Tuesday, June 6, 2017

very well, very well

One of my favorite people in the world once told me that this story changed her life.  It is a real thinker though......

Once in a small village a teenage girl became pregnant.  She hid it from her parents for as long as she could, but eventually they confronted her.  Not wanting to take responsibility, and not wanting to implicate her teenage boyfriend, she told her parents that she was with child by the monk who lived just outside of town.

The parents were furious and they called the village leaders together.  The elders determined a course of action.  When the baby was born, the girl, the parents and the village leaders all went out to confront the monk.  "You foolish, terrible man.  You have impregnated this young girl.  You have fathered this child.  Here, you take it and raise it.  You foolish terrible man."

The monk held out his arms, received the child and said, "very well, very well."

After some months, the young girl, like all mothers do, began to pine for he child.  She couldn't take it anymore so she sat down with her parents and told them the truth.  It was not the monk, it was my boyfriend Johnny that had fathered the child.

The parents were mortified, they were beside themselves.  The had believed a lie, drawn others into it, shamed a holy man and given away their only grandchild.   They gathered up the village leaders and returned to the monk.  

The monk saw them coming and stepped outside carrying the six month old child.
They addressed the monk, Dear Sir, we come to apologize to you.  We were wrong.  You did not do this.  We are sorry that we shamed you.  Please sir can we have the baby back.

The monk smiled, held out the child and said, "very well, very well."

Commentary.... Jesus said don't worry...... what is coming your way today?  Avoid a collision if at all possible.  Avoid the terrible things that you can.  But some things are coming your way that you cannot avoid.  How will we accept them?  Will we make ourselves sick with worry or will we open our arms to the gift of this day?

Very well, very well.  It's a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

So much of what you have said along the way and continue to write has changed my life and the way I react. Thank you for sharing this story. If I had a wish today, it would be that people all over, could hear you like I do. It really is life-altering. And I never want to lose that.