now a stranger struggling in a hard country. Yet he remembered to be grateful to God every day because he was still alive and with hope in spite of it all. And as much as he could he showed kindness to anyone not clinging to anything but his God.
His story breaks the heart yet makes one smile. 
Some other time later I met a man who was secure in his country with his family alive, a good profession, and many blessings. Yet they weren't quite the right ones and he longed for a different life. He was restless and always searching for fulfilment. His story too, breaks the heart yet makes one cry. 
Nobody knows why such things happen to man, why the dreams and hopes are either crushed or smothered. Kindness will do them both good. 

This summer's memories

Freedom

Freedom
is in the wind that makes the trees sway and the leaves sing
Freedom
is in the song of a little bird that carries my smile on his wings
Freedom
is in a kind word from a friend that gives my hope new life
Freedom
is a restful heart in the midst of strife
Freedom
is in the comfort of my people's love, a precious gift
Freedom
is in knowing that the One who made me lives

The Dream of the Old Lions

It was a flash
A precious dream
When two old battle scarred lions
Played as if they were cubs again.

The joy and the laughter
The cheerful play
Made us forget for a moment
That life was not just fun and games.

In these short days of freedom
Our youth returned with force
And all things seemed possible
As we took life by the horns.

Now we have awoken
To a strange reality
Our once strong fangs are worn and broken
And where will we go from here?

Sometimes, when we think we are first, we find out only at the end of the race that we ran in the opposite direction.

If then we find our father and mother and brothers there in that lonely spot, telling us to turn around and that all that matters is that we run... then we can and even if we make last place blistered and bruised, we will still have reached the finish line.

The Instruction

Accept

Accept everything

Change nothing

Judge nothing

Expect nothing

Whatever you see

do not hold on

do not try to understand

do not explain

do not assume

do not fear

let it all be

In the midst of daily struggle it's easy to forget the blessings of the past, overlook the small joys of today and lose sight of the hope for the future. Stopping to look at all three.