People Lie

Have you noticed all the TV ads offering to help you get hooked up with the perfect spouse? They invite you to contact them in order to review your compatibility matches online. Here is the bait they dangle in front of you: "Aren't you curious about who you are compatible with?"
Here is the problem with those ads: People lie. They lie about their height, weight, age, and education. They lie about their temperament and character. They even lie about whether or not they are married. They call them MBA's…married, but available.
I suppose it's okay to use the matching services, but don't just trust, verify.

Baseball

Have you ever tried to play baseball? It's not as easy as it looks.
First, you hold a stick. The pitcher stands on a slightly raised mound exactly 60 feet, 6 inches away from you. The pitcher hurls a ball as fast as possible and with as much spin as possible. You have less than a half second to judge the pitch. Will it pass over the plate or not?
If you are lucky enough to hit the ball, there are nine players on the field who are trying their best to put you out.
No wonder even the best hitters fail to get on base most of the time. If you can manage it one-third of the time for a few years, you'll end up in the Hall of Fame.
Like life, baseball is not about perfection. It's about doing your best and making progress.

Escalator

As a boy growing up in Cedar Bayou, Texas, we made a trip to Houston twice a year. My mother shopped at the bargain basement of a downtown department store.
The thing I looked forward to about the semi-annual sojourn was riding the escalator. It was like Disneyland for a kid from the country. The stairs moved up automatically, folded into the floor, and reappeared at the bottom. It was like magic.
I observed people carefully on that escalator. There were two kinds of riders: handrail holders and non-handrail holders, cautious people and risk takers. I admired the ones who threw caution to the wind and thoughtlessly rode while eating cookies or carrying on conversations.
I guess there have always been those two kinds of people.

Summer Job

It was late spring of my sophomore year, and I still didn't have a summer job. Some people passed through my college town offering big wages, so I signed up.
They sent me to a sales school in Nashville, Tennessee, then on to Wilmington, North Carolina where I sold family Bibles door to door.
At the end of the summer, I had made the big payday which had been promised, but the most important things I gained were intangibles. I learned how to endure rejection and humiliation, even having dogs sent to attack me. I learned the importance of persistence, that if you focus on the things you can control and just stay at it, you are likely to be successful. Most importantly, I learned not to take it personally when people said, "No" to me.
I hope you, too, learn these lessons along the way.

Yourself

I knew a woman years ago who was very dissatisfied in her marriage. She felt misunderstood, unappreciated, and taken for granted by her husband. She was a very angry woman. Frankly, I never expected the marriage to survive.
I saw her again last winter, and guess what? She's still married to the same man.
I asked her, "How's your marriage?"
"Pretty good," she answered.
I probed a little further. "Did he change?"
"Nope," she replied, "he's about the same. I changed. Now I understand him better and love him more."
She went on to explain that her change of attitude was the result of a spiritual awakening.
I've thought about that woman ever since. When her attitude and perspective changed, her relationship with her husband was altered.
Do you know the only person you can change is yourself?

Firemen

I was a freshman in college. We were on a basketball road trip. We were supposed to be locked up in the hotel room, resting for a game the next day, but at 2:00 a.m., my roommate and I were out roaming the streets.
Suddenly there were fire alarms. Firemen and fire trucks rushed to a building near our hotel. We went to check it out. We stood across the street and watched the building burn. I had never experienced anything quite like it. The heat was intense. We wanted to cross the street to get a better look at the fire, but we couldn't get any closer. The heat from the burning building drove us back. That's when I gained a respect for fire fighters. Sure they have special equipment, but one of the firemen on the scene died in the fire that night.
When there is a fire and you are trying to escape the building, have some respect for the folks who are coming in to get you and putting out the fire.

The Olive Tree

Greece is the rockiest place on the face of the earth. The Greeks say that when God created the world, he had a bunch of rocks left over, so he threw them and made Greece.

The olive oil that grows in Greece is the world's finest. How is it luscious olives grow in such rocky soil? It is because olive trees do not require rich soil. Some people even say that the more distressed the soil, the better the olives.

I wish more people could take a lesson from the olive tree. Rather than complaining, whining, and griping about our circumstances, why don't we learn to flourish where we are planted? After all, isn't it true that difficulties and trials make us stronger and more fruitful?