Clay Balls (Words of Wisdom)

[Jo McDonald]

       
A man was exploring caves by the Seashore.  In one of the caves he found a canvas bag with a bunch of hardened clay balls.  It was like someone had rolled clay balls and left them out in the sun to bake.   They didn't look like much, but they intrigued the man, so he took the bag out of the cave with him.  As he strolled along the beach, he would throw the clay balls one at a time out into the ocean as far as he could.   
He thought little about it, until he dropped one of the clay balls and it cracked open on a rock .  Inside was a beautiful, precious stone! 
Excited, the man started breaking open the remaining clay balls.  Each contained a similar treasure.  He found thousands of dollars worth of jewels in the 20 or so clay balls he had left.   
Then it struck him.  He had been on the beach a long time. He had thrown maybe 50 or 60 of the clay balls with their hidden treasure into the ocean waves.  Instead of thousands of dollars in treasure, he could have taken home tens of thousands, but he had just thrown it away!   
It's like that with people.  We look at someone, maybe even ourselves, and we see the external clay vessel..  It doesn't look like much from the outside.  It isn't always beautiful or sparkling, so we discount it.   
  We see that person as less important than someone more beautiful or stylish or well known or wealthy.  But we have not taken the time to find the treasure hidden inside that person.   
There is a treasure in each and every one of us.  If we take the time to get to know that person, and if we ask God to show us that person the way He sees them, then the clay begins to peel away and the brilliant gem begins to shine forth.
 May we not come to the end of our lives and find out that we have thrown away a fortune in friendships because the gems were hidden in bits of clay. May we see the people in our world as God sees them.   
 
                                             I am so blessed by the friendship I have. 
 

APPRECIATE EVERY SINGLE THING YOU HAVE, ESPECIALLY YOUR FRIENDS!

                                 LIFE IS TOO SHORT AND FRIENDS ARE TOO FEW!

[sixdogsmom]

Amen Jo, Amen.

[patyrn]

Very nice......................and so true..................................

[Ms Bear]

So true and I think some of us need to be reminded of this from time to time so Thankyou for reminding me.

[sixdogsmom]

Ms Bear, how is your mom doing? I think of you from time to time and was wondering.

[Ms Bear]

Thankyou for asking.  She is doing very good.  Doesn't know who I am but is always glad to see someone that is familiar.  If I tell her about family members she responds with "oh".  She is eating better and able to feed herself again.  She seems to be very comfortable at the Nursing Home, not agitated like she was in rehab.  I still wish I could bring her back home but it just isn't possible.  At least she is only twelve miles from where I live so I can go up often.

Pat

[sixdogsmom]

Happy to hear she is doing good and that you are able to spend time with her often. 

[flo]

Jo, I really liked reading about the clay balls.  This is so true and so many times that is the way people perceive others.  In going through some boxes in the basement last week, I found my autograph book that is dated 1950.  (I'd say I inheireted it, but nope, got it out of the fish pond at the school carnival according to my note I wrote on the inside cover).  Anyhow, I sat down to read the many autographed pages and my Grandma Edwards wrote much the same same and it went:

CHOOSE NOT YOUR FRIENDS FROM OUTWARD SHOW
FOR FEATHERS FLOAT BUT PEARLS LIE LOW.

[Ms Bear]

Can we have some more of the Autograph book?  If I can find my mother's I will add some, I remember that her aunts wrote in hers and the things they wrote are as true today as they were then.

[flo]

Thank You for the request, Ms. Bear.

This was written Dec. 3, 1950 by my Aunt Gladys (Edwards) Wiggins

May your life be like arithmetic -
Joys Added
Sorrows substracted,
Friends multiplied
Love Divided


I will add more from time to time