An old legend relates that long ago, God had a
great many burdens which He wished to have
carried from one place to another on earth, so
He asked the animals to lend a hand. But all of
them began to make excuses for not helping: the
elephant was too dignified; the lion, too proud;
and so on. Finally the birds came to God and
said, "If you will tie the burdens into small
bundles, we'll be glad to carry them for you. We
are small but we would like to help."
So God fastened upon the back of each one a
small bundle, and they all set out walking
across the plain to their destination. They sang
as they went, and did not seem to feel the
weight of their burdens at all. Every day the
burdens seemed lighter and lighter, until the
loads seems to be lifting the birds, instead of
the birds carrying the burdens.
When they arrived at their destination, they
discovered that when they removed their loads,
there were wings in their place, wings which
enabled them to fly to the sky and the tree
tops.
They had learned how to carry their burdens, and
their loads had become wings to carry them
nearer to God.
Burdens we carry for others may become wings of
the spirit to lift us into happiness that we
have never known.
We sometimes lose perspective of the difference
we can make, when we care more of our giving and
care less of what we take. When we do
nothing out of selfish ambition nor vain conceit, but in humility; when we look not only
to our own interests, but also to the interests of others, God will
bless us in many ways we do not even expect.
If we put God and others first, we will experience
real joy and happiness in our own life.
The saying goes: "Jesus,
Others, You ...(in that order), what a wonderful way to spell JOY!"
By Tim Pedrosa
Troubles
are often the tools by which God fashions us for better things.
-- Henry Ward Beecher
|
Tim
|