{"id":6030,"date":"2022-11-27T09:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-11-27T15:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.barbdahlgren.com\/?p=6030"},"modified":"2022-12-30T21:40:00","modified_gmt":"2022-12-31T03:40:00","slug":"apples-of-god","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/?p=6030","title":{"rendered":"Apples of Gold"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

It Is Good to Be Thankful: Appreciation makes the world a better place\u2026<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n

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Three lady friends and I were out for a night on the town. We were going to dinner and then the symphony. What fun! After dinner we shared an elevator with a middle-aged man. We chatted with him and found out he was headed for the symphony, too. Since we were within walking distance but not sure which way to go we said, \u201cGreat! We\u2019ll follow you.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He good naturedly replied, \u201cThat would be like the blind leading the blind.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There was dead silence, the kind that only lasts a second but seems like a lifetime. You see, my friend Rose is blind. It was apparent by the man\u2019s expression that he wanted the earth to open and swallow him up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Most of us know how that feels. We\u2019ve all made thoughtless statements we wish we could suck back into our head. They aren\u2019t meant to hurt. They\u2019re mistakes, faux pas, blunders, or slips of the tongue. We know they are wrong the minute we say them but it\u2019s too late. We all strive to listen to a matter fully before responding, think before we speak, or keep our mouths shut. However, we all \u201copen the mouth and insert the foot\u201d occasionally.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When we do, it would be nice to have someone like my blind friend Rose around. She didn\u2019t miss a beat as she chuckled and graciously said, \u201cOh, you want me to lead then, huh?\u201d The man sighed and we all laughed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019m reminded of Proverbs 25:11: \u201cA word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in setting of silver.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Usually we think of the word fitly spoken as advice or encouragement. But to me, true \u201capples of gold\u201d is this ability to turn an uncomfortable situation around by simply saying the right words.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some fitly spoken words can be very powerful. Kennedy\u2019s \u201cAsk not what your country can do for you but what you can do for your country\u201d inspired us. Martin Luther King Jr.\u2019s \u201cI have a dream\u201d influenced us. Churchill\u2019s \u201cWe shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender\u2026\u201d evoked confidence during World War II. When George Burns said, \u201cSay good night, Gracie,\u201d it made us smile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As for me, I\u2019m a simple person. I\u2019m not out to change the world. I would settle for being able to set that other person at ease so they don\u2019t have to feel as foolish as I do sometimes. That\u2019s why I\u2019m thankful for people like Rose. Her example makes me want to be a better person. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

*****<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord..<\/em>.\u201d ~ Psalms 92:1 (KJV)<\/em><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It Is Good to Be Thankful: Appreciation makes the world a better place\u2026 Three lady friends and I were out for a night on the town. We were going to dinner and then the symphony. What fun! After dinner we … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6030","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6030","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6030"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6030\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6030"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6030"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6030"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}