A rock in the road
Yesterday, I had a conversation with a friend of mine who is dealing with some difficult problems in her life. Interestingly (but not coincidentally, I believe), I received an email from Diane that helps me make sense out of the trials and obstacles in our lives:
In ancient times, a King had a boulder placed on a roadway. He then hid himself and watched to see if anyone would remove the huge rock. Someof the king's wealthiest merchants and courtiers came by and simply walked around it. Many loudly blamed the King for not keeping the roads clear, but none of them did anything about getting the stone out of the way.
Then a peasant came along carrying a load of vegetables. Upon approaching the boulder, the peasant laid down his burden and tried to move the stone to the side of the road. After much pushing and straining, he finally succeeded. After the peasant picked up his load of vegetables, he noticed a purse lying in the road where the boulder had been. The purse contained many gold coins and a note from the King indicating that the gold was for the person who removed the boulder from the roadway.
The peasant learned what many of us never understand: Every obstacle presents an opportunity to improve our condition.
This is why we struggle. This is why God allows for obstacles to get in our way.
Thanks for this, Di.
- ACL
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Hey Dre,
Great parable. You make a fantastic point that shows why you are a success at the things you do. For some people everything is an unmoveable obstacle, therefore all you can do is bitch about it. Other people, like you, see it as a challege, a way to prove they can't beat you. "If you think you can't....your right."
Welcome, Andre. Hope this helps your friend. :-)
NOT coicidentally, happened to find your blog and enjoy reading it...
This post was exactly what I needed to hear...thx.
Good post Andre. Also, great email Diane. I like the part about how all of the King's "people" were talking bad about him and ridiculing him without doing anything about it. Sounds like some so-called Christians we know? Hmmmm?
Cynthia,
Add to that the idea that the King's people also left the stone in the road as somebody else's problem, even though they saw it as an obstacle. How many of us leave hurdles up to other people?
Nice email, Diane.
Good point, saved.
@ HC: Sorry, my friend. I can't take credit for this one. This lessson is courtesy of my dear friend Diane.
But you're correct in one sense: many people complain about things, but few people do anything about it. Sorta reminds me of the commercial where everyone is looking down at a piece of trash on the street talking about it. Then one kid comes out of nowhere, picks it up, and throws it away. Now, most of the obstacles we face in life are not as trivial as a piece of trash, but I get the point of the message.
@ Diane: Even if this message doesn't help another soul, it has at least helped me. Thanx!
@ Fit: Welcome to my head. It may get a little bumpy from time to time, but I hope you enjoy your stay.
I took a peek at your blog also. Pretty interesting...
Thanks for blessing me.
@ Cynthia: Exactly. Well put. When Job had all the crap going down, his friends told him to curse God and die. But Job remained faithful to God and his rewards were abundant. That gives me a sense of encouragement.
@ Saved: Good call Rob. Most of the King's "people" left the problem for someone else, while the lowly peasant took care of it. Sorta like how the Good Samaritan took care of the battered and broken man when the religious folks dismissed him. That's a powerful message to me.
Thank you for sharing this.
I think I needed to read this today...
Great lesson Diane.
Andre, have you seen the commercials that repeat the phrase "Someone almost" did this or that to help someone out? In one of them it shows how a bunch of people "almost" helped a homeless man on a freezing cold night, it ends with the man "almost" making it through the night. A chilling lesson on how "almost" helping is really not helping at all.
@ Sombra: Thanks for sharing your comment. It was a blessing that I needed.
@ HC: I can't say that I've ever seen that commercial. If you know where to find it, I'm interested in seeing it.
But even though I didn't see it, I get the point. It's tragic that we pass up opportunities to bless other people EVERY SINGLE DAY; not realizing that we've not on this Earth just for ourselves. Rather, we've been given life so that we can bless someone else. In some strange way, I think that we NEED the 'least of these' in our society. We need them so that we can find the better person inside of ourselves. Without having something to bring out our good, we become self-absorded, vaccuous, lifeless souls.
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