The Dream

I dreamed I had an interview with God.

"Come in," God said. "So, you would like to interview Me?"

"If you have the time," I said. God smiled and said: "My time is eternity and is enough to do everything; what questions do you have in mind to ask me?"

"What surprises you most about mankind?"

God answered: "That they get bored with being children, are in a rush to grow up, and then long to be children again. That they lose their health to make money and then lose their money to restore their health. That by thinking anxiously about the future, they forget the present, such that they live neither for the present nor the future. That they live as if they will never die, and they die as if they had never lived..."

God's hands took mine and we were silent for while and then I asked... "As a parent, what are some of life's lessons you want your children to learn?"

God replied with a smile, "I want them to learn:
that they cannot make anyone love them. What they can do is to let themselves be loved.
that what is most valuable is not what they have in their lives, but who they have in their lives.
that it is not good to compare themselves to others. All will be judged individually on their own merits, not as a group on a comparison basis!
that a rich person is not the one who has the most, but is one who needs the least, appreciates the most.
that it only takes a few seconds to open profound wounds in the people we love, and it takes many years to heal them.
that we learn to forgive by practicing forgiveness.
that there are persons that love them dearly, but simply do not know how to express or show their feelings.
that money can buy everything but happiness.
that two people can look at the same thing and see it totally differently.
that a true friend is someone who knows everything about them... and likes them anyway.
that it is not always enough that they be forgiven by others, but that they have to forgive themselves."

I sat there for a while enjoying the moment. I thanked God for this time and for all that God has done for me and my family, and God replied, "Anytime. I'm here 24 hours a day. All you have to do is ask for me, and I'll answer."

People will forget what you said.
People will forget what you did...
But people will never forget how you made them feel!

You are more precious than rubies!!