Inspirational Shorts

These shorts don't have much of anything to do with Christmas, they were just emailed to me and I hated to just delete them. Some of them are real gems.

Two men, both seriously ill, occupied the same hospital room. One man was allowed to sit up in his bed for an hour each afternoon to help drain the fluid from his lungs. His bed was next to the room's only window. The other man had to spend all his time flat on his back.

The men talked for hours on end. They spoke of their wives and families, their homes, their jobs, their involvement in the military service, where they had been on vacation. And every afternoon when the man in the bed by the window could sit up, he would pass the time by describing to his roommate all the things he could see outside the window. The man in the other bed began to live for those one-hour periods where his world would be broadened and enlivened by all the activity and color of the world outside.

The window overlooked a park with a lovely lake. Ducks and swans played on the water while children sailed their model boats. Young lovers walked arm in arm amidst flowers of every color of the rainbow. Grand old trees graced the landscape, and a fine view of the city skyline could be seen in the distance.
As the man by the window described all this in exquisite detail, the man on the other side of the room would close his eyes and imagine the picturesque scene.

One warm afternoon the man by the window described a parade passing by.

Although the other man couldn't hear the band - he could see it in his mind's eye as the gentleman by the window portrayed it with descriptive words. Days and weeks passed.

One morning, the day nurse arrived to bring water for their baths only to find the lifeless body of the man by the window, who had died peacefully in his sleep. She was saddened and called the hospital attendants to take the body away. As soon as it seemed appropriate, the other man asked if he could be moved next to the window. The nurse was happy to make the switch, and after making sure he was comfortable, she left him alone.
Slowly, painfully, he propped himself up on one elbow to take his first look at the world outside. Finally, he would have the joy of seeing it for himself.

He strained to slowly turn to look out the window beside the bed. It faced a blank wall.

The man asked the nurse what could have compelled his deceased roommate who had described such wonderful things outside this window.

The nurse responded that the man was blind and could not even see the wall. She said, "Perhaps he just wanted to encourage you."

Epilogue. . . .There is tremendous happiness in making others happy, despite our own situations. Shared grief is half the sorrow, but happiness when shared, is doubled. If you want to feel rich, just count all of the things you have that money can't buy. "Today is a gift, that's why it is called the present."

"Our Father who art in heaven."

"Yes?"

"Don't interrupt me. I'm praying."

"But you called me."

"Called you? I didn't call you. I'm praying. Our Father who art in heaven."

"There you did it again."

"Did What?"

"Called me. You said, Our Father who art in heaven. Here I am. What's on your mind?"

"But I didn't mean anything by it. I was, you know, just saying my prayers for the day. I always say the Lord's Prayer. It makes me feel good, kind of like getting a duty done."

"All right. Go on."

"Hallowed be thy name . . ."

"Hold it. What do you mean by that?"

"By what?"

"By 'hallowed be thy name'?"

"It means, it means, good grief, I don't know what it means. How should
I know? It's just a part of the prayer. By the way, what does it mean?"

"It means honored, holy, wonderful."

"Hey, that makes sense. I never thought about what 'hallowed' meant before.
"Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven."

"Do you really mean that?"

"Sure, why not?"

"What are you doing about it?"

"Doing? Nothing, I guess. I just think it would be kind of neat if you got control of everything down here like you have up there."

"Have I got control of you?"

"Well, I go to church."

"That isn't what I asked you. What about your bad temper? You've really got a problem there, you know. And then there's the way you spend your money, all on yourself. And what about the kind of books you read?"

"Stop picking on me! I'm just as good as some of the rest of those people at the church."

"Excuse me. I thought you were praying for my will to be done. If that is to happen, it will have to start with the ones who are praying for it. Like you, for example."

"Oh, all right. I guess I do have some hang-ups. Now that you mention it, I could probably name some others."

"So could I."

"I haven't thought about it very much until now, but I really would like to cut out some of those things. I would like to, you know, be really free."

"Good. Now we're getting somewhere. We'll work together, you and I. Some victories can truly be won. I'm proud of you."

"Look, Lord, I need to finish up here. This is taking a lot longer than it usually does. Give us this day, our daily bread."

"You need to cut out the bread. You're overweight as it is."

"Hey, wait a minute! What is this, 'Criticize Me Day'? Here I was doing my religious duty, and all of a sudden you break in and remind me of all my hang-ups."

"Praying is a dangerous thing. You could wind up changed, you know. That's what I'm trying to get across to you. You called me, and here I am. It's too late to stop now. Keep praying. I'm interested in the next part of
your prayer."

. . . pause . . .

"Well, go on."

"I'm scared to."

"Scared? Of what?"

"I know what you'll say."

"Try me and see."

"Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespasse against us."

"What about Ann?"

"See? I knew it! I knew you would bring her up! Why Lord, she's told lies about me, spread stories about my family. She never paid back the debt she owes me. I've sworn to get even with her!"

"But your prayer? What about your prayer?"

"I didn't mean it."

"Well, at least you're honest. But it's not much fun carrying that load of bitterness around inside, is it?"

"No. But I'll feel better as soon as I get even. Boy, have I got some plans for that neighbor. She'll wish she had never moved into this neighborhood."

"You won't feel any better. You'll feel worse. Revenge isn't sweet. Think of how unhappy you already are. But I can change all that."

"You can? How?"

"Forgive Ann. Then I'll forgive you. Then the hate and sin will be Ann's problem and not yours. You will have settled your heart."

"Oh, you're right. You always are. And more than I want to revenge Ann, I want to be right with you..., (sigh). All right . . . All right . .. I forgive her. "Help her to find the right road in life, Lord. She's bound to be awfully miserable now that I think about it. Anybody who goes around doing the things she does to others has to be out of it. Someway, somehow, show her the right way."

"There now! Wonderful! How do you feel?"

"Hmmmmmm. Well, not bad. Not bad at all. In fact, I feel pretty great! You know, I don't think I'll have to go to bed uptight tonight for the first time since I can remember. Maybe I won't be so tired from now on because I'm not getting enough rest."

"You're not through with your prayer. Go on."

"Oh, all right. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil."

"Good! Good! I'll do that. Just don't put yourself in a place where you can be tempted."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Don't turn on the TV when you know the laundry needs to be done and the house needs to be picked up. Also, about the time you spend coffeeing with your friends, if you can't influence the conversation to positive things,
perhaps you should rethink the value of those friendships. Another thing, your neighbors and friends shouldn't be your standard for 'keeping up'. And please don't use me only for an escape hatch."

"I don't understand the last part."

"Sure you do. You've done it a lot of times. You get caught in a bad situation. You get into trouble and then you come running to me, 'Lord, help me out of this mess, and I promise you I'll never do it again.' You remember some of those bargains you tried to make with me?"

"Yes and I'm ashamed, Lord. I really am."

"Which bargain are you remembering?"

"Well, there was the night that Bill was gone and the children and I were home alone. The wind was blowing so hard I thought the roof would go any minute and tornado warnings were out. I remember praying, "Oh God, if you spare us, I'll never skip my devotions again."

"I protected you, but you didn't keep your promise, did you?"

"I'm sorry, Lord, I really am. Up until now I thought that if I just prayed the Lord's Prayer every day, then I could do what I liked. I --- didn't expect anything to happen like it did."

"Go ahead and finish your prayer."

"For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever. Amen."

"Do you know what would bring me glory? What would really make me happy?"

"No, but I'd like to know. I want to please you now. I can see what a mess I've made of my life. And I can see how great it would be to really be one of your followers."

"You just answered the question."

"I did?"

"Yes. The thing that would bring me glory is to have people like you truly love me. And I see that happening
between us. Now that some of these old sins are exposed and out of the way, well, there is no telling what we can do together."

"Lord, let's see what we can make of me, OK?"

"Yes, let's see."

Author Unknown