Perubahan

Pada tahun 1921 Lewis Lawes menjadi sipir di Penjara Sing Sing. Tak ada penjara yang lebih menyeramkan daripada Sing Sing pada masa itu. Namun saat Sipir Lawes pensiun sekitar 20 tahun kemudian, penjara itu menjadi lembaga yang memperjuangkan kesejahteraan umat manusia. Orang-orang yang mempelajari sistem dari lembaga tersebut mengatakan bahwa penghargaan atas perubahan yang terjadi sepantasnya diberikan kepada Lawes. Namun saat Lawes dimintai komentar, ia berkata, "Saya berhutang budi atas semua perubahan ini kepada istri saya yang mengagumkan, Catherine, yang dimakamkan di luar dinding penjara ini."

Catherine Lawes adalah seorang ibu muda yang memiliki tiga anak kecil saat suaminya menjadi sipir penjara. Sejak awal semua orang memperingatkannya untuk tidak sekali-sekali menginjakkan kaki ke dalam penjara, tetapi itu tidak menghentikan Catherine! Ketika diadakan pertandingan basket untuk pertama kalinya di penjara, ia berjalan ke dalam gedung olahraga itu bersama ketiga anaknya yang cantik dan duduk di tempat penonton bersama para narapidana. Tekadnya adalah, "Suami saya dan saya akan menjaga para narapidana ini, dan saya yakin mereka akan menjaga kami! Saya tidak perlu merasa cemas!"

Ia bersikeras untuk berkenalan dengan mereka dan mengetahui data-data mereka. Ia tahu di situ ada seorang narapidana buta yang pernah membunuh; karena itu ia menghampirinya. Sambil menggenggam tangan narapidana itu ia berkata, "Apakah Anda dapat membaca huruf Braille?" "Apa huruf Braille itu? tanya Narapidana tersebut. Selanjutnya Catherine mengajarinya membaca huruf Braille. Bertahun-tahun kemudian narapidana itu menangis karena kasihnya kepada Catherine. Kemudian Catherine berjumpa dengan narapidana yang tuli dan bisu. Catherine mengikuti kursus untuk mempelajari cara menggunakan bahasa isyarat. Banyak orang mengatakan bahwa Catherine Lawes adalah jelmaan tubuh Yesus yang bangkit kembali di Sing Sing mulai dari tahun 1921 sampai tahun 1937.

Lalu ia tewas dalam kecelakaan mobil. Esok harinya Lewis Lawes tidak datang ke tempat kerja, dan wakil sipir penjara menggantikan kedudukannya. Dengan cepat para penghuni penjara tahu bahwa ada sesuatu yang tidak beres. Esok harinya jenazah Catherine dibaringkan dalam sebuah peti jenazah di rumahnya yang berjarak kira-kira satu kilometer dari penjara itu. Sewaktu wakil sipir penjara sedang berjalan-jalan pagi hari itu, ia merasa sangat terkejut melihat sekelompok besar narapidana yang tampak sangat kejam dan menyeramkan berkumpul seperti sekawanan hewan di gerbang utama.

Ia mendekati mereka dan melihat ada airmata duka dan kesedihan pada diri mereka. Ia tahu betapa mereka sangat mengasihi Catherine. Ia menghadap ke arah mereka dan berkata, "Baiklah, kalian boleh pergi. Tapi kalian harus kembali dan melapor malam ini!" Lalu ia membuka pintu gerbang dan para narapidana itu berjalan sejauh satu kilometer tanpa pengawalan, untuk memberikan penghormatan terakhir kepada Catherine Lawes. Dan mereka semua kembali untuk melapor. Semuanya!

--Tim Kimmel

Pesan Moral: Kebaikan yang kita lakukan dari hati yang tulus dan tanpa meminta imbalan kepada sesama kita, akan melekat selamanya di hati mereka. Dan tidak hanya melekat, kebaikan hati yang tulus juga mengubahkan sikap perbuatan kurang baik seseorang, bukan dengan paksaan (dari luar), tetapi dengan kasih (dari dalam hati).

"If ever there is tomorrow when we're not together.. there is something you must always remember. you are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think. but the most important thing is, even if we're apart.. i'll always be with you." - Winnie the Pooh-

The Story of A Mother

For those lucky to still be blessed with your Mom, this is beautiful.

For those of us who aren't, this is even more beautiful.

For those who are moms, you'll love this.

The young mother set her foot on the path of life.

"Is this the long way?" she asked. And the guide said, "Yes, and the way is hard. And you will be old before you reach the end of it. But the end will be better than the beginning." But the young mother was happy, and she would not believe that anything could be better than these years. So she played with her children, and gathered flowers for them along the way, and bathed them in the clear streams, and the sun shone on them, and the young Mother cried, "Nothing will ever be lovelier than this."

Then the night came, and the storm, and the path was dark, and the children shook with fear and cold, and the mother drew them close, and covered them with her mantle, and the children said, "Mother, we are not afraid, for you are near, and no harm can come." And the morning came, and there was a hill ahead, and the children climbed and grew weary, and the mother was weary.

But at all times she said to the children, "A little patience and we are there." So the children climbed, and when they reached the top they said, "Mother, we would not have done it without you." And the mother, when she lay down at night looked up at the stars and said, "This is a better day than the last, for my children have learned fortitude in the face of hardness. Yesterday I gave them courage. Today, I've given them strength."

And the next day came strange clouds which darkened the earth, clouds of war and hate and evil, and the children groped and stumbled, and the mother said, "Look up. Lift your eyes to the light." And the children looked and saw above the clouds an everlasting glory, and it guided them beyond the darkness. And that night the Mother said, "This is the best day of all, for I have shown my children, God."

And the days went on, and the weeks and the months and the years, and the mother grew old and she was sick, little and bent. But her children were tall and strong, and walked with courage. And when the way was rough, they lifted her, for she was as light as a feather and at last they came to a hill, and beyond they could see a shining road and golden gates flung wide. And mother said, "I have reached the end of my journey. And now I know the end is better than the beginning, for my children can walk alone, and their children after them."

"You will always walk with us, Mother, even when you have gone through the gates." And they stood and watched her as she went on alone, and the gates closed after her. And they said, "We cannot see her but she is with us still. A Mother like ours is more than a memory. She is a living presence. Your Mother is always with you.."

She's the whisper of the leaves as you walk down the street;

She's the smell of bleach in your freshly laundered socks;

She's the cool hand on your brow when you're not well..

Your Mother lives inside your laughter.

And she's crystallized in every tear drop.

She's the place you came from, your first home and she's the map you follow with every step you take.

She's your first love and your first heartbreak, and nothing on earth can separate you.

Not time, not space.. Not even death !

May your day be blessed my friends.

By : Stefanie Setiadharma

"If ever there is tomorrow when we're not together.. there is something you must always remember. you are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think. but the most important thing is, even if we're apart.. i'll always be with you." - Winnie the Pooh-