Lunch with God!!!

Hi all :D
I got this beautiful story as a forward and just had to share it here... We don't realize the importance of the little things in life. They make life worth living and true joy can be found in these little things :) The story goes:

A little boy wanted to meet God. He knew it was going to be a long journey, so he packed few packets of wafers and a few bottles of juice and set out. When he had gone few blocks away, he met an elderly man. The man was sitting on a bench in a park, feeding some pigeons. The boy sat down next to him and opened his backpack to have a drink, when he noticed that the man appeared a bit hungry. So he offered him a wafer. The man accepted it gratefully and smiled at the boy. His smile was so pleasant that the boy wanted to see it again. So he offered him some juice. Again the man smiled at him. The little boy was delighted! They sat there all afternoon eating, drinking and smiling, but never said a word. Soon it become late and the boy realized he had to get home. So he packed his stuff and got up to leave. But before he could go many steps away, he turned, ran back to the man and gave him a hug... The man gave him his biggest smile ever. Later, when his mother opened the door to his bell, she was surprised by the look of joy on his face and asked him, "What have you been doing to make you so happy?". He replied, " I had lunch with God today!". Before his mother could respond, he added "You know, God has the most beautiful smile ever!".

Meanwhile, the elderly man, also radiant with joy entered his house. His surprised son asked him, "Dad what did you do today that made you so happy?". The man replied, "I had wafers and juice with God today!" Before his son could respond, he added "You know God is much younger than I expected!"

Too often we underestimate the power of a touch,

a smile,

a kind word,

a listening ear,

an honest compliment,

or the smallest act of caring,

all of which have the potential to turn a life around.

People come into our lives for a reason,

a season,

or a lifetime.

Faith... ??

Faith has always been a topic of conflict. Faith, by definition means accepting something without knowing all the facts about it. Its about belief & trust. We all have faith at various levels... Faith on our parents, friends, politicians (yeah right... :P ), doctor (if not, better change your doctor.. :P ), God (unless you're an atheist.. ), the architect and masons who built the building you're in right now (if not, RUN!!! ) etc... etc...
The most conflicting aspect of faith is faith in God or the unseen power. I for one am not an atheist & believe in God. To me, faith in the divine is knowing that life is a game... Chill maaro yaar; everything is being taken care of :) There is an up for every down. "Its the darkest before dawn"... etc... I feel having faith in the divine does not weaken you. It in fact empowers you to see things as a game; look at your problems as challenges and gives you the energy & enthusiasm to tackle them head on. I got this story in a forward. Wanted to share it... Many of you might have already read it... Here it goes anyways :

A business executive was deep in debt and could see no way out. Creditors were closing in on him. Suppliers were demanding payment. He sat on the park bench, head in hands, wondering if anything could save his company from bankruptcy.

Suddenly an old man appeared before him. “I can see that something is troubling you,” he said. After listening to the executive’s woes, the old man said, “I believe I can help you.”

He asked the man his name, wrote out a check, and pushed it into his hand saying, “Take this money. Meet me here exactly one year from today, and you can pay me back at that time.” The business executive saw in his hand a check for $500,000, signed by John D. Rockefeller, then one of the richest men in the world!

“I can erase my money worries in an instant!” he realized. But instead, the executive decided to put the un-cashed check in his safe. Just knowing it was there might give him the strength to work out a way to save his business, he thought.

With renewed optimism, he negotiated better deals and extended terms of payment. He closed several big sales. Within a few months, he was out of debt and making money once again.

One year later, he returned to the park with the un-cashed check. At the agreed-upon time, the old man appeared. But just as the executive was about to hand back the check and share his success story, a nurse came running up and grabbed the old man.

“I’m so glad I caught him!” she cried. “I hope he hasn’t been bothering you. He’s always escaping from the home and telling people he’s John D. Rockefeller.”And she led the old man away.

The astonished executive just stood there, stunned. All year long he’d been wheeling and dealing, buying and selling, convinced he had half a million dollars behind him.

Suddenly, he realized that it wasn’t the money that had turned his life around. It was his newfound self-confidence that gave him the power to achieve anything he went after.

All the best for all your endeavors... Have fun and enjoy life :)