When Your Efforts Are Not Recognized

There are times when you feel like all your efforts are being ignored.
Nobody sees the excellent work that you do. Nobody gives you a pat,
an applause,or even a simple congratulatory note.

Instead of this, you see somebody else getting the attention he doesn't deserve.
People flock to him as they flock to a hero. They praise what he has done
even if this was nothing as compared to what you did.

It hurts. There seems to be no justice in this. But such and so many other
unfair realities exist in this life. The best do not always get the prize.
The noblest do not always get praised.

Even so, why do you think so many still persist in the good that they do?
Is there something that keeps them going? Some good that they are still able to get,
despite of being deprived of the worldly rewards that they should have gotten?

There is.

And this something is usually priceless as compared to the momentary applause, medals
or cash reward the world offers men.

You may not get promoted,
but you remain confident of your skills.

Your boss may not notice you,
but you know you need not fear losing your place, just because you cease to be associated
with someone who grants you favoritism.

You may not amass great wealth,
but you are able to raise up your family with dignity.

People may not flatter you,
but they cannot steal away the happiness that you have
in doing what you love to do.

A tree can't help but grow, whether people see its growth or not.
A river can't help but flow, whether it be praised or not.

Excellent people cannot be untrue to themselves.
They have to be who they are.

Sometimes only persistence is the key,
and the victory will be yours in time,
a victory made sweeter
because you know you did not give up.

And even if such success may not come on earth,
know that in heaven, there is your great reward,
a reward that shall not perish nor rot
and cannot ever be stolen away by other men.

God sees you in the good that you do.
Carry on, for He is now smiling proudly at you.

What do we want most in this life?

We want to have a sturdy house to live in
We want to be able to have all the food we need
We want the works of our hands to last
never to be forgotten
never to rot and fade away

We want to be with the people we love
We want never to hurt them
and never to be misunderstood
We want as much time with them as we possibly could
We want them never to be away
nor to say goodbye
never to grow old
never to be apart.

Now which of these longings could we fulfill
by our own hands?
Which of these could be granted us
in our short journey here on earth?

Only JESUS has the power
only heaven has the answer
to take away our anxieties and fears
and to wipe away our every tear.

Beloved child, life is not a bed of roses.  No matter how I wish to tell you that you could have everything you desire in this life, such cannot be so.

For you are still a pilgrim here my child, and life is but a journey towards your true home.

True, there will be pleasant surprises along the way.  You will meet friends and you will see many wonderful things.  But each beautiful scenery is passing.  Each sunset, no matter how glorious, soon fades away into the night.

But take heart!  For I am with you. And though each scenery you gaze upon is soon but a memory, the pain you feel cannot last as well.

Bear your crosses for now.  Bear them with hope! Know that you are not lost nor are you bound to remain forever wandering and searching for your true home.  Wait for me and I shall take you where I am. And there, in that heavenly home, no one could ever take away your joy!