True Stories that Inspire: Hardships are not setbacks

Thomas Edison lost most of his hearing at about eight years of age, but he gave us the electric light, phonograph, movies and over a hundred other useful inventions.
There was another man who had terrible hemorrhages of the lungs, and he almost died several times from coughing spells. Yet, while he was invalid, he gave us at least two masterpieces, Treasure Island and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. He was Robert Louis Stevenson.
There was a young man who was ill and unhappy most of his short life- heart trouble at seventeen, inherited physical weaknesses, an orphan before he was three and taken in by strangers, kicked out of school, suffered from poverty, and had no fame until after his pitiful death at the young age of forty. Yet, in the short span of twenty years, he gave the world- articles, essays, brilliant criticisms. His poetry is widely read. He wrote short stories and detective stories, and one of his poems is on exhibit at world-famous Huntington Library, at San Marino, California, and is worth $50,000. This poor young invalid was a great literary genius, Edgar Allan Poe.

Jungle Tale: THE TRAP

Deep inside the jungle, in the Jungle Doctor’s cabin sat a group of people huddled around the fire. This was their usual routine in the evenings to sit and listen to stories form Doctor David. Doctor David had come to stay in the African jungle for treating patients. Ever since then, people have liked him and accepted him.
David started his story:
“Those who walk according to the instinct of a monkey will surely fall into the death trap. There was a hunter called Peru. He wanted to hunt monkeys form the jungle so he planned a strategy in order to trap monkeys. He brought an empty oil tin from the market and cut a hole in it. The hole was just big enough for a monkey’s hand to slide in.
Then Peru put some sand and stones and on the top he put some groundnuts in the tin. It gave an impression that the tin was filled with groundnuts. So Peru took the tin and kept it under a tree in the jungle and went into hiding in the nearby thicket from where he could have a clear view.
After a while, a group of monkeys arrived in the scene. They were attracted by the smell of groundnuts. Monkeys have a weakness for groundnuts. It was hard to resist. Who could have left the tin of groundnuts? They were talking among themselves. The older monkeys were contemplating about the next action when a young monkey named Toto came near the tin. The smell of groundnuts was to mesmerizing. He was already salivating. The groundnuts were having the better of him, which stopped him from thinking twice. He peeped into the tin and without having a second thought, Toto plunged his hand into the tin. Wow! As soon as he reached into the nuts, he could not bear his joy. He grasped a handful of groundnuts. The next thing was to eat the nuts. All the groundnuts were his. Yum yum yummy………..
Hey! Wait a minute. His hand was not coming out! Toto tried to pull out his hand but to his great surprise his hand was stuck inside. Due to the groundnuts his fist was too big to come out of the hole. Toto screamed. All the monkeys gathered around him and tried to give him suggestions for escape. Toto tried his best to take out his hand but in vain. His hand full of nuts was stuck inside.
Watching form behind the bush Peru was congratulating himself for his trick. The hole was exactly made. Now he can advance and capture his catch.

The Giraffe spoke form the thorn bush and urgently spoke to Toto “ Leave the nuts Toto, then you can bring out your hand”
But Toto was not ready to let go of the nuts. He firmly held on to the nuts and wanted to pull out his hand.
Giraffe spoke again, “ Toto let go of the nuts. It is a trap laid out by the hunter. Leave the nuts.”
Toto turned a deaf ear to the Giraffe.
Slowly Peru came out of his hiding and walked towards Toto. All the other monkeys fled for their lives above the nearby trees. Toto was still holding onto the nuts. He was afraid to see the hunter striding towards him. He screamed and tried to drag the tin alongside him. Peru raised his staff and hit the monkey. Toto was too shocked form the blow. He fell back unconscious. His grip loosened inside the tin and his hand was free. But it was too late. Peru quickly picked up the monkey and out him in a sack.”
There was complete silence inside the cabin as every body was contemplating the misfortune of the monkey.
David said again, “ the name of this trap is Sin. The bible says that Sin tries to enslave us through its allurement. Like the groundnuts, there are many things in this world, which attract us and make us its slave. Perhaps we do not heed to others suggestions or advice for a clean and sinless life and walk according to our own wisdom like the foolish money. Then we arrive in a situation when it is too late for escape.”
We should not let ourselves to be trapped by any means.

True Stories that Inspire: A life of Substance

Many times we nurture low self-esteem looking at our figure, complexion, shape of the nose, or comparing with others wealth and status etc, etc. perhaps there are many things that we are not happy about ourselves. We reason by thinking “ if only my situation was different …..” . But it is possible to live a successful and meaningful life. There is no failure within God’s will and no success outside the will of God.

Here is a true story of an unnamed lady who made a big difference in others life with little love, care and patience.
There was an asylum in Boston, which had severely retarded and disturbed individuals as its inmates. One of the patients was a girl who was simply called Little Annie. She was totally unresponsive to others in the asylum. The staff tried everything possible to help her, yet without success. Finally she was confined to a cell in the basement of the asylum and given up as hopeless.
A Christian woman worked at the asylum, and she believed that every one of God’s creatures needed love, concern and care. So she decided to spend her lunch hours in front of Little Annie’s cell, reading to her and praying that God would free her from her prison of silence. Day after day the Christian woman came to Little Annie’s door and read, but the little girl did not respond. Months went by. The woman tried to talk with Little Annie, but it was like talking to an empty cell. She brought little tokens of food for the girl, but they were never received.
Then one day a brownie was missing from the plate the caring woman received from Little Annie’s cell. Encouraged, she continued to read to her and pray for her. Eventually the little girl began to answer the woman through the bars of her cell. Soon the woman convinced the doctors that Little Annie needed a second chance at treatment. They brought her up from the basement and continued to work with her. Within two years Little Annie was told she could leave the asylum and enjoy a normal life. She chose not to leave, though. She was so grateful for the love and attention she was given by the dedicated Christian woman that, she decided to stay and love others as she had been loved. So Little Annie stayed on at the institution to work with other patients who were suffering as she had suffered.
Nearly half a century later, the Queen of England held a special ceremony to honor on e of the most inspiring women in the United States, Hellen Keller. When asked to what she would attribute her success at overcoming her dual handicap of blindness and deafness, Hellen Keller replied, “ If it hadn’t been for Anne Sullivan, I wouldn’t be here today”. Anne Sullivan, who tenaciously loved and believed in an incorrigible blind and deaf girl named Helen Keller, was Little Annie.
Because one loving lady in the dungeon of an insane asylum believed that a hopeless little girl needed God’s love, the world received the marvelous gift of Hellen Keller.

Taken from N.T Anderson’s “ Victory over the Darkness”