Friday, June 27, 2008

Stories that make you think

Yesterday I was over at my neighbor's house and she told me a story that she constantly is telling her kids. She couldn't remember exactly how it went but I really liked it and was able to find it on the Internet. It is called Two Wolves:

One evening an old Cherokee told his grandson about a battle that goes on inside all people. He said, 'My son, the battle is between two 'wolves' inside us all.

One is Evil. It is anger, envy, jealousy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego.

The other is Good. It is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion and faith.' The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather: 'Which wolf wins?'

The old Cherokee simply replied, 'The one you feed.'

This second story I found on a blog that I read about a girl with a rare brain tumor. Her mother provides updates on her condition and added this story to her most recent post:


Malachi 3:3 says: “He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver.” This verse puzzled some women in a Bible study and they wondered what this statement meant about the character and nature of God. One of the women offered to find out the process of refining silver and get back to the group at their next Bible Study. That week, the woman called a silversmith and made an appointment to watch him at work. She didn’t mention anything about the reason for her interest beyond her curiosity about the process of refining Silver. As she watched the silversmith, he held a piece of silver over the fire and let it heat up. He explained that in refining silver, one needed to hold the silver in the middle of the fire where the flames were hottest as to burn away all the impurities. The woman thought about God holding us in such a hot spot; then she thought again about the verse that says: “He sits as a refiner and purifier of silver.” She asked if he had to sit there in front of the fire the whole time the silver was being refined. The man answered that yes, He not only had to sit there holding the silver, but he had to keep his eyes on the silver the entire time it was in the fire. If the silver was left a moment too long in the flames, it would be destroyed. The woman was silent for a moment. Then she asked the silversmith, “How do you know when the silver is fully refined?” He smiled at her and answered, “Oh, that’s easy when I see my image in it."

They really made me think. Hope they provide you with some inspiration too!

2 comments:

Amber said...

That was a great story. I will need to remember that one.

Natalie said...

We are doing good! How are you guys? Thanks (about the hair), a lady named Stacey did my hair...she works at a salon in Salt lake.