THE WOUND, OR THE WARMTH?

"A true friend freely, advises justly, assists readily, adventures boldly, takes all patiently, defends courageously, and continues a friend unchangeably." - William Penn 

No man is an Island. A tree cannot make a forest. No one can become anything significant in isolation. Without the team, there cannot be that outstanding player. Ronaldo, Messi and the great names in the soccer hall of fame wouldn't be where they are today by themselves. They need the support of team mates.

It was probably the coldest winter ever: many animals had died, the cold was unbearable. The hedgehogs, realizing the situation, grouped together to keep warm. By this they covered and protected themselves sharing body heat to keep warm but the quills of each one wounded their closest companion. After awhile, they decided to leave a little distance between themselves - one from the other - but they began to die. Freezing. They had to make a choice: stick with the injury from the next animal and stay alive and warm or die from cold and comfort. So, they learned to live with the little wounds

YOUR SMOKE SIGNAL

"We must accept finite disappointment, but never lose infinite hope." - Martin Luther King, Jr.

 

He was the only survivor of a shipwreck; washed up a small, uninhabited island. He prayed feverishly for God to rescue him, and every day he scanned the horizon for help, but none seemed forthcoming. Exhausted, he eventually managed to build a little hut out of driftwood to protect Him from the elements, and to store his few possessions. Then one day, after scavenging for food, he arrived home to find his little hut in flames, the smoke rolling up to the sky. The worst had happened; everything was lost. He was stunned with grief and anger. "God, how could you do this to me!" he cried. Early the next day, however, he was awakened by the sound of a ship that was approaching the island. It had come to rescue him. "How did you know I was here?" asked the weary man of his rescuers. "We saw your smoke signal," they replied.

When everything seems to be going bad, and every event negative, it's easy to give up hope. The next logical option is, throwing in the towel. You must have heard the saying; when the going gets tough, the tough gets going. The bible admonished us that, "if you faint in the day, of your adversity your strength is small". Tough times never, last but tough people do. Getting discouraged is the easiest thing to do when things are bad. We shouldn't lose hope, God is at work in our lives - who knows God might have bragged to the devil about you - even in the midst of pain and suffering.

Remember, next time your little hut is burning to the ground-it just may be a smoke signal that summons the grace of God.