Two men among many others were to carry open baskets on their backs for as long as(till) they reached their destination. The journey was by no exaggeration a very long and challenging one. These two men were different though. They were never told what they were carrying.They could never see it for themselves.What they did know,as they were promised, was that at some point,they would see what that had been given.
The first man was never particularly concerned to look into the other man's basket, even at the times when he walked behind him. His only focus was to "keep focused",get there and have a beautiful treasure revealed to him as his burden all this time. The other man however, paid particular attention to look into the other man's basket,till one day he realized that the other man had golden stones carrying in his basket.
Upon the revelation, he sat on the ground, demotivated, for his burden had seemed a lot lighter than that of the other man.He wondered if he had any treasure at all. He became very pensive and continued walking uphill,till he felt something leak out of his basket. Unable to get his basket off his back he stretched his hands to his lower back and to his dismay, dirt was seeping out of his basket. His basket seemed significantly heavier then and he dreaded almost every step for he had made up his mind that he knew what he had been given. He knew he had been given a lot of dirt and would be rewarded dirt when they arrived at their individual destinations. The man with the gold stopped before him. It was time for him to open his basket. This man broke down in tears, for he had great trust that he would receive something amazing,though he never had any evidence that his hope might manifest. The other man, with the seeping dirt basket become grossly disheartened, angry even at the fact that his time to open his basket had not yet come. This was absolutely ridiculous!
"I only have dirt, why must I go on for so long. It is nothing precious!, what am I to do with it, build a mud hut to live in?"
He went on and on and on,and on. And so it continued, a journey extended twice its length;half being the actual length of the journey and the other half the mental anguish,complacency and dread this man felt for going on, in this journey having been allotted a useless burden. He got the feeling that he was approaching his destination. He had become resolute-certain that he knew what he had.Faced with what he deem inevitable ,he had accepted that he had dirt.Still very disheartened, it was time to set his basket down and so he did.
His eyes welled with tears from the disbelief. He squinted as the sunlight came overhead. The stones reflecting out of his basket were blinding. He had been given diamonds. Only now did it make sense.The basket had been filtering the load of diamonds from the dirt. His face tightened with shame and regret as he recalled his complaints. He had been given a treasure far greater than the man who he had envied for so long when he could have spent time enjoying himself-trusting much like the man with the golden stones that he too had been given something good.
Written by: Latonia Duncan
MORAL/ STELLA'S SYNOPSIS:
We are all on this beautiful and at times challenging journey called life. Do not spend so much time scrutinizing the blessings you see unfolding in other people's lives that you forget to be grateful and focused on what God has given to you.Each of us has been blessed.Your blessing may vary significantly from your brother's blessing but it is a blessing all the same-capable of bringing tenfold beyond your wildest imaginings.The road may be rough and circumstances may bring forth what seems to be evidence of failure ,but God is always in control. What is yours is yours. Be steadfast. Be focused and trust that he will take care for you. For what he can do for one, he can also do for another.However, remain mindful that not everything you want is something that you need for many times the things we think would make our lives better, can truly make them worse.
Happy Basket opening:)
The first man was never particularly concerned to look into the other man's basket, even at the times when he walked behind him. His only focus was to "keep focused",get there and have a beautiful treasure revealed to him as his burden all this time. The other man however, paid particular attention to look into the other man's basket,till one day he realized that the other man had golden stones carrying in his basket.
Upon the revelation, he sat on the ground, demotivated, for his burden had seemed a lot lighter than that of the other man.He wondered if he had any treasure at all. He became very pensive and continued walking uphill,till he felt something leak out of his basket. Unable to get his basket off his back he stretched his hands to his lower back and to his dismay, dirt was seeping out of his basket. His basket seemed significantly heavier then and he dreaded almost every step for he had made up his mind that he knew what he had been given. He knew he had been given a lot of dirt and would be rewarded dirt when they arrived at their individual destinations. The man with the gold stopped before him. It was time for him to open his basket. This man broke down in tears, for he had great trust that he would receive something amazing,though he never had any evidence that his hope might manifest. The other man, with the seeping dirt basket become grossly disheartened, angry even at the fact that his time to open his basket had not yet come. This was absolutely ridiculous!
"I only have dirt, why must I go on for so long. It is nothing precious!, what am I to do with it, build a mud hut to live in?"
He went on and on and on,and on. And so it continued, a journey extended twice its length;half being the actual length of the journey and the other half the mental anguish,complacency and dread this man felt for going on, in this journey having been allotted a useless burden. He got the feeling that he was approaching his destination. He had become resolute-certain that he knew what he had.Faced with what he deem inevitable ,he had accepted that he had dirt.Still very disheartened, it was time to set his basket down and so he did.
His eyes welled with tears from the disbelief. He squinted as the sunlight came overhead. The stones reflecting out of his basket were blinding. He had been given diamonds. Only now did it make sense.The basket had been filtering the load of diamonds from the dirt. His face tightened with shame and regret as he recalled his complaints. He had been given a treasure far greater than the man who he had envied for so long when he could have spent time enjoying himself-trusting much like the man with the golden stones that he too had been given something good.
Written by: Latonia Duncan
MORAL/ STELLA'S SYNOPSIS:
We are all on this beautiful and at times challenging journey called life. Do not spend so much time scrutinizing the blessings you see unfolding in other people's lives that you forget to be grateful and focused on what God has given to you.Each of us has been blessed.Your blessing may vary significantly from your brother's blessing but it is a blessing all the same-capable of bringing tenfold beyond your wildest imaginings.The road may be rough and circumstances may bring forth what seems to be evidence of failure ,but God is always in control. What is yours is yours. Be steadfast. Be focused and trust that he will take care for you. For what he can do for one, he can also do for another.However, remain mindful that not everything you want is something that you need for many times the things we think would make our lives better, can truly make them worse.Happy Basket opening:)
A good reminder for me to always be grateful and to mind my own basket and my own way instead of getting distracted by trivial pursuits. Not everyone will choose the same path as me and I ought to respect that because it´s not their journey to understand. It´s not about who finished first either,nor is it about choosing a particular path. At some point in the journey we realise that your sole intent is to live your own truth not to convince others of it.
ReplyDeleteWow this helped so much more than You know toni. THANK YOU :)
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