FOODFORTHOUGHT

THE TEACUP

Author Unknown

July 22, 2012

There was a couple who used to go to England to shop in the beautiful
stores. They both liked antiques and pottery and especially teacups. This
was their twenty-fifth wedding anniversary.

One day in this beautiful shop they saw a beautiful teacup. They said, "May
we see that? We've never seen one quiet so beautiful." As the lady handed
it to them, suddenly the teacup spoke, "You don't understand," it said, "I
haven't always been a teacup."

"There was a time when I was red and I was clay. My master took me and
rolled me and patted me over and over and I yelled out, 'Let me alone,' but
he only smiled, 'Not yet.'

"Then I was placed on a spinning wheel," the teacup said, "and suddenly I
was spun around and around and around. 'Stop it! I'm getting dizzy!' I
screamed. But the master only nodded and said, 'Not yet.'

"Then he put me in the oven. I never felt such heat. I wondered why he
wanted to burn me, and I yelled and knocked at the door. I could see him
through the opening and I could read his lips, as he shook his head, 'Not
yet!'

"Finally the door opened, he put me on the shelf, and I began to cool.
'There that's better,' I said. And he brushed and painted me all over. The
fumes were horrible; I thought I would gag. 'Stop it, stop it!' I cried.
He only nodded, 'Not yet.'

"Then suddenly he put me back into the oven, not like the first one. This
was twice as hot and I knew I would suffocate. I begged. I pleaded, I
screamed. I cried. All the time I could see him through the opening
nodding his head saying, 'Not yet!'

"Then I knew there wasn't any hope. I would never make it. I was ready to
give up. But the door opened and he took me out and placed me on the
shelf. One hour later he handed me a mirror and said, 'Look at yourself.'
And I did. I said, 'That's not me; that couldn't be me. It's beautiful.
I'm beautiful.'

"'I want you to remember, then,' he said, 'I know it hurts to be rolled and
patted, but if I had left you alone, you'd have dried up. I know it made
you dizzy to spin around on the wheel, but if I had stopped, you would have
crumbled. I knew it was hot and disagreeable in the oven, but if I hadn't
put you there, you would have cracked.

"'I know the fumes were bad when I brushed and painted you all over, but if
I hadn't done that, you never would have hardened; you would not have had
any color in your life. And if I hadn't put you back in the second oven,
you wouldn't survive for very long because the hardness would not have held.

"'Now you are a finished product. You are what I had in mind when I first
began you.'"

Jeremiah 18:6 "O house of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter
does?" declares the LORD. "Like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you
in my hand, O house of Israel."

THE MOST IMPORTANT BODY PART

Author Unknown

July 22, 2012

My mother used to ask me what is the most important part of the body and
through the years I would take a guess at what I thought was the correct
answer. When I was younger I thought sound was very important to us as
humans so I said my ears mommy. She said "No, many people are deaf. But you
keep thinking about it and I will ask you again soon."

Several years passed before she asked me again. Since my last attempt I
contemplated a correct answer. So I told her "Mommy, sight is very important
to everybody, so it must be our eyes." She looked at me and told me that I
was learning fast but the answer is not correct because there are many
people who are blind.

Stumped again I continued my quest for knowledge and over the years she
asked me a couple more times and always the same answer "No. But you are
getting smarter every year my young child."

Then last year my Grandpa died. Everybody was hurt. Everybody was crying.
Even my father cried. I remember that especially because it is only the
second time I saw him cry. My Mom looked at me when it was our turn to say
our final good-bye to Grandpa. She asked me "Do you know the most important
body part yet my son?" And I was shocked she asked me this now. I always
thought this was a game between her and me. She saw the confusion on my
face and told me "This question is very important. It shows that you have
really lived in your life. For every body part you gave me in the past I
have told you that it was wrong and given you an example why. But today is
the day you need to learn this important lesson."

She looked down at me like only a mother can. I saw her eyes well up with
tears. She said, "Son the most important body part is your shoulder." Was
it because it held up my head? She replied, "No, because it can hold the
head of a friend or loved one when they cry. Everybody needs a shoulder to
cry on sometime in life my son. I only hope that you have enough love and
friends that you will always have a shoulder to cry on when you need it."
Then and there I knew the most important body part was not selfish, it was
sympathetic to the pain of OTHERS.

You are a friend and whenever you want you can cry on my shoulder!!! People
will forget what you said. People will forget what you did, but People will
never forget how you made them feel.