The internet can be a useful tool for doing research. And sometimes the research can uncover uncalled-for surprises. It did for me one day a few years ago when I found myself staring at a picture of Bruno (not his real name), the Director of a large trucking company.
The day Roger and Margaret were married they were given some good advice from an older friend who said, “Watch out for the small offences that will arise between you as you walk through your married life – It is the little foxes that spoil the vines. Maintain the sweetness of your relationship.
A story is told about a family living on a farm in Tennessee where, one afternoon, the mother discovered her teenage daughter reading an erotic novel. When challenged, the young girl responded, “Mum, you are so old fashioned. This is the way the world is and we should not be ignorant of life.
It was a dirty old city, and like every other city, many homeless men lived on the streets and slept in the parks at night. One such man was known as Old Jim. He was a shabby old fellow who, out of desperation, began to seek after God.
Joey sat studying the junk mail from the toy shop. She had seen something that ‘took her eye’ – a wooden stove with an oven and four hotplates. She dreamt of playing with her friends, and make-believe cooking, and the good times that they could have with that stove. If only she could have one.
Mary Webster was a fiery red-haired lady who lived with her sister-in-law in southern USA. They were not naturally inclined to get along with one another, but they did. Their relationship was a beautiful example of selflessness – so much so, that people began to comment on Mary’s angelic disposition.
It was at a retreat that I found it possible to forgive my dad. Life as a child in my home was not as it should have been. I was sexually and emotionally abused for many years by my dad. Once I became a Christian, as much as I tried to forgive him, the past would keep coming back to haunt me.