All Things to Be

Be long suffering to your enemies.
Be loyal to your friends.
Be strong enough to face each day.
Be humble enough to know you cannot do everything alone.
Be generous to those who need your help.
Be wise enough to know that you do not know everything.
Be willing to share your joys.
Be willing to share the sorrows of others.
Be the first to congratulate your friends' success.
Be the last to criticize a brother who fails.
Be loving to those who love you.
Be loving to those who do not love you, and they may change.
Above all, be yourself.

A woman was looking at some agate rocks in Arizona. She picked one up observing the many slices of agate, she held it up to the light to admire its beauty. Eventually a sales woman went over to her and asked her if there was anything in particular she was looking for. "No" said the woman, "I am just enjoying looking at these pieces of agate because I realize that it was by means of pressure and fire that these thing of such incredible beauty were created. You see, I have been going through some very severe trials in my life, and by looking at these pieces of agate, I realize that it is by means of the pressures of life and fires of tribulation that God will create something beautiful in me and for me."