SHAKE IT OFF AND TAKE A STEP UP

One day a farmer's donkey fell down into a well. The animal cried piteously for hours as the farmer tried to determine what to do. Eventually he decided the animal was old, that the well needed to be covered anyway and that it just wasn't worth retrieving the donkey. So he called on his neighbours to come over and help him. Each of them grabbed a shovel and began to shovel dirt into the well.

At first, the donkey realised what was happening and cried horribly. Then, to everyone's surprise, he quietened down. A few shovel loads later, the farmer finally looked down the well and was astonished at what he saw. With every shovel of dirt that hit his back, the donkey was doing something amazing. He would shake it off and take a step up.

As the farmer's neighbours 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 up over the edge of the well and raced off! 

Learning Point:

Life is going to shovel dirt on you – all kinds of dirt. The key to getting out of the well is to shake it off and take a step up.

THE 99 CLUB: A LESSON ON CONTENTMENT

Some time ago, there lived a King. This King should have been contented with his life, given all the riches and luxuries he had. However, this was not the case! The King always found himself wondering why he just never seemed content with his life. Sure, he had the attention of everyone wherever he went, attended fancy dinners and parties, but somehow, he still felt something was lacking and he couldn’t put his finger on it.

One day, the King had woken up earlier than usual to stroll around his palace. He entered his huge living room and came to a stop when he heard someone happily singing some distance away. Following the direction where the song wafted from, he saw that it was one of his servants who was singing. The man had such a very contented look on his face. This fascinated the King and he summoned this man to his chambers. When the man entered the chambers, the king asked him why he was so happy. To this the man replied: “Your Majesty, I am nothing but a servant, but I make enough of a living to keep my wife and children happy. We don’t need too much, a roof over our heads and warm food to fill our tummies. My wife and children are my inspiration; they are content with whatever little I bring home. I am happy because my family is happy.”

Hearing this, the King dismissed the servant and summoned his Personal Assistant to his chambers. The King related his personal anguish to him and then told him the story of the servant, hoping that somehow, he would be able to come up with some reasoning that would explain why he, a King who could have anything he wished for at a snap of his fingers, was not contented, whereas his servant, who had so little, was extremely contented with life. The Personal Assistant listened attentively to the king and then said, “Your Majesty, I believe that the servant has not been made part of The 99 Club.” 

“The 99 Club? the King inquired curiously, “What is it all about?”

The Assistant replied, “Your Majesty, to truly know what The 99 Club is, you will have to do this; place 99 gold coins in a bag and leave it at this servant’s doorstep. Then you will then understand what The 99 Club is.”

That very same night, the King arranged for 99 gold coins to be placed in a bag at the servant’s doorstep. Although he was somehow hesitant and thought he should have put 100 gold coins into the bag instead. But since his Assistant had advised 99, that is what he did.

The following morning, the servant was stepping out of his house when he saw a bag at his doorstep. Wondering what its contents could be, he took it into the house and opened the bag. When he opened the bag, he let out a great big shout of joy, “Gold Coins!” And so many of them! He could hardly believe it. He called his wife to show her the coins. He then took the bag to a table and emptied it out and began to count the coins. Doing so, he realized that there were 99 coins. He thought that was an odd number, so he counted again, and again, and again only to come to the same conclusion… 99 Gold Coins. He began to wonder, what could have happened to that last one coin? For no one would leave 99 coins. He began to search his entire house, looked around his backyard for hours, not wanting to lose out on that one coin. Finally, exhausted, he decided that he was going to have to work harder than ever before to make up for that one gold coin so as to make his entire collection an even 100 gold coins.

He got up the following day in an extremely horrible mood, shouting at the children and his wife for his delay. He had spent most of the night thinking how he would work hard so that he would have enough money to buy himself that one gold coin. He went to work as usual – but not in his usual best mood, as he grumpily did in his daily errands. The King was puzzled to see that the man’s attitude had changed so drastically. He promptly summoned his assistant to his chambers and related to him his new observation about the servant. The King could not believe that the servant whom until yesterday had been singing away and was happy and content with his life had taken such a sudden downward slope in attitude, when he ought to be happier after receiving the gold coins.

To this the assistant replied “Ah! But your Majesty, the servant has now officially joined The 99 Club.” He explained: “The 99 Club is just a name given to those people who have everything but yet are never contented, therefore they are always working hard and striving for that extra one to round it up to 100!

We have so much to be thankful for and we can live with very little in our lives. But the minute we are given something bigger and better, we want even more! We are not the same happy and contented person we used to be, we want more and more. And by wanting more and more we don’t realize the price we pay for it. We lose our sleep, our happiness; we hurt the people around us just as a price to pay for our growing needs and desires. That is what joining The 99 Club is all about.”

Hearing this, King decided that from that day onward, he was going to start appreciating the little things in life.

Learning point: Striving for more is always good, but let’s not strive so hard and for so much that we lose all those near and dear to our hearts, we shouldn’t compromise our happiness for moments of luxuries!

A LESSON ON ANGER

A seminary professor was teaching about Proverbs 15: 1. He asked his students, 'why do we shout in anger? Why do people shout at each other when they are upset?' The students thought for a while. One said, because we lose our calm. But why shout when the other person is just next to you? Asked the professor. Isn't it possible to speak to him or her with a soft voice? Why do you shout at a person when you are angry? The students gave various answers but none satisfied the professor.

Finally he explained, 'when two people are angry at each other, there is a distance in their hearts psychologically. To cover the distance, they must shout to be able to hear each other. The angrier they are, the stronger they will shout to hear each other through that great distance. Then the Professor asked, 'What happens when two people fall in love? They don't shout at each other but talk softly. Why? Because their hearts are psychologically close. The distance between them is very close. The Professor continued, 'When they love each other even more, what happens? They don't speak, only whisper and they even get closer to each other in their love. Finally they even need not whisper, they only look at each other and that's all.

So next time you shout on a loved one, know that you are creating distance between your heart and that person’s heart. Proverbs 15:1 says a gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.

GOD OFTEN SENDS HELP THROUGH PEOPLE

An itinerant preacher finds himself in a terrible rainstorm. Within a few hours, the hotel he is staying in gets flooded. As the water rises, the preacher climbs to the roof and starts praying. "Lord, save me so I can continue on my mission of preaching your gospel." Just then, a coast guard rescue party floats by in a rowboat. "Let's go mister. Into the boat." "I'll stay here," says the preacher, "The Lord will save me." 

An hour later a second boat reaches the scene and the water is close to the roof of the hotel. "Sir, you better get in. the water is still rising." "No thanks. The Lord will be my salvation." Toward evening, the hotel is almost completely under water and the preacher is clinging to the satellite dish on the roof. A helicopter is spotted and on a loudspeaker is heard "Sir, grab on to the line and we will pull you up. This is your last chance. "I'm all right," says the preacher, as he looks heavenward. "I know the Lord will provide sanctuary." 

As the boat departs, the satellite dish is hit by lightning and the preacher is killed. When he arrived at the Pearly Gates he was furious. "What happened," he shouts. "I thought the Lord would provide!" Moments later a thunderous voice is heard. "Gimmie a break pal. I sent you 2 boats and a chopper"

A LESSON IN TIME MANAGEMENT

One day, a Professor of Psychology with expertise in Time Management was speaking to a class of business students and, to drive home the lesson, used an illustration those students will never forget. As he stood in front of the group of high-powered over-achievers he said, "Okay, time for a quiz" and he pulled out a one-gallon, wide-mouth mason jar and set it on the table in front of him. He also produced about a dozen fist-sized rocks and carefully placed them, one at a time, into the jar. When the jar was filled to the top and no more rocks would fit inside, he asked, "Is this jar full?" Everyone in the class yelled, "Yes." 

The time management expert replied, "Really?" He reached under the table and pulled out a bucket of gravel. He dumped some gravel in and shook the jar causing pieces of gravel to work themselves down into the spaces between the big rocks. He then asked the group once more, "Is the jar full?" By this time the class was on to him. "Probably not," one of them answered. "Good!" he replied. He reached under the table and brought out a bucket of sand. He started dumping the sand in the jar and it went into all of the spaces left between the rocks and the gravel. Once more he asked the question, "Is this jar full?" "No!" the class shouted. Once again he said, "Good."

Then he grabbed a pitcher of water and began to pour it in until the jar was filled to the brim. Then he looked at the class and asked, "What is the point of this illustration?" One eager beaver raised his hand and said, "The point is, no matter how full your schedule is, if you try really hard you can always fit some more things in it!" "No," the speaker replied, "that's not the point. The truth this illustration teaches us is, "If you don't put the big rocks in first, you'll never get them in at all. What are the 'big rocks' in your life, time with loved ones, your faith, your education, your dreams, a worthy cause, teaching or mentoring others? Remember to put these BIG ROCKS in first or you'll never get them in at all. So, tonight, or in the morning, when you are reflecting on this short story, ask yourself this question, "What are the 'big rocks' in my life?" Then, put those in your jar first.