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Thank you for visiting my blog. I hope you will come often. It is my hope that these stories and reflections will be helpful in your spiritual journey. I look forward to your thoughts, questions, or suggestions. Please leave your comments and join as a follower so I will know you were here. It is a privilege to share the journey with you.

If you wish to know more about me, spiritual direction or retreats visit my website. www.bunnycox.com. Blessings, Bunny

*See first posting in January, 2011 to learn why this blog is called "From the Big Red Chair."

Thursday, March 1, 2012

Who's to Say?




"Never place a period where God has placed a comma."~Gracie Allen

There is a story about a Chinese farmer who had one horse.  The horse helped the farmer plow. It helped the farmer harvest his fields, and it carried the farmer to market when it was time to sell his crop. The horse was important to the farmer. 

One day the horse ran away. For days, the old farmer searched for the horse, but alas, it could not be found. The farmer told his neighbors in the village that he had lost his beloved animal.



His neighbors said, "What bad luck!"


The old farmer shrugged and said, "Bad luck, good luck, who is to say?"


Two days later, the horse returned, bringing with him six wild horses. Six horses were added to the farmer's wealth.


The villagers said, "We heard about the animals you now have.  What good luck!"


The old farmer shrugged, "Good luck, bad luck, who is to say?"


The farmer's son realized if he could tame the wild horses, they could be sold as farm animals. He climbed upon a horse's back, but the horse bucked him off, and he broke his leg. 


The neighbors heard about the farmer's son breaking his leg. "Sorry to hear about your bad luck," they said.

"Good luck, bad luck, who is to say?" the farmer replied.

Not long after that, a war broke out among the city-states in the province of China. The government came through and conscripted every able-bodied man under the age of sixty to go and fight. Because the son had been injured, he was not required to go. That turned out to be something very good because every villager who was drafted into service was killed in the war. 

Once again the farmer said, "Good luck, bad luck, who is to say?"


Reflections:


"True hope dwells on the possible, even when life seems to be a plot written by someone who wants to see how much adversity we can overcome."~Walter Anderson


"What seems to us as bitter trials are often blessings in disguise."~Oscar Wilde


When Joseph sat in a deep, dark hole, thrown there by his brothers, I doubt if he knew in a matter of time, he would go from the pit to the palace.~Bunny Cox (Reference: Genesis 41:1-57)


-Have I experienced adversity?  If so, how did it affect my prayer life?
-What role has perseverance played in my spiritual journey?
-Have I had an experience that turned out quite differently than I thought it would in the beginning?
-Has God ever surprised me? What happened?
-Have I experienced blessings in disguise?





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