I Got Flowers Today

(Dedicated to all Battered Women)
I got flowers today!
It wasn't my birthday or any other special day;
We had our first argument last night;
And he said a lot of cruel things that really hurt;
I know that he is sorry and didn't mean to say the things he said;
Because he sent me flowers today.
I got flowers today!
It wasn't our anniversary or any other special day;
Last night he threw me into a wall and then started choking me;
It seemed unreal, a nightmare, but you wake up from nightmares;
And I woke up this morning sore and bruised all over — but I know he is sorry;
Because he sent me flowers today.
I got flowers today!
And it wasn't Valentines Day or any other special day;
Last night he beat me and threatened to kill me;
Make-up and long sleeves didn't hide the cuts and bruises this time;
I couldn't go to work today because I didn't want anyone to know — but I know he's sorry;
Because he sent me flowers today.
I got flowers today!
And it wasn't Mother's Day or any other special day;
Last night he beat me again, and it was worse than all of the other times;
If I leave him, what will I do? How will I take care of the kids? What about money?
I'm afraid of him, but I'm too scared and dependent to leave him! But he must be sorry;
Because he sent me flowers today.
I got flowers today….
Today was a special day — it was the day of my funeral;
Last night he killed me;
If only I would have gathered the courage and strength to leave him;
I could have received help from the Women's Shelter, but I didn't ask for their help;
So I got flowers today — for the last time.
By Paulette Kelly

Live Today As if It's Your Last

Don't we tend to assume that our life span is unlimited? That we will have all the time to do what we want? That we will always be given another chance?

Well, I, and I'm sure you have realized that this is certainly not the case. Just take a look around. People are dying, the young and the old, the sick and the healthy, the poor and the rich. Death has no bias and sometimes no logical explanation. But one thing is for sure, it will happen to every one of us. And none of us is sure, it will happen to every one of us. And none of us is sure when that day will arrive when we have to exit the earth, leaving behind our loved ones, our unfulfilled dreams, our incomplete responsibilities. But to arrive it will.

Intimidating, is it not? So, what can we do about it? Can we conquer death? What do you say? No? Well, I think we can! How? Simple. Live each day and every day to the fullest as if it's the last one we have. Live so that when we die, our souls feels fulfilled and there is no remorse whatsoever.

Although I have been aware of this philosophy sine childhood, I used to take life for granted, thinking that I had all the time that I will ever need and want. I lived regretting yesterday and worrying about tomorrow, never enjoying "today". I was busy planning for for the morrow, always striving for more and stressing myself out in the process.

However, over time I observed the "passing" of so many young healthy persons who had such promising futures and I was "awakened" to what is. I even lost my mother suddenly; at one moment she was alive and jolly, within the next, she died, with no warning signals at all. I was jolted emotionally, spiritually and physically. I realized 'forcefully" that I was not truly living in the moment. I thought I had infinite time but this profound experience taught me that I did not and that I had to pay more reverence to "today".

Friends, we can never be sure of tomorrow, not even the next second. And this is why we must mentally detach from the physical world and stop taking the gift of life for granted. I agree that we must have high standards and "stretching" goals, but we should never sacrifice living in the present moment. The present is all that we will ever have. Make the time to relax and do the things that fill your heart with joy.

Let us live today as if it's our last day on earth. Thank God if we live to see tomorrow. But in case we don't, let us at least have no regrets. Life can be so blissful, but we have to savour every moment.

It's getting late for all of us. Each day lived is a day closer to death. So let's wait no more my friends. Laugh, love, serve, stretch your mind, smell the roses, hug your loved ones, listen to great music and inspirational messages, see the beauty in your surroundings and have a ton of fun (you deserve it). Today could be your last day. Make it count!

The Teacup

There was a couple who used to go to England to shop in the beautiful stores. They both liked antiques and pottery and especially teacups. This was their twenty-fifth wedding anniversary.
One day in this beautiful shop they saw a beautiful teacup. They said, "May we see that? We've never seen one quite so beautiful." As the lady handed it to them, suddenly the teacup spoke.
"You don't understand," it said. "I haven't always been a teacup. There was a time when I was red and I was clay." My master took me and rolled me and patted me over and over and I yelled out, "let me alone", but he only smiled, "Not yet."
"Then I was placed on a spinning wheel," the teacup said, "and suddenly I was spun around and around and around. Stop it! I'm getting dizzy!" I screamed. But the master only nodded and said, 'Not yet."
Then he put me in the oven. I never felt such heat. I wondered why he wanted to burn me, and I yelled and knocked at the door. I could see him through the opening and I could read his lips as He shook his head, "Not yet."

Finally the door opened, he put me on the shelf, and I began to cool. "There, that's better," I said. And he brushed and painted me all over. The fumes were horrible. I thought I would gag. "Stop it, stop it!" I cried. He only nodded, "Not yet."
Then suddenly he put me back into the oven, not like the first one. This was twice as hot and I knew I would suffocate. I begged. I pleaded. I screamed. I cried. All the time I could see him through the opening nodding his head saying, "Not yet."
Then I knew there wasn't any hope. I would never make it. I was ready to give up. But the door opened and he took me out and placed me on the shelf. One hour later he handed me a mirror and said, "Look at yourself." And I did. I said, "That's not me; that couldn't be me. It's beautiful. I'm beautiful." "I want you to remember, then," he said, "I know it hurts to be rolled and patted, but if I had left you alone, you'd have dried up. I know it made you dizzy to spin around on the wheel, but if I had stopped, you would have crumbled. I knew it hurt and was hot and disagreeable in the oven, but if I hadn't put you there, you would have cracked. I know the fumes were bad when I brushed and painted you all over, but if I hadn't done that, you never would have hardened; you would not have had any color in your life. And if I hadn't put you back in that second oven, you wouldn't survive for very long because the hardness would not have held. Now you are a finished product. You are what I had in mind when I first began with you."
MORAL:
God knows what He's doing (for all of us).
He is the Potter, and we are His clay.
He will mold us and make us,
So that we may be made into a flawless piece of work
To fulfill His good, pleasing, and perfect will.
No temptation has seized you except what is common to man.
And God is faithful; he will not tempt you beyond what you can bear.
(1 Corinthians 10:13)
Author Unknown