Where There's Sun, There's Hope

The mailman arrived and handed over my letters. There was nothing exciting from receiving them. Most of them are my unsettled light and credit card bills. I am a single mom who tries to make ends meet. This life is hopeless, why did I ever make so many mistakes in the past? If not for the wrong decisions I made, my child and I would not have suffered this much. It feels like the whole world is on my shoulder and there's no one to lean on to.

Whenever I feel this way, I look at my toddler. His angelic face is the only thing that keeps me going. His perfect smile as he sleeps is wonderful. He gives me the strength to hold on. Oh, how badly I want to give this child a better future! I will crawl if I have to just to provide his needs.

He is like a sun to me. He is my hope - he gives me light in spite of the darkness around me. And as long as I have him, I will hold on to that light!

Waves Don't Seem So High

Life’s waves may be high.
They can be unbearable and painful.
Sometimes, we may feel hopeless and down.

However, the waves don’t seem so high
From the top of them looking down.
Be above the waves!
Conquer and overcome them!

Dealing with Wind and Waves

One sunny, summer day, two kids were having fun at the beach.

While playing in their cottages, they noticed that the winds have become stronger, thus creating bigger and bigger waves.

The girls later on decided to go near the shore and feel the waves.

Not too long after that, they were jumping and enjoying the waves that the sea gives them.

In life, we experience waves.

Some of them big and some are small and we can easily handle them.

Problems are like waves and it’s completely up to us on how we deal with them.

We can cry our hearts out with no resolution,

Or we can overcome them happily, accepting them as part of life’s stepping stone for a better tomorrow.

Don’t give up, the waves will soon disappear and the winds will calm. Stay strong. 

The Music for the Clouds

There was once a tiny country that was suffering from a long drought. It had gone so long without rain that the people there were starting to go hungry because of the bad harvests.

It just so happened that a group of musicians were travelling the country, trying to make a living from their concerts. But with so many problems in the land, no one felt like listening to music.

"But music can help overcome any problems," objected the musicians, without anyone paying them the slightest attention.

So the musicians tried to find out the reason it wouldn't rain. It was very strange, because the sky was overcast, but no one could provide an answer.

"It's been cloudy like this for many months, but not a single drop of rain has fallen," people would tell them.

"Don't worry, we'll bring rain to the country," the musicians responded, and they began rehearsing for a concert at the summit of the highest mountain.

Everyone who heard the music was seized by curiosity and went up the mountain. And the conductor of this strange orchestra gave the order, and the musicians began to play.

From their instruments came small, playful musical notes, that rose and rose into the clouds. The music was so joyous, happy and fun, and the notes started playing with with the clouds' soft, fluffy bellies, running here and there, up and down, and the whole sky turned into one big game of tickle torture. Before long, the giant clouds were thundering with laughter.

The musicians continued playing joyfully and a few minutes later, the clouds, crying with laughter, soaked the little country below with their precious tears, bringing happiness to all.

And in memory of that musical rain, everyone in the land learned how to play an instrument and, taking turns, would go up the mountain every day to bring joy to the clouds with their beautiful songs.

Written by:
Pedro Pablo Sacristán

The Prayer

She was always in a hurry.
Today, she hurried quickly wake up to have dinner and prep to work.
After she took her first bite, her little boy came.
He smiled at her, that smile so peaceful and happy,
Then, unknowingly taught her a lesson,
"mom, pray first".

She was in shock,
Surely didn't expect that from her little boy,
She immediately stopped from what she was doing,
and said her prayer of thanks.

Prayers are essential,
they heal, they keep a heart at peace.
In this busy world, have time for prayer.

The Ugly Tree

Long, long ago, in a dense forest there were thousands of tall and beautiful trees. They were happy, but proud of themselves. Among them there also an ugly tree whose branches were badly twisted. Its roots had uneven curves. All the trees made fun of that ugly tree.


“How are you, hunchback?" the other trees always shouted and their laughter made the ugly tree feel sad. But, he never raised a voice against them. The ugly tree thought, “I wish I were as beautiful as the other trees. Why did God do this to me? Neither can I provide shade to the travelers not can the birds make their nests on me. Nobody needs me."


One day, a woodcutter came to the forest. He took a look at the trees and said, “These trees are lovely. I must cut them." As soon as he picked up his axe the trees became frightened.


‘Chop, Chop, Chop’ went the woodcutter’s axe and one by one the trees started to fall. “None of us is going to be spared," screamed one of the beautiful trees. Soon that tree too was brought to ground by the woodcutter’s axe.


By now, the woodcutter had come near to the ugly tree. He had just raised his axe when suddenly he noticed how crooked the ugly tree was. “Hmm! This crooked tree seems to be useless for me. I cannot make long straight logs of this ugly tree," he thought. And he moved towards another beautiful tree. The ugly tree heaved a huge sigh of relief. He realized that by making him ugly, God had actually given him a boon.


From that day the ugly tree never complained. He was happy with his crooked branches. He never forgot how he was spared from t he woodcutter’s axe, only because he was crooked and ugly.

When Darkness Hides the Light

While strolling on a hill near our place, I saw how the sun transitioned form shining brightly ‘til it lost its brightness. The twilight is coming and no matter how mighty the sun is, it slowly lost its power. That how it is with life: we could be happy now but one problem could lose our happiness if we let it rule over us.

If we let darkness (problems) take control, it’ll be like a huge group of clouds that will slowly take our light away. Be careful, be cautious and take control of your problems. Let tomorrow worry about itself and don’t let yourself be defeated by life’s problems and circumstances.