Inspirational Quotes & Stories about Faith
You're always in the right place at the right time.
In
order to experience peace of mind and joy in the present moment, trust
and have faith that you are always in the right place at the right time.
The following short story highlights this point and is taken from Lilly
Walter's book, "One Hand Typing and Keyboarding Manual: With Personal
Motivational Messages from Others Who Have Overcome."
"One of my joys
and passions is my voice. I love to perform in our local community
theaters. My throat became very sore during a particularly grueling show
run. It was my first time performing an operatic piece, and I was
terrified that I had actually done some damage to my vocal cords. I was
a lead and we were about to open. So I made an appointment with my
family doctor, where I waited for an hour. I finally left in a huff,
went back to work, grabbed a phone book and found a throat specialist
close by. Once more, I made an appointment, and off I went.
The nurse showed me
in and I sat down to wait for the doctor. I was feeling very
disgruntled. I rarely get sick, and here I was, sick when I needed to be
healthy. Besides, I had to take time out of my workday to go to two
different doctors, both of whom kept me waiting. It was very
frustrating. Why do these things have to happen? A moment later the
nurse came back in, and said, "May I ask you something personal?"
This seemed odd;
what else do they ask you but personal questions in a doctor's office?
But I looked at the nurse and replied, "Yes, of course."
"I noticed your
hand," she said hesitantly.
I lost half of my
left hand in a forklift accident when I was 11. I think it is one of the
reasons I didn't follow my dream of performing in theater, although
everyone says, "Gee, I never noticed! You are so natural." In the back
of my mind I thought that they only wanted to see perfect people on
stage. No one would want to see me. But I love musical comedies, and I
do have a good voice. So one day, I tried out at our local community
theatre. I was the first one they cast! That was three years ago. Since
then, I have been cast in almost everything I tried out for.
The nurse
continued, "What I need to know is how has this affected your life."
Never in the 25 years since it happened has someone asked me this. Maybe
they'll say, "Does it bother you?" but never anything as sweeping as,
"How has it affected your life?"
After an awkward
pause, she said, "You see, I just had a baby, and her hand is like
yours. I, well, need to know how it has affected your life."
"How has it
affected my life?" I thought about it a bit, so I could think of the
right words to say. Finally, I said, "It has affected my life, but not
in a bad way-I do many things that people with two normal hands find
difficult. I type about 75 words a minute, I play the guitar, I have
ridden and shown horses for years, and I even have a Housemasters
Degree. I'm involved in musical theater, and I am a professional
speaker. I am constantly in front of a crowd. I do television shows four
or five times a year. I think it was never "difficult" because of the
love and encouragement of my family. They always talked about all the
great notoriety I would get because I would learn how to do things with
one hand that most people had trouble doing with two. We were all very
excited about that. That was the main focus, not the handicap.
"Your daughter does
not have a problem. She is normal. You are the one who will teach her to
think of herself as anything else. She will come to know she is
"different," but you will teach her that different is wonderful. Normal
means you are average. What's fun about that?"
She was silent for
a while. Then she simply said, "Thank you" and walked out.
I sat there
thinking, "Why do these things have to happen?" Everything happens for a
reason, even that forklift falling on my hand. All the circumstances
leading up to being at this doctor's office, and this moment in time
happened for a reason.
The doctor came in,
looked at my throat and said he wanted to anesthetize and put a probe
down it to examine it. Well, singers are very paranoid about putting
medical instruments down their throats, especially ones so rough they
need to be anesthetized!
I said, "No
thanks," and walked out.
The next day, my
throat was completely better."
22
-
Lilly Walters,
One Hand Typing and Keyboarding Manual:
With Personal Motivational Messages from Others Who Have Overcome
Cited in You Have Chosen to Remember, p. 193-195
Read the section of the book that this
inspirational quote comes from.
I feel your pain,
yet all pain is self-inflicted. So if all pain is self-inflicted, how,
you may ask, do I feel your pain? Ah, the answer is as simple as the
question, for the answer came even before the question. There is nothing
you can feel, nothing you can accomplish without Me, for there is
nothing I can be, feel or accomplish without you. Herein lies the gift
we hold for each other. At times, you might think this is not true, yet
aren't those the times when you are at your loneliest? Be lonely, my
brother, for that is your choice, but understand that you have chosen it
and understand that you feel lonely, not because you are alone, but
because you think you are. There is one thing that I know, feel and
live, from the grandest of ballrooms to the smallest crevices in my
heart. You may feel lonely but you are never alone. Simply remember
this: You are never alone for I Am always with you. Choose to feel Me in
the silence and I Am there, let Me cover you and no rain shall touch
your head, not even in the grandest of storms, when you remember that I
Am with you.
-
James Blanchard Cisneros, You Have Chosen to Remember: A Journey From
Perception to Knowledge, Peace of Mind and Joy, p. 218-219
Read the section of the book that this
inspirational quote comes from.
Footnotes / Acknowledgments
Every effort has been made to provide accurate source attribution.
Should any attribution be found to be incorrect, the author welcomes
written documentation supporting correction for subsequent printings.
For material not in the public domain, selection was made according to
generally accepted fair-use standards and practices.
22.
Lilly Walters, (www.motivational-keynote-speakers.com)
One Hand Typing and Keyboarding Manual: With Personal Motivational
Messages From Others Who Have Overcome, Copyright 2003 (ABC Schermerhorn
Walters, Co.).
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All of the proceeds from the book 'You Have Chosen to Remember'
go to the charity StandUp for Kids, a
501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization founded in 1990 to help rescue homeless
and at-risk youth. Click here
to learn more about StandUp for Kids.
- If you would
like to
purchase the book 'You Have
Chosen to Remember'
click here.
-
If you would like the book but can not afford to buy it
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- If you would
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