A Lesson from Pastry

Once upon a three friends were on their way to take the civil service examination. On the way they saw a cake pastry kiosk by the wayside and stopped to buy some light refreshments. One of the friends was calm and quiet, while the other two were busy in arguing over literature.

The kiosk owner asked where they were going. The latter two told him that they were going to take the civil service examination. He said, "You two friends won't pass the exam but your other friend will." The two friends gazed at him and left.

When the results of the examination turned out as the kiosk man had predicted, the two friends who had failed went back to find out how he had known they would not pass, while the third friend would. They asked him if he knew physiognomy (face reading).

"No," he said, "all I know is that when a pastry is thoroughly cooked, it sits there quietly, but before it's finished it keeps on making noise."

God's Rosebud

A new minister was walking with an older, more seasoned minister in the garden one day. Feeling a bit insecure about what God had for him to do,
he was asking the older preacher for some advice. The older preacher walked up to a rosebush and handed the young preacher a rosebud and told him to open it without tearing off any petals.

The young preacher looked in disbelief at the older preacher and was trying to figure out what a rosebud could possibly have to do with his wanting
to know the will of God for his life and ministry.

But because of his great respect for the older preacher, he proceeded to try to unfold the rose, while keeping every petal intact.

It wasn't long before he realized how impossible this was to do.

Noticing the younger preacher's inability to unfold the rosebud without tearing it, the older preacher began to recite the following poem...

"It is only a tiny rosebud,
A flower of God's design;
But I cannot unfold the petals
With these clumsy hands of mine."

"The secret of unfolding flowers
Is not known to such as I.
GOD opens this flower so easily,
But in my hands they die."

"If I cannot unfold a rosebud,
This flower of God's design,
Then how can I have the wisdom
To unfold this life of mine?"

"So I'll trust in God for leading
Each moment of my day.
I will look to God for guidance
In each step along the way."

"The path that lies before me,
Only my Lord and Savior knows.
I'll trust God to unfold the moments,
Just as He unfolds the rose."