THE GARDEN OF LOVE

(photo courtesy of 1-800Flowers.com)

by Ann Platz

Before I met my husband, John, every attempt I'd made to find and keep love had led to disappointment and heartbreak.

John knew this, and so when he proposed to me, he vowed, "Your life with me will be a bed of roses!"

I was deeply touched by John's sentiment, especially since I knew he would do everything he could to make good on his promise. But of course, hardships come in life no matter how wonderfully our spouses treat us. And by the time our tenth anniversary rolled down, we'd experienced our share of stress and difficulty. It had been the hardest year we'd encountered together so far. What if John actually forgot our anniversary? After all, I'd been disappointed by men so many times before.

I need not have worried. John took me to a beautiful restaurant where he'd reserved a table with a lovely view. After a delicious, romantic meal by candlelight, we returned home and prepared for bed. In our bathroom, I brushed my hair a long time and applied some of John's favorite perfume.

When I came back into the bedroom, I noticed that John was smiling like an excited little boy. I couldn't imagine what he'd been up to. Then suddenly he folded the bedcovers back, and I gasped with delight and surprise. The entire bed was covered in rose petals, their fragrance filling the room.

“John, how did you do this? Where did you get all these roses?"

"Well," he said with a big grin," I called the florist and ordered pale pink Oceana roses like the ones you carried in your bouquet when we married. I requested that the blossoms be full and that the roses not be arranged. Then I spent hours gently pulling the petals apart."

I was so overwhelmed by his gesture that my eyes spilled over with tears. As John kissed them away, he gently held me and whispered, "Didn't I promise you a bed of roses when I proposed?"

"Yes, you did! But I never..."

That evening John and I celebrated our anniversary in a garden of love--and there were no thorns. I felt my wounded heart let go of old pains and lingering doubts. In their place, a healing peace engulfed me, and I fully understood the words from 1 John 4:18 for the first time:

"Perfect love drives out fear."

"LIVE NOW, BELIEVE ME, WAIT NOT TILL TOMORROW; GATHER THE ROSES OF LIFE TODAY." -  

Pierre De Ronsard

Peter Allan C. Mariano

Talakayan at Kalusugan - DWAD1098KHz 10-11am Every Tuesday 
The Big NM - Network Management for Filipinos
Links2Prosperity Marketing - Web Marketing : Web Content : Web Design
Entreplink Philippines - Moderator

Follow me on TWITTER:
Join my FACEBOOK Family:

Love’s Tech Support

Tech Support: Yes, how can I help you?

Customer: Well, after much consideration, I've decided to install Love. Can you guide me though the process?

Tech Support: Yes. I can help you. Are you ready to proceed?

Customer: Well, I'm not very technical, but I think I'm ready. What do I do first?

Tech Support: The first step is to open your Heart. Have you located your Heart?

Customer: Yes, but there are several other programs running now. Is it okay to install Love while they are running?

Tech Support: What programs are running?

Customer: Let's see, I have Past Hurt, Low Self- Esteem, Grudge and Resentment running right now.

Tech Support: No problem, Love will gradually erase Past Hurt from your current operating system. It may remain in your permanent memory but it will no longer disrupt other programs. Love will eventually override Low Self-Esteem with a module of its own called High Self-Esteem. However, you have to completely turn off Grudge and Resentment. Those programs prevent Love from being properly installed. Can you turn those off?

Customer: I don't know how to turn them off. Can you tell me how?

Tech Support: With pleasure. Go to your start menu and invoke Forgiveness. Do this as many times as necessary until Grudge and Resentment have been completely erased.

Customer: Okay, done! Love has started installing itself. Is that normal?

Tech Support: Yes, but remember that you have only the base program. You need to begin connecting to other Hearts in order to get the upgrades.

Customer: Oops! I have an error message already. It says, "Error - Program not run on external components." What should I do?

Tech Support: Don't worry. It means that the Love program is set up to run on Internal Hearts, but has not yet been run on your Heart. In non-technical terms, it simply means you have to Love yourself before you can Love others.

Customer: So, what should I do?

Tech Support: Pull down Self-Acceptance; then click on the following files: Forgive-Self; Realize Your Worth; and Acknowledge your Limitations.

Customer: Okay, done.

Tech Support: Now, copy them to the "My Heart" directory. The system will overwrite any conflicting files and begin patching faulty programming. Also, you need to delete Verbose Self-Criticism from all directories and empty your Recycle Bin to make sure it is completely gone and never comes back.

Customer: Got it. Hey! My heart is filling up with new files. Smile is playing on my monitor and Peace and Contentment are copying themselves all over My Heart. Is this normal?

Tech Support: Sometimes. For others it takes awhile, but eventually everything gets it at the proper time. So Love is installed and running. One more thing before we hang up. Love is Freeware. Be sure to give it and its various modules to everyone you meet. They will in turn share it with others and return some cool modules back to you.

Customer: Thank you, God.


=========

Peter Allan C. Mariano

Talakayan at Kalusugan - DWAD1098KHz 10-11am Every Tuesday 
The Big NM - Network Management for Filipinos
Links2Prosperity Marketing - Web Marketing : Web Content : Web Design
Entreplink Philippines - Moderator

Follow me on TWITTER:
Join my FACEBOOK Family:

Love: the Greatest Value of All

Watching You


The passengers on the bus watched sympathetically as the attractive young woman with the white cane made her way carefully up the steps. She paid the driver and, using her hands to feel the location of the seats, walked down the aisle and found the seat he'd told her was empty. Then she settled in, placed her briefcase on her lap and rested her cane against her leg.

It had been a year since Susan, 34, became blind. Due to a medical misdiagnosis she had been rendered sightless, and she was suddenly thrown into a world of darkness, anger, frustration and self-pity. And all she had to cling to was her husband, Mark. Mark was an Air Force officer and he loved Susan with all his heart. When she first lost her sight, he watched her sink into despair and was determined to help his wife gain the strength and confidence she needed to become independent again.

Finally, Susan felt ready to return to her job, but how would she get there? She used to take the bus, but was now too frightened to get around the city by herself. Mark volunteered to drive her to work each day, even though they worked at opposite ends of the city. At first, this comforted Susan, and fulfilled Mark's need to protect his sightless wife who was so insecure about performing the slightest task.

Soon, however, Mark realized the arrangement wasn't working. Susan is going to have to start taking the bus again, he admitted to himself. But she was still so fragile, so angry how would she react? Just as he predicted, Susan was horrified at the idea of taking the bus again. "I'm blind!", she responded bitterly. "How am I supposed to know where I am going? I feel like you're abandoning me." Mark's heart broke to hear these words, but he knew what had to be done.

He promised Susan that each morning and evening he would ride the bus with her, for as long as it took, until she got the hang of it. And that is exactly what happened. For two solid weeks, Mark, military uniform and all, accompanied Susan to and from work each day. He taught her how to rely on her other senses, specifically her hearing, to determine where she was and how to adapt her new environment. He helped her befriend the bus drivers who could watch out for her, and save her a seat.

Finally, Susan decided that she was ready to try the trip on her own. Monday morning arrived, and before she left, she threw her arms around Mark, her temporary bus-riding companion, her husband, and her best friend. Her eyes filled with tears of gratitude for his loyalty, his patience, and his love. She said good-bye, and for the first time, they went their separate ways. Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday... Each day on her own went perfectly, and Susan had never felt better. She was doing it! She was going to work all by herself.

On Friday morning, Susan took the bus to work as usual. As she was paying the fare to exit the bus, the driver said, "Boy, I sure do envy you."

Susan wasn't sure if the driver was speaking to her or not. After all, who on earth would ever envy a blind woman who had struggled just to find the courage to live for the past year? Curious, she asked the driver, "Why do you say that you envy me?"

The driver responded, "It must feel good to be taken cared of and protected like you are." Susan had no idea what the driver was talking about, and again asked, "What do you mean?" The driver answered, "You know, every morning for the past week, a fine looking gentleman in a military uniform has been standing across the corner watching you as you get off the bus. He makes sure you cross the street safely and he watches until you enter your office building. Then he blows you a kiss, gives you a little salute and walks away. You are one lucky lady."

Tears of happiness poured down Susan's cheeks. For although she couldn't physically see him, she had always felt Mark's presence. She was lucky, so lucky, for he had given her a gift more powerful than sight, a gift she didn't need to see to believe - the gift of love that can bring light where there is darkness.

God watches over us in just the same way. We may not know He is present, but He is. We may not be able to see His face, but He is there nonetheless!

Be blessed in this thought. God loves You - even when you are not looking.

(source unkown)


----------

Peter Allan C. Mariano

Talakayan at Kalusugan - DWAD1098KHz 10-11am Every Tuesday 
The Big NM - Network Management for Filipinos
Links2Prosperity Marketing - Web Marketing : Web Content : Web Design
Entreplink Philippines - Moderator

Follow me on TWITTER:
Join my FACEBOOK Family: