Time to Learn from Fruit Trees.

God created all types of fruit trees, each one with its own season to produce fruits.

Whether in or off-season though, a fruit tree never loses its identity.

And neither does it stress itself because some other trees are having a good time while in their seasons. It simply waits for its turn. 

When it’s the season for an apple tree to produce fruits, no one ever hears any whining or crying from a mango tree that is off-season. It merely waits for its own season. 

And in a mango season, there is never a sign of envy or some negative attitude from cocoa, walnut or any other tree. Cocoa, for instance, takes about ten years to produce fruits. Yet, it's never in a hurry. The tree simply waits for its own time to produce fruits. Ironically, when its time finally comes, just one cocoa pod is worth more in value than all the fruits produced by a mango tree, whose time comes every year.

In spite of this, no mango tree ever wakes up one day to start stressing God through fasting and prayers, to produce cocoa, all because cocoa is a cash crop that is much beloved, especially by those chocolate makers in Switzerland.  



These are mere trees, contended to flow with the natural course of the Mother Nature.

They appreciate the fact that God created them differently, each with its unique attribute.  

But not so humans!!! Even though made in the image of God, they will rather adopt the ways and manners of Lucifer. 

Almost everyone wants to be like the other person. A doctor, created with a talent for medical healing and trained to so do, will abandon it to be an astronaut each time

there is news of space travel.  

A teacher, with a special gift for molding young lives, is too busy distracting himself or herself with dreams of one day becoming another Steve Jobs or Bill Gates.

It is natural for us, as humans, to desire success, comforts and the other good things of life.

But everyone has his or her uniqueness. It's just a matter of waiting for our "season" to "shine".

And there is no reason for anyone to stress himself or herself to death just to be like somebody else.

When are we ever going to identify and employ our individual natural gifts or talents and then wait patiently for the right seasons --- to reap from the “fruits” of our labor?

Realistic Secrets of Success.

This morning, I got an e-mail from a self-described well-educated, young urban professional who would like to build on his current great life’s foundation. He wanted my “blunt” opinion on what I believed to constitute the secrets of success in life. And he suggested that I posted the opinion on my blog so that others, like him, could also benefit.

In my humble opinion and in a nutshell, success in life entails either one or both of two factors. On the one hand, success can come from destiny. That is why some individuals (in spite of little efforts on their parts) are leading successful lives. By some divine reasons, they are always at the right place, at the right time. And, on the other hand, success can arise as the product of a great personal strategic plan. In most cases, this comprises of a good education, dedication and hard work.

In addition, success from either or both of these two factors can be accelerated and strengthened. To do this, all you have to do is surround yourself with successful or potentially-successful people. They will be the wind beneath your wings. The saying about birds of the same feathers flocking together (for good or for bad) can easily be applied here. It is your responsibility, as an individual, to painstakingly choose friends who inspire, motivate or challenge you to rise above your potentials. If the majority of your friends are people whose life history is all about failures in relationships, marriages, careers, finances, social graces and other life’s accomplishments, you are in trouble. You’ll be like the victim of a capsized boat who struggles to swim above water while some haters, out of spite, keep pulling him/her down. In your pursuit of success, frustrated and miserable friends or associates can never be happy for you. And it does not matter if their faces are constantly plastered with smiles each time they see you. So, here is the bottom-line: Choose your friends wisely if you want to be successful in life!

Davion Only: At Last, A Good Samaritan Cometh!

“My name is Davion and I’ve been in foster care since I was born. I know God hasn’t given up on me, so I’m not giving up either.” - Davion Only.

This was the thought-provoking plea of a 16-year-old teenager whose plea for a family to adopt him went viral on the internet in 2013. The young Davion Only appeared before a Florida church congregation to make the plea after learning that his incarcerated biological mother had died. Prior to the church incident, he had been bouncing between foster homes.

Based on this clarion call, the young man’s foster agency got as many as 10,000 phone calls from people, some of  whom merely wanted to satisfy their curiosity. And when he eventually got accepted by an Ohio church minister’s family, he was soon sent packing after a minor incident. The church minister and his family threw the boy out of their home when he got into fights with one of their kids. I  guess the said minister and his family forgot to realize that this was an emotionally-traumatized young man that needed a lot of love and patience.

In the meantime, Davion had been pleading with his case worker for nearly ten years to adopt him. The woman, on the other hand, thought there could be a better family out there to bring the boy into their home. When none was forthcoming, she finally resolved to adopt him. What a “Good Samaritan” she is!

Connie Going, who will adopt Davion Only later this month, has known him since he was 7. (Photo: Melissa Lyttle/Tampa Bay Times/Zuma Press).

 

 

Life is Worth Living Well.

I have a belief that the situation of every human being upon death will be like the arrival point of an international airport. There will be a long line of travelers as they arrive from earth. Waiting at the front of the aisle, are some angels who will take one look at each of the new arrivals and direct them to appropriate cubicles for entry interviews.

And very much like the Parable of Talents (Matthew 25:14-30 English Standard Version), a particular group of people will be directed to a cubicle where the interviewer will yell at each one of them; "You slothful idiot! Do you know how long and how painstaking it took God to create and mold you as a precious, distinct individual? Yet, you got lazy, complacent and wasteful of that same precious life. While on earth, you neither passed nor failed except to remain static in one spot. And now, you return up here all messed up, looking sad, depressed and dispirited! Will someone please cast this worthless fool into the outer darkness where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth!"