How long we live is not for us to say;
We may have years ahead-or but a day.
The length of life is not of our control,
But length is not the measure of the soul.-

Not length, but width and depth define the span
By which the world takes measure of a man.
It matters not how long before we sleep,
But only how wide is our life-how deep.

- Helen Marshall
* * *
Greatness is not found in possessions, power, position or prestige. It is discovered in goodness, humility, service, and character.

- William Arthur Ward

* * *
The stories we hear about the 19th century Italian patriot, Giuseppe Garibaldi, are usually about his courage as a soldier and his greatness as a leader, but there was another and perhaps unexpected side to his character.

Late one evening as he and his men were returning to their quarters, they met a shepherd looking for a lost lamb. They all went off searching in different directions and Garibaldi’s men lost touch with their leader and eventually returned without him.

Next morning Garibaldi’s servant was surprised to find him fast asleep long after he was usually up and about. The servant’s movements disturbed Garibaldi and he woke up. Then, reaching down under the bed clothes, Garibaldi brought out the lost lamb. He had found it, half-dead with cold, and revived it in the warmth of his own bed.

- Francis Gay

* * *
We can do no great things, only small things with great love.

- Mother Teresa

* * *
One of the outstanding ironies of history is the utter disregard of ranks and titles in the final judgments men pass on each other. The final estimate of men shows that history cares not an iota for the rank or title a man has borne, or the office he has held, but only the quality of his deeds and the character of his mind and heart.

- Samuel Logan Brengle

* * *
Everybody can be great … because anybody can serve. You don’t have to have a college degree to serve. You don’t have to make your subject and verb agree to serve. You only need a heart full of grace. A soul generated by love.

- Martin Luther King, Jr.

* * *
Even if perhaps you don’t have the most talent or experience, God can use you! In fact, that’s the way the Lord usually works: He takes the weak things to confound the mighty and He takes the people that really aren’t the best in a worldly sense, so He can show what He can do! (See 1 Corinthians 1:26-28.)

Although you may not be the greatest in the eyes of the world, you can be the greatest in the eyes of the Lord by serving Him and others in love.-And He can make you strong when you’re weak, to show it’s His strength and His miraculous power! (2 Corinthians 4:7; 12:9).

- David Brandt Berg

How Deep a Life, Copyright © 1998-2012, The Family International