A Stolen Purse

It was one of that late mornings when everyone was busy doing their own works.

One of my school colleagues was organizing a motivational talk for one of the examination classes.

She was one of school counselors.

And she was diligent and dedicated to her works.

A speaker had been invited from other school.

It had been her routine to leave her purse in the beg together with many other things.

It had also been her routine to take out her purse from the beg in front of the students

And we all knew that students were observant.

They might have discussed among themselves about the teacher's belongings.

Some students must have taken notice of her negligence,

Some students might have planned to steal her purse and other belongings.

And it happened today.

Her purse was stolen.

As usual, she left her beg on a table in front of the room and went elsewhere to take care of other businesses.

When she returned, she discovered that her purse was stolen.

It was smart of her to inform other teachers immediately about the stolen purse.

A thorough search for the stolen purse was carried out.

An interrogation among the students in the class was carried out fast.

After much probing, it was discovered that one of the boys had stolen her purse and left the room.

The boy was later caught by one of the teachers at the school gate but the purse was not with him.

Later the boy met the teacher and returned her purse.

He claimed that he had found her purse dropped down under the table.

He had picked it up and kept the purse for her; he was scared that other students might want to steal it.

The teacher was happy with her recovered purse.

She made up her mind not to probe further.

Instead she thanked the boy for his kind gesture.

She checked her purse in front of the boy and was happy to discover that nothing was stolen.

The boy grinned.

And the teacher heaved a sigh of relief.

It was a good lesson for her and for all of us not to leave our personal belongings behind while doing our bidding elsewhere.

My Aging Parents

I wonder how many of us do visit our aging parents.

Some of us live far away and hardly ever visit them. Some of us always expect other family members to take care of them. Some of us only phone them once in a while. And some of us need frequent reminders to visit them.

And I wonder how many of us do talk to our aging parents.

Some of us never really try to spend time talking to them. And some of us never take the initiative to talk to them first.

It is funny to think just how much we can tell them if we want to. We can talk to them about the current issues. We can talk about what is going on in our lives. We can talk about our problems and seek collective wisdom. We can talk about pregnancy and parenting......

And I wonder how many of us do bring our aging parents along wherever we go.

I wonder how many of us do bring them to live in with us, though I do know of friends who bring their parents to live with them for their own selfish reasons.

I wonder how many of us do bring them for traveling, shopping trips, family holidays and for just walking around the neighborhood.

I wonder how many of us do bring them into our family and our children's life.

I wonder how many of us do bring them to the church.

I wonder how many of us do help our parents to deal with their concerns.

I wonder how many of us do help them to live comfortably.

I wonder how many of us do help them to better their lifestyles.

I wonder how many of us do support their desire to live independently just as we do.

I wonder how many of us do help them to relax and enjoy during their stay with us.

I wonder how many of us do support their well-established values and beliefs.

I, for one, have failed them so much...

And I miss them now...now that they are gone.

A Distant Love

The flight is delayed.

It seems common among budget commercial airlines to wait for "a little while" for more passengers to go aboard.

With the worldwide economic crisis, commercial airlines are facing tougher and stiffer competitions.

To survive, many airlines resort to price war, coupled with various other incentives and benefits.

The general public are happy with these measures.

And cheaper airfare seems to be the major consideration of most passengers today.

Now everyone can fly.

And I am waiting faithfully for my daughter to arrive.

*******

Waiting for our loved ones to arrive is not going to be easy.

There are so many uncertainties.

Deep inside we pray that the flight will arrive safely in time.

Deep inside we yearn to see them and hold them in our arms, though it may just be for a week.

Deep inside we hope that they are healthier and stronger, and that all is well with them.

Deep inside we hope that our love for one another will live on forever, going deeper and stronger.

Deep inside we hope to cherish and care for one another more and more.

*******

It is announced that the flight will arrived at 5.30 p.m.

My heart leaps and pounds.

10 more minutes...

It is a great feeling when I know that it will be soon.

*******

Here comes my daughter, smiling and waving at us.

She is coming home for her one week holiday.

And she is coming back alone on a distant trip.

We hug one another.

It feels so nice to see one another again...

The Timber Trucks

Every time when I drive pass a timber truck, my heart will be throbbing fast. My face becomes pale and my breathing extraordinary fast.

Most timber trucks never really slow down on a long straight rural road, especially when there are no enforcement officers around.

I am scared that the long and heavy logs may just fall loose from the truck, and crash on me and my family.

I frequently dwell on this possibility that it has eventually become my daydreams and my nightmares.

Sometimes I am anxious to know whether the truck drivers are well qualified. Some of them look really young, possibly fresh school leavers. Many are very careless and reckless in driving.

I used to meet with timber trucks after office hours and during the weekends.

It is common to see them overloaded with logs of all sizes.

It is common to see them swaying from side to side.

It is common to see them overtaking many vehicles.

I wonder just how safe our journey can be with so many timber trucks around.

Will we be the next victims?

Sacrificial Love

Two boys are dividing their colorful marbles.

The older boy says, "This is mine, this is yours, this is mine, this is yours, this is mine. This is mine, this is yours, this is mine, this is yours, this is mine. This is mine, this is yours, this is mine, this is yours, this is mine....."

The younger boy is nodding his head and smiling happily.

The older boy is secretly laughing away.

Then the elder boy continues, "This is mine, this is yours, this is mine. This is mine, this is yours, this is mine. This is mine, this is yours, this is mine....."

The younger boy starts to feel suspicious when he sees his older brother smiling mischievously.

He looks at their shares, and suddenly realizes that the older boy has more marbles.

The younger boy stamps his foot and screams, "You cheat!"

The quarrel begins.......

Does this sound familiar?

*******

Human is by nature selfish.

All of us will naturally seek our own self-interest in every possible way.

All of us are born to be defensive, always ready to protect ourselves.

All of us are motivated to do what is best for ourselves.

********

Confucius said, "Don't do to others what you don't want others do to you."

Rabbi Manis Friedman Hillel said, "What is hateful to you, don't do to others."

Everything starts with oneself.

Even the Bible said, "Love your neighbors as yourself."

********

Some of us are so self-pleasing and arrogant that they have no rooms for others in their lives.

Some of us do sacrifice for our family members.

Some go further; they will do everything for their relatives and friends.

But the LORD Jesus Christ forgave even His enemies, "Father, forgive them for they know not what they do" (Luke 23:34).

*******

We may all be selfish because of our sinful nature.

But we can changed for the better.

The LORD Jesus Christ has said, "Love your neighbors as yourself."

Let us starts by loving our loved ones more.

And in due time, we may love our friends and neighbors, our societies and communities, our nation and the world at large.

Sacrificial love is not easy and it is often not immediately rewarding.

But it is the one and only way to turn the selfish world around.