Clay Balls



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 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 just threw 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 by God.

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.

Author Unknown

  You have heard that it was said, “You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.”  But I say to you, Love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who despitefully use you and persecute you,  For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax-collectors do the same?

Matthew 5:43-46

This Life I Have But Once To Live

This life I have but once to live
These days and years are my great Treasure
I'll give to Life all that I am
And ask from her in equal measure.

I'll fill each hour to the brim
I'll give my very heart and soul
To Life, because I know for me
To truly live must be my goal.

The cautious ones would shake their heads
And say perfection cannot be,
This Dream I have is but a dream
Unknown to Life's reality.

But thou perhaps, dost also dream
Perhaps thou thinkst the same as I
That those will never know the best
who have no faith and dare not try.

If this be so, then be my Friend
Come, dance Life's Dance with me
Hold me strong that I thee hold
Living now, What Might Be.

Dr. Sami Sunchild 

Our Greatest Danger in Life Is in Permitting the Urgent Things to Crowd Out the Important



A time-management expert addressed a group of business students.  He pulled out a one-gallon Mason jar and set it on the table.  Then he produced a dozen fist-sized rocks and carefully placed them into the jar.  The he asked, "Is this jar full?"

Everyone said yes.  Then he reached under the table and pulled out a bucket of gravel.  He dumped it in and shook the jar.  He asked the group again, "Is the jar full?"

By this time the class was on to him.  "Probably not," one student answered.  Then the instructor reached under the table and grabbed a bucket of sand.  He dumped the sand, which went into all of the spaces between the rocks and the gravel.  He asked, "Is this jar full?"

"No!"  the class shouted.

Next, he grabbed a pitcher of water and began to pour it in until the jar was filled to the brim.  "What is the point of this illustration?"  he asked.

One student offered, "No matter how full your schedule is, you can always fit some more things in it!"

"No," the speaker replied, "the truth this illustration teaches us is:  if you don't put the big rocks in first, you'll never get them in."

Ask yourself, "What are the 'big rocks' in my life?"  Put those in your jar first.

Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Matthew 6:21