Good Stories

GoodStories.com is a place for good stories to inspire and illuminate.

dreams come true. Thank you for giving me the 'Spirit' and the 'Opportunity'."

Today on Mars two little robots, one named Spirit and another named Opportunity, are exploring opposite sides of that world. By now you have figured out that the contest Sofi entered and won was to name these two Martian vehicles. But what you don't know is that "Spirit" and "Opportunity" are not just the names of the rovers. They are also the two feelings she said she experienced as a very little girl, in a cold Siberian orphanage, when she learned she was coming to America.

Growing in Clusters: Though I have never seen the Sequoia trees of California, known as Redwoods, I am told they are spectacular. Towering as much as 300 feet above the ground. Strangely, these towering trees have unusually shallow root systems that spider out just under the surface of the ground to catch as much of the surface moisture they can. And this is their vulnerability. Storms with heavy winds would almost always bring these giants crashing to the ground but this rarely happens because they grow in clusters and their intertwining roots provide support for one another against the storms.

When we are together, either as a family or a church, we provide this same support. Pain and suffering come to all of us. But, just like those giant Sequoia trees, we can be supported in those difficult times by the touch of one another's lives. The knowledge that we have someone; that we are not alone; that there is someone who is willing to touch us, hold us, keeps us from being destroyed.

_____________________________________

Walking in Another’s Shoes:  Years ago, the president of Haverford College wrote a book entitled Blue Collar Journal, an account of his experiences during a six-month sabbatical. He writes that he was not sure how to spend those months. At first he thought he would write a book about his field, labor relations, but he had already done that several times before. Then he thought perhaps he ought to spend the leave as a visiting professor at a different academic institution. This, too, he had already done. Then he got a very bold idea. Why not do something new? Why not find out something about labor relations from the other side of the desk, from outside the library?

So he spent this sabbatical in a very different way. He spent two months as a ditchdigger, two months as a dishwasher, and two months as a lumberjack. When it was over he said that it was one of the most broadening educational experiences of his whole life. He had learned more about labor relations from being in a ditch, a dish pan, and a lumber camp than he had from all the books that he had read or written. Out of that experience, he came as close as any person of his class could in understanding how some workers live.

It is interesting to wonder what would happen if each of us could do something like that, if not in actuality, at least in imagination. What if the suburbanite could live in the slum area for a week? What a profound experience that might be! Would we still talk about the "shiftless poor" as glibly as we sometimes do?

_____________________________________

An Eye Opening Experience:  Recently, I ran across a “fascinating list” that carried this intriguing title: “Great Truths About Life That Little Children Have Learned.” Let me share a few of these “great truths” with you.

(1) “ No matter how hard you try you cannot baptize a cat.”

(2) “When your mom is mad at your dad, don’t let her brush your hair.”

(3) “Never ask your 3-year-old brother to hold a tomato… or an egg.”

(4) “You can’t trust dogs to watch your food for you.”

(5) “Don’t sneeze when somebody is cutting your hair.”

(6) “School lunches stick to the wall.”

(7) “You can’t hide a piece of broccoli in a glass of milk.”

(8) “Never wear polka-dot underwear under white shorts… no matter how cute the underwear is.”