They walked in tandem, each of the ninety-two students filing into the already crowded auditorium. With their rich maroon gowns flowing .. And the traditional caps, they looked almost .. As grown up as they felt.

Dads swallowed hard behind broad smiles, and Moms freely brushed away tears.

This class would NOT pray during the commencements—-not by choice, but because of a recent court ruling prohibiting it.

The principal and several students were careful to stay within the guidelines allowed by the ruling. They gave inspirational and challenging speeches, but no one mentioned divine guidance and no one asked for blessings on the graduates or their families..

The speeches were nice, but they were routine…..until the final speech received a standing ovation.

A solitary student walked proudly to the microphone. He stood still and silent for just a moment, and then, it happened.

All 92 students, every single one of them, suddenly SNEEZED!!!!

The student on stage.. Simply looked at the audience and said,

‘GOD BLESS YOU, each and everyone of you!’ And he walked off stage…

The audience exploded into applause. This graduating class had found a unique way to invoke God’s blessing on their future with or without the court’s approval.

Isn’t this a wonderful story? Pass it on to all your friends…………..and

GOD BLESS YOU!!!!

This is a true story; it happened at the University of Maryland .

Oh, how I wish THIS one would take off and FILL the whole Country!!!

Once upon a time there was a beautiful lily. This lily had a bluebird friend who used to perch on a nearby fencepost and visit with her nearly every day. Together they enjoyed observing the rancher and his family who owned the place here they lived. They watched as, day after day, the rancher and his family worked tirelessly.

Though their ranch was profitable and their hard work admirable, the conversation the friends overheard and the things they observed were curious to the pair. It seemed the more profitable the ranch became, the more the family thought they needed.

The bluebird made an observational flight over the rancher’s domain, “You know, lily,” he said upon his return, “All their hard work is really paying off. They have increased and improved this place substantially in the last few years.”

“I know,” replied the lily, “But have you also noticed that along with their increase they have less and less time for each other. They have all but quit going to church, and I hear them arguing more and more. And come to think of it,” she observed, “I used to see the farmer and his wife taking long walks. Sometimes they walked together, hand in hand and at other times I used to see each of them taking time out of their busy days for a stroll alone in the woods, talking with the
Lord. Nowadays however, they are too busy for that.”

The bluebird chimed in, “Now they’ve turned the management of the farm over to the farmhands and have both taken jobs in the city in order to earn even more money so they can keep up the possessions they already have.”

“Yes, and they’ve also bought a second home in Florida so they can have a nice warm place to live when it gets too cold here,” said the lily.

The bluebird heaved a mournful sigh, “Lily,” he said, “When the rancher and his family went to church, do you think they heard how the Heavenly Father told them to take a close look at you and me and to observe the secret of simplicity in how He takes care of His creatures? It seems to me they are complicating their lives instead of making them better.

To all this, the beautiful lily replied, “Why is it that people go to school and study textbooks and learn many great things, yet they aren’t smart enough to read God’s textbook on life and apply it?”

“Yeah,” said the bluebird, “Then they too could fly and be free.”

- – - – - – contributed by Daphne Harrington

Brenda was a young woman who was invited to go rock climbing. Although she was scared to death, she went with her group to a tremendous granite cliff. In spite of her fear, she put on the gear, took a hold on the rope, and started up the face of that rock. Well, she got to a ledge where she could take a breather. As she was hanging on there, the safety rope snapped against Brenda’s eye and knocked out her contact lens.

Well, here she is on a rock ledge, with hundreds of feet below her and hundreds of feet above her. Of course, she looked and looked and looked, hoping it had landed on the ledge, but it just wasn’t there. Here she was, far from home, her sight now blurry. She was desperate and began to get upset, so she prayed to the Lord to help her to find it.

When she got to the top, a friend examined her eye and her clothing for the lens, but there was no contact lens to be found. She sat down, despondent, with the rest of the party, waiting for the rest of them to make it up the face of the cliff. She looked out across range after range of mountains, thinking of that Bible verse that says, “The eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth.”

She thought, “Lord, You can see all these mountains. You know every stone and leaf, and You know exactly where my contact lens is. Please help me.” Finally, they walked down the trail to the bottom. At the bottom there was a new party of climbers just starting up the face of the cliff.

One of them shouted out, “Hey, you guys! Anybody lose a contact lens?” Well, that would be startling enough, but you know why the climber saw it? An ant was moving slowly across the face of the rock, carrying it!

Brenda told me that her father is a cartoonist. When she told him the incredible story of the ant, the prayer, and the contact lens, he drew a picture of an ant lugging that contact lens with the words, “Lord, I don’t know why You want me to carry this thing. I can’t eat it, and it’s awfully heavy. But if this is what You want me to do, I’ll carry it for You.”

At the risk of being accused of being fatalistic, I think it would probably do some of us good to occasionally say, “God, I don’t know why you want me to carry this load. I can see no good in it and it’s awfully heavy. But, if you want me to carry it, I will.”