The Shoe Box

 A man and woman had been married for more than 60 years.

They had shared everything. They had talked about everything. 
They had kept no secrets from each other except that the little 
old woman had a shoe box in the top of her closet that she had 
cautioned her husband never to open or ask her about. 
For all of these years, he had never thought about the box, but 
one day the little old woman got very sick and the doctor said 
she would not recover. 

In trying to sort out their affairs, the little old man took 
down the shoe box and took it to his wife’s bedside. 
She agreed that it was time that he should know what was 
in the box. When he opened it, he found two crocheted 
dolls and a stack of money totaling $95,000. 

He asked her about the contents. ‘When we were to be 
married,’ she said, ‘ my grandmother told me the secret of a happy 
marriage was to never argue. She told me that if I ever got angry 
with you, I should just keep quiet and crochet a doll.’ 
  
  
The little old man was so moved; he had to fight back 
tears. Only two precious dolls were in the box. She had only been angry 
with him two times in all those years of living and loving. He almost 
burst with happiness. ‘Honey,’ he said, ‘that explains the doll, 
but what about all of this money? Where did it come from?’ 

‘Oh,’ she said, ‘that’s the money I made from selling the dolls.’ 
  
A Prayer……. 
Dear Lord, I pray for Wisdom to understand my man; 
Love to forgive him; And Patience for his moods; 
Because Lord, if I pray for Strength, 
I’ll beat him to death, because I don’t know how to crochet.