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Strangers are Friends We’ve Never Met

Strangers are Friends We’ve Never Met

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Strangers are Friends We've Never Met--American couple with two female international university studentsWhen my husband and I became a friendship family for international university students, we quickly learned that strangers are friends we’ve never met. Those young people became lifelong family and friends.

Credit for “Strangers are friends we’ve never met” varies.

According to Quote Investigator, Irish poet William Butler Yeats often receives credit for saying, “There are no strangers here; only friends you haven’t yet met.” However, they have not been able to verify that claim. They did find a similar line in Edgar Guest’s 1915 poem, “Faith.” It says, “That strangers are friends that we some day may meet.”

What if everyone welcomed strangers as friends?

What if:

  • Instead of prejudice, we looked for common traits.
  • Rather than suspicion, we chose to cooperate.
  • Instead of fighting, we sought friendship.

Let’s choose this statement’s belief and attitude.

Focus on:

  • Positives in one another
  • Possibilities for peace
  • Hope for a better way to live

Remain friends through thick and thin.

“Dear friend, you are faithful in what you are doing for the brothers and sisters, even though they are strangers to you. We ought therefore to show hospitality to such people so that we may work together for the truth” (3 John 1:5, 8 NIV).

Thanks to Margie Holtzclaw for the suggestion.

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Hodgepodge

Hodgepodge

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Hodgepodge--flowers, old tree, small lakeInternational students have joined us for dinner many times. One of their favorite dishes includes a hodgepodge of ingredients.

  • Chicken
  • Mild cheddar cheese
  • Rice
  • Onion
  • Milk
  • Broccoli
  • Cream of mushroom soup

The mixture looks messy but tastes great.

Hodgepodge refers to a jumbled mess of ingredients.

According to The Phrase Finder, hodgepodge “is a stew made with meat and a variety of vegetables.” It also refers to “any mixture of ingredients or … a mess.”

The expression can be traced to 14th century France. The French made a dish called hotchpot. It was similar to our casserole or hotpot.

Hodgepodge describes more than food.

Notice the example in the above Magnolia Plantation scene. Neat flower rows can’t compare to several varieties mixed together like this.

Hodgepodge also includes:

  • Ideas
  • Clothes
  • Toys
  • Art
  • Pictures
  • Junk
  • Clutter of any kind

If we must clutter, I pray our clutter makes us burst with joy.

May we also spread that joy with friends from a hodgepodge of backgrounds.

Clap your hands, all peoples! Shout to God with loud songs of joy! (Psalm 47:1 NIV).

Thanks to Ginny Merritt for the suggestion.

Do you have an expression you want explained or a thought about this one? If so, please comment below.

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Apple of My Eye

Apple of My Eye

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Apple of My Eye--bowl of applesOver the years, several children and youth have become the apple of my eye. I love them a bushel and a peck and consider them my children. They have included:

The apple of my eye is someone or something special or cherished.

I favor them over others. Feelings run deep.

Often, as in Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, this expression refers to a romantic relationship.

“Flower of this purple dye,
Hit with Cupid’s archery,
Sink in apple of his eye”

This expression appears several times in the Bible.

“In a desert land he [God] found him [Israel], in a barren and howling waste. He shielded him and cared for him; he guarded him as the apple of his eye” (Deuteronomy 32:10 NIV).

“Keep my command and you will live; guard my teachings as the apple of your eye” (Proverbs 7:2 NIV).

“For this is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘After the Glorious One has sent me against the nations that have plundered you—for whoever touches you touches the apple of his eye—’” (Zechariah 2:8 NIV).

As seen in these verses and in the verse below, the expression refers to both human and non-human objects of affection.

God wants everyone as His children, the apple of His eye.

Accepting God’s gift makes all the difference for this life and the life to come.

“Keep me as the apple of your eye; hide me in the shadow of your wings” (Psalm 17:8 NIV).

Thanks to Beckham Wilson for the suggestion.

Do you have an expression you want explained or a thought about this one? If so, please comment below.

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Labor of Love

Labor of Love

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Labor of Love--university students around a dinner tableSome work we love. Some work we hate. Much work we do as a labor of love.

A labor of love means a job with no pay or bad pay.

Yet we do the work because we:

  • Want to help someone we love
  • Enjoy it

The job pays us in pleasure rather than money.

Labors of love for me include:

  • Cooking
  • Writing
  • Teaching Sunday school

I have never been paid to cook. Most people would not hire me. I cook because my family, friends, and I get hungry. For years I hated the job. Yet, I learned to like being chief cook and bottle washer. Now, watching people enjoy my meals gives me great pleasure. I want to follow in the footsteps of some of my favorite cooks.

 If I counted the hours I write, my pay would fall far below minimum wage. I occasionally write for no pay, if I believe in an organization’s work. I love writing better than I love eating chocolate. Believe me, that is amazing.

Teaching middle-school girls gives me more joy than receiving a paycheck. Most people do everything they can to avoid that age. Yet, I look forward to time with my girls every Sunday morning. I have known some of them since they were knee high to a grasshopper.

What about you? What are your labors of love? Please comment below.

“We remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Thessalonians 1:3 NIV).

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