Give it some thought.

Here's another story! Seems like I'm getting addicted to sharing all these stuff. Heard it from the radio and it was in Mandarin, so this is the best I could come up with. After years of not writing narrative essays, haha.

There was a US soldier who was recognized for his sharp shooting in his unit. His accuracy was undeniable among his comrades. In the midst of the war with Iraq, his unit was sent over to survey an area there. Before the operation, the commander conducted a briefing during which he highlighted the need to be on their guard if they encountered any woman or child within the proximity. He explained, “They could be suicide bombers. Gun them down if you sense anything odd.”

After surveying the designated area, the soldier decided to take a break and crouched at a spot, smoking cigarette. He looked ahead. Few metres away, he noticed a young boy standing right there, motionless but watching him. Not suspecting anything, the soldier gave a smile. And the young boy smiled back.

But before the soldier knew it, the young boy started running in his direction. At this point in time, the words of the commander flashed across his mind. Frantically, he stood up, picked up his rifle and started shooting at the boy. But none of his shots hit him. Within seconds, the boy was just right there holding him. Soon after, there was an explosion.

The young boy died. As the soldier’s legs were badly wounded, he was transported back to his country for treatment. His comrades in his unit were baffled and could not understand how all of these could happen. How could he miss every single shot with his accuracy? The soldier felt that he had brought shame upon them. Feeling bitter, he explained to his mother, “Mom, it’s not that I couldn’t aim well. Tell me, how could one ever bear to fire at a boy this young?” His mother nodded and embraced him in her arms.

The irony of it is that the soldier would never realize what the young boy had done had saved him in fact. Explosives were planted at where he had been and the boy was well aware of it. If not for the boy's sacrificial act, he would have blown up into pieces.

All because he gave a smile.

So, moral of the story? I'm not going to say it here, so it's food for thought for all(:

Cheers,
Yingyi

Always appreciate the little things.

Here's a story to share with you all.


A married lady was expecting a birthday gift from her husband. For many months she had admired a beautiful diamond ring in a showroom, and knowing her husband could afford it, she told him that was all she wanted.

As her birthday approached, this lady awaited signs that her husband had purchased the diamond ring.

Finally, on the morning of her birthday, her husband called her into his study room. Her husband told her how proud he was to have such a good wife, and told her how much he loved her. He handed her a beautiful wrapped gift box. Curious, the wife opened the box and found a lovely, leather-bound Bible, with the wife's name embossed in gold.

Angrily, she raised her voice to her husband and said, "With all your money,you give me a Bible?" And stormed out of the house, leaving her husband.

Many years passed and the lady was very successful in business. She managed to settle for a more beautiful house and a wonderful family, but realized her ex-husband was very old, and thought perhaps she should go to visit him. She had not seen him for many years.

But before she could make arrangements, she received a telegram telling her that her ex-husband had passed away, and willed all of his possessions to her. She needed to come back immediately and take care of things.

When she arrived at her ex-husband's house, sudden sadness and regret filled her heart. She began to search through her ex-husband's important papers and saw the still new Bible, just as she had left it years before.

With tears, she opened the Bible and began to turn the pages. Her ex-husband had carefully underlined a verse, Matt 7:11, "And if you, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more shall your Heavenly Father, who is in heaven, give to those who ask Him?"

As she read those words, a tiny package dropped from the back of the Bible. It had a diamond ring, with her name engraved on it -- the same diamond ring which she saw at the showroom. On the tag was the date of her birth, and the words...'LUV U ALWAYS'.


How many times do we miss God's blessings, because they are not packaged as we expected? Trust HIM always. HE knows what is good for you and may even ignore what you thought was good for you.

Do not spoil what you have, by desiring what you have not; but remember that what you now have was once among the things you only hoped for.

If your gift is not packaged the way you want it, it's because it is better packaged the way it is! Always appreciate little things; they usually lead you to bigger things!

"The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched. They must be felt with the heart."


Sometimes things don't happen the way we wanted or expected. Sometimes we get so caught up with the things we didn't have that we fail to see the things we have. But who knows, something better might be awaiting down the road. No matter how busy our lives may be, it doesn't hurt to take a minute or so of the 1440 minutes each day to think about the little things in life. And eventually, these little things will become bigger things in your life.

All the best for projects, final exam and everything else!

Cheers,
Yingyi