Psalm 23:

I recently heard a lovely Korean woman recited this from memory as an example of scripture than sustained her while persecuted and tortured for her faith. She spoke the words through tears, it was incredibly powerful as it was translated for us, verse by verse:

A psalm of David.
1 The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing.
2 He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters,
3 he refreshes my soul. He guides me along the right paths for his name’s sake.
4 Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.
6 Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.
If you believe in God, this psalm of David gives us a succinct message of the promise from God that he will be with you no matter what.

Woman

When God created woman he was working late on the 6th day…….

An angel came by and asked.”Why spend so much time on her?”
The lord answered. “Have you seen all the specifications I have to meet to shape her? She must function on all kinds of situations, she must be able to embrace several kids at the same time, have a hug that can heal anything from a bruised knee to a broken heart, she must do all this with only two hands, she cures herself when sick and can work 18 hours a day…”

The Angel was impressed “Just two hands…..impossible! And this is the standard model?”

The Angel came closer and touched the woman “But you have made her so soft, Lord”.

“She is soft”, said the Lord, “But I have made her strong. You can’t imagine what she can endure and overcome”

“Can she think?” The Angel asked…

The Lord answered. “Not only can she think, she can reason and negotiate”

The Angel touched her cheeks….

“Lord, it seems this creation is leaking! You have put too many burdens on her”

“She is not leaking…it is a tear” The Lord corrected the Angel…

“What’s it for?” Asked the Angel….. .

The Lord said. “Tears are her way of expressing her grief, her doubts, her love, her loneliness, her suffering and her pride.”…

This made a big impression on the Angel, “Lord, you are a genius. You thought of everything. A woman is indeed marvellous”

Lord said.”Indeed she is. She has strength that amazes a man. She can handle trouble and carry heavy burdens. She holds happiness, love and opinions. She smiles when she feels like screaming. She sings when she feels like crying, cries when happy and laughs when afraid. She fights for what she believes in. Her love is unconditional. Her heart is broken when a next-of-kin or a friend dies but she finds strength to get on with life”

The Angel asked: So she is a perfect being?

The lord replied: No. She has just one drawback

“She often forgets what she is worth”.

Potatoes, eggs and coffee beans…

Once upon a time a daughter complained to her father that her life was miserable and that she didn’t know how she was going to make it. She was tired of fighting and struggling all the time. It seemed just as one problem was solved, another one soon followed.

Her father, a chef, took her to the kitchen. He filled three pots with water and placed each on a high fire. Once the three pots began to boil, he placed potatoes in one pot, eggs in the second pot, and ground coffee beans in the third pot. He then let them sit and boil, without saying a word to his daughter. The daughter, moaned and impatiently waited, wondering what he was doing. After twenty minutes he turned off the burners. He took the potatoes out of the pot and placed them in a bowl. He pulled the eggs out and placed them in a bowl. He then ladled the coffee out and placed it in a cup. Turning to her he asked. “Daughter, what do you see?”

“Potatoes, eggs, and coffee,” she hastily replied.

“Look closer,” he said, “and touch the potatoes.” She did and noted that they were soft. He then asked her to take an egg and break it. After pulling off the shell, she observed the hard-boiled egg. Finally, he asked her to sip the coffee. Its rich aroma brought a smile to her face.

“Father, what does this mean?” she asked. He then explained that the potatoes, the eggs and coffee beans had each faced the same adversity– the boiling water. However, each one reacted differently.

The potato went in strong, hard, and unrelenting, but in boiling water, it became soft and weak.

The egg was fragile, with the thin outer shell protecting its liquid interior until it was put in the boiling water. Then the inside of the egg became hard.

However, the ground coffee beans were unique. After they were exposed to the boiling water, they changed the water and created something new.

“Which are you,” he asked his daughter. “When adversity knocks on your door, how do you respond? Are you a potato, an egg, or a coffee bean? “

Moral:In life, things happen around us, things happen to us, but the only thing that truly matters is what happens within us.
Which one are you?