One day,
a farmer's donkey fell into a dried up well. The animal cried piteously
for hours as the farmer tried to figure out what to do. Finally,
he decided that the animal was old, the well needed to be covered
up, and retrieving the donkey just wasn't worth the effort. So he
invited his neighbors to come over and help him bury the donkey
in the well to put him out of his misery.
They all grabbed shovels and
began to scoop dirt into the well. At first, the donkey realized
what was happening and again cried pitifully. Then, to everyone's
amazement, he quieted down. A few shovel loads later, the farmer
finally looked down into the well and was astonished at what he
saw. With each shovel load of dirt that hit his back, the donkey
did something amazing. He shook it off and took a step up!
As the farmer's neighbors continued
to shovel dirt on top of the animal, he would shake it off and take
a step up. Pretty soon, everyone was amazed as the donkey stepped
triumphantly over the edge of the well and trotted off! As with
the donkey, life is going to shovel dirt on you, all kinds of dirt.
The trick to getting out of the well is to shake it off and take
a step up. Each setback we encounter is like dirt shoveled on our
backs. Each of our troubles is a stepping stone. We can get out
of the deepest wells just by not stopping, by never giving up! Shake
it off and take a step up!
What seemed like it would bury
the donkey actually blessed him-because of the way in which he handled
his adversity. This is a key to one of the mysteries of life. If
we face our problems, respond to them positively and refuse to give
in to panic and bitterness, the adversities that come along to bury
us usually have within them the potential to benefit and bless us!
It is up to us to remember
to develop the ability to forgive, forget, and press toward our
goal. We need to keep developing our faith, our hope and our ability
to love unconditionally. These are the tools that will help us "shake
it off and step up" out of the wells in which we find ourselves.
