One day, a professor entered the classroom and asked his students to prepare for a surprise test. They all waited anxiously at their desks for the exam to begin. The professor handed out the exams with the text facing down, as usual. Once he handed them all out, he asked the students to turn over the papers.
To everyone’s surprise, there were no questions – just a black dot in the center of the sheet of paper. The professor, seeing the expression on everyone’s faces, told them the following: “I want you to write about what you see there”. The students, confused, got started on the inexplicable task.
At the end of the class, the professor took all the exams, and started reading each one of them out loud, in front of all the students. All of them, with no exception, defined the black dot, trying to explain its position in the center of the sheet.
After all had been read, the classroom silent, the professor started to explain. ‘I’m not going to grade you on this; I just wanted to give you something to think about. No one wrote about the white part of the paper. Everyone focused on the black dot and the same happens in our lives.
Our life is a gift given to us by God, with love and care, and we always have reasons to celebrate – nature renewing itself everyday, our friends around us, the job that provides our livelihood, the miracles we see every day. However, we insist on focusing only on the dark spot – the health issues that bother us, the lack of money, the complicated relationship with a family member, the disappointment with a friend.
The dark spots are very small when compared to everything we have in our lives, but they’re the ones that pollute our minds.’
Take your eyes away from the black dots in your life.
Enjoy each one of your blessings each moment that life gives you.
Be happy and live a life filled with love.
One of our CTW family members, Frank, shared this heartful email he received recently. While his wife shopped at a local woman’s apparel store, Frank visited with Lisa, the sales clerk. After paying for their purchases, the last thing he did before leaving the store was hand Lisa a cross. Here is a copy of the email he received later that day from Lisa:
“Today, you gave me that wooden cross and I thank you so much for that!! You have no idea of the timing of getting this from you today!! Nearly 2 years ago this coming May, I will have 2 years behind me of being diagnosed with a rare form of pancreatic cancer. I had a major surgery at Mayo Clinic to remove the tumor called a Whipple surgery. I go in every 3 months for MRIs and blood work watching a lesion on my liver and making sure it has not yet metastases. I have been having some really good days and some not so good days lately. I anxiously await the appointments at Mayo and this cross brought tears to my eyes!!!!!!! Thank you so much! Lisa”
Frank has requested the CTW family to include Lisa in their prayers. Please pray that God will lay his healing hands on her liver and pancreas to stop this cancer from progressing; pray that He will give Lisa and her family the strength needed to carry them through this health crisis, that He will fold them into His arms and surround them with His love, peace and comfort. Amen.
We thank these members of the Cross The World family for their continued service in His name during the month of March:
New Life Church – Foley, MN
Stella – OR
Immanuel Lutheran Church – Pepin, WI
Nan – NV
Shirley – KS
Trinity Lutheran Church – Detroit Lakes, MN
Trinity Lutheran Church – Billings, MT for a LAMP mission trip to northern Canada
Wendy – KY
Jil – MN
Bob – MN
Mike – MN
Lois – MN
Tiffany – MN
Nelly – NV
Ridge View Estates Assisted Living – Pipestone, MN
New Covenant Church – Minneapolis, MN
Grace Covenant Church – Little Falls, MN
CROSS THE WORLD 