Monday, January 22, 2018

take in a goat

I told this story in church on Sunday, it is one of my favorites.

A man went to visit the Master, he said,  "I am in desperate need of help — or I'll go crazy. We're living in a single room — my wife, my children and my in-laws. So our nerves are on edge, we yell and scream at one another. The room is a hell."

"Do you promise to do whatever I tell you?" said the Master gravely.

"I swear I shall do anything," said the man.

"Very well. How many animals do you have?"

"A cow, a goat and six chickens," said the man.

"Take them all into the room with you. Then come back after a week."

The disciple was appalled. But he had promised to obey! So he took the animals in. A week later he came back, a pitiable figure, moaning, "I'm a nervous wreck. The dirt! The stench! The noise! We're all on the verge of madness!"

"Go back," said the Master, "and put the animals out."

The man ran all the way home. And came back the following day, his eyes sparkling with joy. "How sweet life is! The animals are out. The home is a Paradise, so quiet and clean and roomy!"


The moral of this story to me is that we tend to complain about things that really are not that bad.  No matter how bad a thing is, things can always get worse.  So we have the ongoing choice every day of seeing the good or not.  The choice is up to us.

It's a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.
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I am leading some trips in 2018. If you are interested in reading about them, or joining in, the links are below.....

Holy Land via Jordan
March 5-14 2018

Wesley's Ireland
October 8-17, 2018

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