BRIAN BOYLE: WHY ME?

"If I were to say, 'God, why me?' about the bad things, then I should have said, 'God, why me?' about the good things that happened in my life." - Arthur Ashe

Do you sometimes get agitated, and heartbroken when seemingly incomprehensible things happen to you? Meanwhile you're a born again, God-fearing, neighbour-loving patriotic citizen of your country? Do you try to ask, "Why me?" Well, for most of people, they have been through so much 'badness' that they have been advised, like Job, to just curse God and die.
My name is Brian Boyle, and this is my story.

A month after I graduated high school, I was was involved in a near fatal car accident with a dump truck, on my way from swim practice. The impact of the crash ripped my heart across my chest. Shattered my ribs, collapsed my lungs, damaged every single organ. My kidneys and liver failed, removed my spleen and gall-bladder. Lost sixty percent of my blood. I was in a coma, on life support, for over two

TATTOOS IV

"The purpose of human life is to serve, and to show compassion and the will to help others." - Albert Schweitzer

Continued from three days ago:

As he cried, I smiled through my tears. I said "Don’t say anything." I noticed the tattoo on his neck, it said "Mama tried." As we piled into the van to drive away, he was on his knees, arms around his dog, and smiling. I waved, and then broke down in tears. Just then I realized, I have so much. Yet didn't know. My worries seem trivial now: I have a home, a loving husband, four beautiful children. I have a bed. I wondered where he would sleep tonight. My daughter, Cecilia turned to me and said, "I feel so good." Although we'd helped him, the man with the tattoos gave us a gift - he taught that no matter how the outward looked like, each of us deserve of kindness, compassion, and acceptance.

Arnold Schwarzenegger hit the nail on the head when he said, "Help others and give something back. I guarantee you will discover that while public service improves the lives and the

TATTOOS III

"Condemn none: if you can stretch out a helping hand, do so..." - Swami Vivekananda

Continued:

"Go back and tell him to stay there, that we will be back in fifteen minutes," I told Nick. We hurried to the nearest store: bought our gifts carefully. "It can’t be too heavy," I explained. "He has to be able to carry it around." We settled on our purchases. We rushed back to the spot where we left him, and there he was, still waiting. And still, nobody else was stopping for him. With hands shaking, I grabbed our bags and climbed out of the car, all five of us, each carrying a gift. As we walked up to him, I feared, hoping he wasn’t a serial killer. I looked into his eyes and saw something that startled me: I'd misjudged him. He was fighting to hold back his tears. How long had it been since someone showed this man kindness? He stood there, like a child, and I felt like my small contributions were so inadequate. As he stood up, I looked directly into my eyes: there were so blue, so intense and mine filled with tears as he said, "Ma’am, I don’t know

TATTOOS II

"People who look down on other people don't end up being looked up to." - Robert Half

 Continued from yesterday:

This tattooed man was tired and worn-out - sweat trickling down his face. I reached into my purse for a ten-dollar bill. "Can I take it to him, Mom?" My son pleaded. "Be careful, honey." I warned handing him the money. I watched, as he rushed over to the man. With a smile, he handed it to him. The man was startled: he stood took the money, and put it in his pocket. "Good," I thought to myself, "now he will at least have a hot meal tonight." I felt satisfied, proud of myself. I'd made a sacrifice and now I could go on with my errands. When Nick got back into the car, he looked at me with sad, pleading eyes. I knew I had to do more

Many times, God brings us across needy people, in order to slow us down, from trying so hard to get all our needs met, to getting us meet other people's needs. We can't be kind to everyone,

TATTOOS

"People who look down on other people don't end up being looked up to." - Robert Half 

He was scary. His cardboard sign, his dog and tattoos running up and down his arms, and neck. His sign said he was, "stuck and hungry" and needed help. I always fall for anyone needing help. My husband both loves and hates this quality in me. It often makes him nervous: if he saw me right now, he’d be nervous but he wasn’t with me right now. I pulled my van over, and in my rear-view mirror, I reasoned this man: tattoos and all. He wore a bandanna, tied over his head. Anyone could see he was dirty. Nobody else was stopping for him. I could see the other drivers take one look and immediately focus on something else – anything else.

Mabinty Kanu said, "Never look down on anyone because of their present situation. Sometimes the people you look down

SUSIE III

"Even when all hope is gone, God knows our pain and His promise remains. He will be with you always." - Unknown

Continued from two days ago:
Susie tries to help out, but they tell her to get out. "You’ve done enough, you klutz!" Finally, at the end of the day, as they are waiting for the bus, the boy walks over to Susie and whispers, "You did that on purpose, didn’t you?"
Susie whispers back, "I wet my pants once too."

Only someone who has been in a situation, knows what it's like to be in that situation. For instance, you might be unable to console a grieving parent - after losing their child - it's almost futile, if the 'consoler' or sympathizer hasn't lost a child through such means before. A widower will more effectively be able to console another widower going through such loss. In essence, many of life's experiences can only be understood by ONLY experiencing them, firsthand. The

SUSIE II

"God wants to rescue us, not destroy us..." - Sylvain Reynnard 

Continued from yesterday...

This nine-year-old looks up after praying, towards him comes the teacher with a look in her eyes that says, 'you have been discovered.' As the teacher walks toward him, Susie - his classmate - is coming towards him with a goldfish bowl filled with water. She trips in front of the teacher and inexplicably dumps the bowl of water in the boy’s lap. The boy pretends to be angry, but all the while is saying to himself, "Thank you, Lord! Thank you, Lord!" All of a sudden, instead of being the object of ridicule, he becomes the object of sympathy. The teacher rushes him downstairs, gives him clean gym shorts to put on while his pants dry out.

All the other children are on their hands and knees cleaning up around his desk. The sympathy is wonderful. As it turns out, the ridicule that should have been his, has been transferred to

SUSIE

"We are in a tight corner, now, I agree. But we have been in tight corners before and come out of them. You have to be brave a little longer." - Mary Hoffman 

A nine-year-old is sitting at his desk, all of a sudden, there is a puddle between his feet: his pants are wet in front. He cannot possibly imagine how this has happened. It’s never happened before: he knows when the boys find out he will never hear the end of it. The girls will never speak to him again as long as he lives. He believes his heart is going to stop, he puts his head down, "Dear God, this is an emergency! I need help now! Five minutes from now I’m dead meat."

Have you ever been in a tight corner: in a situation, where the only thing you can do is pray, asking God to rescue you, because you know no one else can extricate you from such situations? At such emergencies in life, when friends are too far to reach. Or when you need help faster than you can do anything else. What do you do when situations you've never envisaged, show up,

BAG OF DIRTY SOCKS FOR $2800 II: MOTIVE

"The light of lights looks always on the motive, not the deed, the shadow of shadows on the deed alone." - William Butler Yeats 

Continued from yesterday:

Michael Suarez pleaded guilty to "false pretenses," while his accomplices pleaded guilty to attempted possession of marijuana with INTENT to deliver. In the meantime, the "buyers" of the bag of socks face charges of attempting to purchase an illegal substance. Suarez is guilty of false pretenses. Then, his accomplice guilty of attempted possession of marijuana with the INTENT to deliver. Finally, the couple who purchased the back of dirty socks, is guilty of 'desire' to purchase an illegal substance. You will notice that, none of these people were in actual possession of the substance, but EVIL motives.

Motive, is a powerful driving force behind good or evil. When we do things, the motive behind those actions determine whether they're worthy or unworthy. An action might, in itself not be sinful, but the motive completely sinful. For instance, sitting on a park bench because you're tired, and need to catch your breath is okay. But sitting on it hoping it will break under your

BAG OF DIRTY SOCKS FOR $2800

"Temptation is the devil looking through the keyhole. Yielding is opening the door and inviting him in." - Billy Sunday

Michael Suarez of Ypsilanti, Michigan, arranged to sell a pound of Marijuana for the sum of $2800. He and a couple of friends were to deliver the drugs to a couple waiting at a local park. Here’s where it gets interesting. Suarez and his accomplices didn’t bring marijuana to the drug drop at all - instead, they brought a backpack full of dirty socks! Upon delivery of the backpack, Suarez and friends received payment of $2800 and quickly sped away. Racing from the scene, Suarez ran a stop sign and was promptly pulled over by a vigilant police officer. Then, during the traffic stop, the officer was approached by a man claiming to have been robbed by Suarez. Upon search of Suarez’ vehicle, the officer found the $2800 in cash made as payment for the backpack full of dirty socks. It did not escape the officer's attention, however, that the man crying "Thief!" had

THE MANGO FRUIT

"Only GOD, can turn a mess into a message, a test into a testimony. A trial into triumph, and a victim into a victor." - Unknown 

Physics Teacher: "Isaac Newton was sitting under a tree; when an apple fell on his head and he discovered gravity. Isn’t that wonderful?"
Student: "Yes sir, if he had been sitting in class looking at books like us, he wouldn’t have discovered anything."

Life is beautiful, enjoy! To the normal human mind, 'everything must be going on smoothly, if God is involved. Else, God isn't involved.' Many times people assume that, difficulties indicate the presence of the devil, or the absence of God. I beg to differ. For instance, it was God who promised the children of Israel a land flowing with milk, and honey. Yet they went through so much discomfort to get there.

There are certain breakthrough ideas, you won't happen on, without hardship, or suffering in certain locations of your life. Sometimes, God intentionally mo

YOUR TURN

"A person often meets his destiny on the road he took to avoid it." - Jean de La Fontaine

 

Your Turn

Have you wondered what the world would be, had everyone been like you? Not in only in your appearance, but in your idiosyncrasies, ideas and so on - the world would have been a recipe for disaster. We wouldn't have many of the things we enjoy today - cars, air conditioners, electricity, mobile phones etc. For me, all I want to do is enjoy them not create them. You would have noticed, that it isn't the same person who invented the air conditioner that invented electricity. Matter of fact, the first large-scale electrical air conditioning was invented by Willis Carrier, in 1902. The first steam powered auto-mobile capable of human transportation was built by Nicolas-Joseph Cugnot in 1768. François Isaac de Rivaz designed the first car powered by an internal combustion engine fueled by hydrogen in 1807. In 1886 the first petrol or gasoline powered car, the Benz Patent-Motorwagen was invented by Karl Benz.

ABSENCE

"Have faith in your abilities. Without a humble but reasonable confidence in your own powers, you cannot be successful or happy." - Norman Vincent Peale

Absence

Mother: "Why did you get such a low mark on that test?"
Junior: "Because of ABSENCE."
Mother: "You mean you were absent on the day of the test?"
Junior: "No, but the kid who sits next to me was."
Lack of confidence in yourself stifles your creative abilities. It breeds indecisiveness that results in stagnation. I learnt a life lesson during my secondary school days: during a Maths test. After looking through all the questions, I started. With confidence, I worked through the questions. When it was almost time to end, I glanced into my friend's answer sheet, and discovered his solution was different than mine. I canceled my work, copied his and submitted. The following week, as our teacher worked us through the solution to the questions I realized step by step, I'd been correct but I cancelled, and copied the wrong thing. As a result, I failed that test.

ENGAGE YOUR ENGINE

"t is in your moments of decision that your destiny is shaped." - Tony Robbins

William Jennings Bryan said, "Destiny is no matter of chance. It is a matter of choice. It is not a thing to be waited for, it is a thing to be achieved." You have to want your dream enough to pursuit it. It is still a mystery to so many people, this thing called life. The sad truth is that, like a jump rope, whether you choose to jump in, or not it's already moving.

It is okay - at some point - to be confused, or unsure 'which is what,' as to why you're here. Ultimately, that time comes when you, must consciously DECIDE to unravel the mystery about your existence: why you were born. It comes a time, when all you want to do, is fit into the big picture, and do your bit. When you want o finish every assignment you were made to do.

THE JUMP ROPE CALLED LIFE

"You don't have to swing hard to hit a home run. If you got the timing, it'll go." - Yogi Berra

George McGovern said, "You know, sometimes, when they say you're ahead of your time, it's just a polite way of saying you have a real bad sense of timing." I have heard repeatedly people say, that time waits for no one, so much so that they say, "there's no time to say, 'no time.'" Sometimes, knowing when to jump into the jump rope of life, is what you need to succeed.

Many of us live life - expecting perfect situations before making any action move. We at those times, forget that, like a jump rope life is already in motion. Non-stop. It keeps swinging. Life will not wait, not even for a second to allow you jump in. Ironically, whether you jump in or not, it continues. If you have ever played the game of jump ropes, you will understand that any individual attempting to jump in, must be conscious and alert for the correct time to jump in, else the rope catches your feet. Then it stops.

With the 'jump rope' called life, you cannot jump in looking cute, calm and collected. You have to be aggressive, alert and ready. Life will attempt to catch your feet - just so you s

OPINIONS

"We never get a second chance, to make a first impression." - Unknown

 Someone was reading reviews for a book, it was shocking the differing reviews he got, for the same book. Some examples:
"Wow! I couldn't stop reading…5 stars for sure!"
"Amazing writing. I highly recommend to anyone who loves suspense and mystery."
"The story is fresh, suspenseful, interesting, and very realistic."
"Excellent! The best book of the year by far!"
"This book was a spell-binder from the minute the first musical cord was heard. A delicious thriller..."
"The best mystery book I have read!"

And then these followed:
"I had to read the entire thing twice, the plot was filled with seemingly unrelated things."
"So many bad things happen in this book...pointlessly."
"So boring it’s painful. Don't waste your time!"

CONCEAL IT

Conceal it

"Smiling is the best way to face every problem, to crush every fear, to hide every pain." - Unknown

Arnold Schwarzenegger said, "The last three or four reps is what makes the muscle grow. This area of pain divides the champion from someone else who is not a champion. That's what most people lack, having the guts to go on and just say they'll go through the pain no matter what happens." True strength is smiling when you want to cry, laughing to hide the pain, and going on no matter what.

A Navy Captain is alerted by his First Mate, that there is a Pirate ship heading towards his position. He asks a sailor to get him his red shirt. The captain was perplexed and asked;
"Why do you need a red shirt?"
The Captain without looking replies, "So that when I bleed, you guys don’t notice and aren’t discouraged." They fight off the Pirates eventually. The very next day, the Captain is alerted that 50 Pirate ships are coming towards their ship. He yells, "Get me my brown pants!"

In the midst of life's battles, to encourage other dependents in our boat as we sail to destiny, we must conceal our fears and doubts. People assume that doctors don't get ill, or need help. And that preachers and pastors don't need motivation and encouragement too et cetera. Yes, they do, but many times in spite of their fears, or doubts they have to put on their 'red' shirts, to conceal their bleeding, just so you don't lose hope. This is a quality we all should adopt, just to encourage someone looking up to you.

BRIDLE IT

"It's better to remain silent and be thought a fool than open ones mouth and remove all doubt" ­­- Mark Twain

Bridle It

A Professor on a boat asked the local sailor:
"Do you know Biology, Ecology, Zoology, Geography, physiology?"
"No." The sailor replied to all the questions.
"What the hell do you know on earth then...you will surely die of illiteracy."
After a while, the boat started sinking. The local sailor looked at the professor, and asked him; "Professor, do you know Swiminology, and Escapology from Sharkology?"
"No." Came the sharp reply from the professor.
"Well," replied the sailor, "Sharkology, and Crocodilogy will eat your Assology, Headology and you will Dieology, because of your Mouthology."

In essence, knowing when to shut, and bridle your tongue is important. Many people have lost treasured friendships, and vital relationships, properties...some have even lost their lives as a result of wanting to 'speak their minds.' Sometimes it is not necessary to speak, at such time being silent is golden. Even a fool, when he holds his peace, is counted wise: and he that shuts his lips is esteemed a man of understanding.

ONE, IS IMPORTANT

"Nothing carries meaning. People carry meaning. We are the porters of importance." - Jarod Kintz

A couple was going on vacation but the wife was on a was on a business trip, so the husband went ahead to the destination first for his wife to join him the following day. When he reached his hotel, he decided to send his wife a mail, telling her about the place. Unfortunately, when typing his wife's address, he mistyped a 'single' alphabet: so his mail was sent instead, to an elderly lady whose husband had just passed the day before. When the grieving widow checked her email, she took one look at the monitor, let out a piercing scream, and passed out flat. At the sound, her family rushed into the room and saw this on the screen:

"Dearest Wife,

Arrived safely, and just got checked in. Everything is prepared for your arrival tomorrow.

P.S: Sure is hot down here."

I'M IMPORTANT

"How you or people see you, isn't comparable to how God sees you." - Unknown

This conversation takes place between a teacher and a pupil:

Teacher: "Winnie, name one important thing we have today that we didn’t have ten years ago."

Winnie: "Me."

What a revelation. Steve Jobs, once said. "Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma - which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of others' opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition."

If you have ever had the misfortune of losing a piece of any puzzle, you will understand the importance of every piece: though each piece, in itself might be oddly shaped, and seem no good for anything else on it's own without it, you have an incomplete, no good, and useless puzzle. That's how YOU are, in the puzzle called life. Your voice, and input counts.

LATITUDE, LONGITUDE AND DEGREES

"When the solution is simple, God is answering." - Albert Einstein 

A Geography and Earth Science teacher was teaching Map Reading, to his students. After explaining about latitude, longitude, degrees and minutes the teacher asks, "Suppose I asked one of you to meet me for lunch, at 23 Degrees, 4 Minutes North, Latitude and 45 Degrees, 15 Minutes East Longitude…?"
After a confused silence, a voice from the back of the class responds, "I guess you’d be eating alone."

Mother Teresa said, "We need to find God, and he cannot be found in noise and restlessness. God is the friend of silence. See how nature - trees, flowers, grass- grows in silence; see the stars, the moon and the sun, how they move in silence... We need silence to be able to touch souls." Knowing, God isn't rocket science: it's as easy as ABC. He says, "call...and I will answer you." It's as simple as that. Just call.

MAYBE AN ELEPHANT

"I have a very strict gun control policy: if there's a gun around, I want to be in control of it." - Clint Eastwood

 

A class teacher asks her students to name an animal beginning with an "E." One notorious student answers, "Elephant." Impressed, this time by the boys response - since he was known to be a terrible student - she asks again. This time, for an animal that begins with a "T." The same boy replies, "Two Elephants." Without being surprised, she teacher sends the boy out of the class for bad behaviour. Then she asks again, this time for an animal beginning with "M." The same boy shouts from outside the class: "Maybe an Elephant!"

As hilarious as this story might seem, it's interesting to note that, this, is how the devil disturbs us. Having been dismissed from a life, he goes a little distance lurking around. Hoping to return. We have to be strict in our resolve to get rid of him, and his influence: if we are to have a peaceful life on earth, as Christians. If he's in your life, troubles are inevitable. When he's out, he schemes more. To hold us in captivity as he wills.

NO SHORT-CUTS

"Patience is not simply the ability to wait - it's how we behave while we're waiting." - Joyce Meyer 

Robert H. Schuller said, "Never cut a tree down in the wintertime. Never make a negative decision in the low time. Never make your most important decisions when you are in your worst moods. Wait. Be patient. The storm will pass. The spring will come."

Conversation between man and God:

Man: "God, how long is a million years?"
God: "To me, it’s about a minute."
Man: "God, how much is a million dollars?"
God: "To me it’s a penny."
Man: "God, may I have a penny?"
God: "Wait a minute."

If you have never gotten to that point where it seems everyone else is prospering but you, just keep living. At such times when you make the unfortunate decision of logging into Facebook. Unfortunately for you, pictures of your classmate - from university - pops up. He's dedicating his second mansion, with a brand new car parked by the side. And here you are ten years after graduation with nothing to show, you ever went to school: even though you had the best result in your class.

YOUR HOMEWORK

"Duty is the most sublime word in our language. Do your duty in all things. You cannot do more. You should never wish to do less." - Robert E. Lee

A little girl came home from school and said to her mother, "Mummy, today in school I was punished for something that I didn’t do." The mother exclaimed, "But that’s terrible! I’m going to have a talk with your teacher about this...by the way, what was it that you didn’t do?" The little girl replied, "My Homework."

Robert E. Lee said, "Private and public life are subject to the same rules; and truth and manliness are two qualities that will carry you through this world much better than policy, or tact, or expediency, or any other word that was ever devised to conceal or mystify a deviation from the straight line." There's so much truth dripping from this statement by Robert E. Lee. There are so many people out there, like this little girl, refusing to do their homework. We want God to bless us, but we must fulfill our part of the equation.

YOU CAN DO MORE

"You never know how much you can do, until you try." - Unknown 

No doubt you must have heard, "Jack of all trade, master of none?" If you haven't, keep living, you will someday. People, make this statement attempting to debate against, being many things at once. Many people believe, and advocate being known for one thing, and sticking with it. That might be a cute, comfortable and logical advice, but I beg to differ. I see as a shackle of limitation.

Willard Carroll "Will" Smith, Jr., of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air fame, is a character whose life never ceases to amaze me. He's one of the many folks who is seen to be successful in many careers - at once. He's a movie producer, rapper, musician and song writer, actor. He even played Basket ball: all, he's done at professional levels. In the late 1980s, Smith achieved modest fame as a rapper. Smith is ranked as the most bankable star worldwide by Forbes. As of 2014, 17 of the 21 films in which he has had leading roles have accumulated worldwide gross earnings of over $100 million each, five taking in over $500 million each in global box office receipts.