A Tale of Four Wives

Subject: A Tale of Four Wives Sun Jul 06, 2008 9:14 am

Once upon a time...there was a rich King who had four wives. He loved the fourth wife the most and adorned her with rich robes and treated her to the finest of delicacies. He gave her nothing but the best.

He also loved the third wife very much, and he was always showing her off to neighbouring kingdoms. However, he feared that one day she would leave him for another.

He also loved his second wife. She was his confidante and was always kind, considerate, and patient with him. Whenever the King faced a problem, he could confide in her to help him get through the difficult times.

The King's first wife was a very loyal partner and had made great contributions in maintaining his wealth and kingdom. However, he did not love the first wife and although she loved him deeply, he hardly took notice of her.

One day, the King fell ill, and he knew his time was short. He thought of his luxurious life and pondered, "I now have four wives with me, but when I die, I'll be all alone.
Thus, he asked the fourth wife, "I have loved you the most, endowed you with the finest clothing and showered great care over you. Now that I'm dying, will you follow me and keep me company?" "Absolutely not!" replied the fourth wife, and she walked away without another word. Her answer cut like a sharp knife right into his heart.

The sad King then asked the third wife, "I have loved you all my life. Now that I'm dying, will you follow me and keep me company?" "No," replied the third wife. "Life is too good! When you die, I'm going to remarry!" His heart sank and turned cold.

He then asked the second wife, "I have always turned to you for help, and you've always been there for me. When I die, will you follow me and keep me company?" "I'm sorry, I can't help you out this time," replied the second wife. "At the very most, I can only send you to your grave." Her answer came like a bolt of thunder, and the King was devastated.

Then a voice called out. "I'll leave with you and follow you no matter where you go." The King looked up, and there was his first wife. She was so sad and thin, she looked half-starved. Greatly grieved, the King said, "I should have taken much better care of you when I had the chance!"
In truth, we all have four wives in our lives: Our fourth wife is our body. No matter how much time and effort we lavish in making it look good, it'll leave us when we die.

Our third wife is our possessions, status, and wealth. When we die, it will all go to others.

Our second wife is our family and friends. No matter how much they have been there for us, the furthest they can stay by us is up to the grave.

And our first wife is our soul, often neglected in pursuit of wealth, power, and pleasures of the ego. However, our soul is the only thing that will follow us wherever we go. So cultivate, strengthen, and cherish it now! It IS your greatest gift to offer the world.

Subject: Re: A Tale of Four Wives Sun Jul 06, 2008 9:15 am

MEMO FROM GOD ~
To: You
Date: Today
From: God
Subject: Yourself
Reference: Life

I am God. Today I will be handling all of your problems. Please remember that I do not need your help. If life happens to deliver a situation to you that you cannot handle, do not attempt to resolve it. Kindly put it in the SFGTD (Something For God To Do) box.

All situations will be resolved, but in My time, not yours. Once the matter is placed into the box, do not hold onto it by worrying about it. Instead, focus on all the wonderful things that are present in your life now.

If you find yourself stuck in traffic, don't despair. There are people in this world for whom driving is an unheard of privilege.

Should you have a bad day at work, think of the man who has been out of work for years.

Should you despair over a relationship gone bad, think of the person who has never known what it's like to love and be loved in return.

Should you grieve the passing of another weekend, think of the woman in dire straits, working twelve hours a day, seven days a week to feed her children.

Should your car break down, leaving you miles away from assistance, think of the paraplegic who would love the opportunity to take that walk.

Should you notice a new gray hair in the mirror, think of the cancer patient in chemo who wishes she had hair to examine.

Should you find yourself at a loss and pondering what is life all about, asking what is my purpose? Be thankful. There are those who didn't live long enough to get the opportunity.

Should you find yourself the victim of other people's bitterness, ignorance, smallness or insecurities, remember, things could be worse. You could be one of them!

Should you decide to send this to a friend, Thank You. You may have touched their life in ways you will never know!

Subject: Re: A Tale of Four Wives Sun Jul 06, 2008 9:16 am

STORM CHILD ~
A little girl walked daily to and from school. Though the weather that morning was questionable and clouds were forming, she made her daily trek to the elementary school. As the afternoon progressed, the winds whipped up, along with thunder and lightning.

The mother of the little girl felt concerned that her daughter would be frightened as she walked home from school, and she herself feared that the electrical storm might harm her child.
Following the roar of thunder, lightning, like a flaming sword, would cut through the sky. Full of concern, the mother quickly got into her car and drove along the route to her child's school.
As she did so, she saw her little girl walking along, but at each flash of lightning, the child would stop, look and smile. Another and another were to follow quickly, each with the little girl stopping, looking at the streak of light and smiling.
Finally, the mother called her over to the car and asked, "What are you doing?"

The child answered, "God just keeps taking pictures of me,"
Lord, help me to trust You as much as this little one, especially when the storms of life crash around me.

God Bless you today, whatever storm you are facing!!

Subject: Re: A Tale of Four Wives Sun Jul 06, 2008 9:16 am

ANGELS ~
Two traveling angels stopped to spend the night in the home of a wealthy family. The family was rude and refused to let the angels stay in the mansion's guest room. Instead, the angels were given a small space in the cold basement. As they made their bed on the hard floor, the older angel saw a hole in the wall and repaired it.
When the younger angel asked why, the older angel replied, "Things aren't always what they seem."
The next night, the pair came to rest at the house of a very poor but very hospitable farmer and his wife. After sharing what little food they had, the couple let the angels sleep in their bed where they could have a good night's rest.
When the sun came up the next morning, the angels found the farmer and his wife in tears. Their only cow, whose milk had been their sole income, lay dead in the field. The younger angel was infuriated and asked the older angel how could you have let this happen? The first man had everything, yet you helped him, she accused. The second family had little but was willing to share everything, and you let the cow die.
"Things aren't always what they seem," the older angel replied.
"When we stayed in the basement of the mansion, I noticed there was gold stored in that hole in the wall. Since the owner was so obsessed with greed and unwilling to share his good fortune, I sealed the wall so he wouldn't find it."
"Then last night as we slept in the farmers bed, the angel of death came for his wife. I gave him the cow instead.
"Things aren't always what they seem." Sometimes that is exactly what happens when things don't turn out the way they should. If you have faith, you just need to trust that every outcome is always to your advantage. You might not know it until some time later...

~ Unknown ~

Subject: Re: A Tale of Four Wives Sun Jul 06, 2008 9:17 am

The Trouble Tree ~
The carpenter I hired to help restore my old farmhouse had a pretty rough first day on the job. A flat tire made him lose an hour of work in the morning. In the afternoon, his electric saw quit. At the end of the day, his ancient pick-up truck refused to start. As I drove him home, he sat next to me in stony silence.

When we arrived at his house, the carpenter invited me in to meet the family. As we walked toward the front door, he paused briefly in front of a small tree and touched the tips of its branches with both hands. He then opened the door and underwent an amazing transformation. His face was wreathed with smiles, and his voice was filled with laughter. He hugged his two small children and gave his wife a kiss.

When my visit was over, the carpenter walked me to my car. When we passed the tree, my curiosity got the better of me. So I asked him about what he had done earlier.

"Oh," the carpenter replied, "that's just my Trouble Tree. I know I can't help having troubles on the job," he continued, "but one thing's for sure, those troubles don't belong in my house. That's why every night when I come home, I just leave them outside by hanging them on the Trouble Tree.

"In the morning when I head off to work, I just pick my troubles up again." Smiling, the carpenter added, "The funny thing is, the troubles I pick up in the morning are not nearly as many as I remember hanging on the tree the night before."

~ Unknown ~

Subject: Re: A Tale of Four Wives Sun Jul 06, 2008 9:22 am

THINGS TO REMEMBER ~
1 no-one can ruin your day without your permission

2 most people will be about as happy as they decide to be

3 others can stop you temporarily but only you can do it permanently

4 whatever you are willing to put up with is exactly what you will have

5 success stops when you do

6 when your ship comes in make sure you're willing to unload it

7 you will never have it "all together"

8 life is a journey, not a destination, enjoy the trip

9 the biggest lie on the planet - "when i get what i want, i'll be happy"

10 the best way to escape a problem is to solve it

11 i've learned that ultimately, takers lose and givers win

12 life's precious moments don't have value unless they're shared

13 if you don't start, it's certain you wont arrive

14 we often fear the things we want the most

15 he or she who laughs, lasts

16 yesterday was the deadline for all complaints

17 look for opportunities, not guarantees

18 life is what's coming, not what was

19 success is getting up one more time

20 now is the most interesting time of all

21 when things go wrong don't go with the flow