Obstacles in Life

While we all pray for each other that one should not come across any obstacle in life, I have a different view after read the following.

We must come across obstacles and need to pray for each other to overcome obstacles (with some pain) and progress.

One night recently my daughter, Elizabeth, was showing me an aquarium full of tadpoles. She had purchased a whole bag full of them for her children to watch grow from tadpoles into frogs. It was fun watching all of those little wiggly creatures swimming around in the aquarium! It brought back many fond memories of my own childhood, playing with "critters" down at my grandparent's house.

I noticed that there was a big rock in the aquarium. When I asked her why she put a rock right in the middle of the tadpoles' environment, Elizabeth told me an interesting story. I can hardly believe that I have lived almost seventy years without having heard it. It is so good and "life-essence saturated."

Elizabeth said that she was instructed by the Pet Store Salesman to be sure to "put a big rock right in the middle of the aquarium." He
explained that "the tadpoles must have this obstacle to give them the incentive to climb up and thus split their little wiggly tails so that their legs can begin to develop. If they have no rock or obstacle to climb up on, they will never turn into frogs. They cannot learn how to hop by just swimming around in water. They must have something causing resistance to give them the incentive to leap forward.

The man went on to tell her that last year a school teacher came back to the store and complained because none of her tadpoles had ever turned into frogs. She had put all of them in an aquarium and let them swim around but they never became frogs. He asked her if she had put a big obstacle, like a rock, in the middle of the aquarium. She said that she had not. She did not know that a tadpole will remain a tadpole unless it faces some obstacle or barrier that forces it to grow. Neither did I, but it makes perfect sense.

So, my daughter was excited to show me all of the tadpoles swimming around the rock. In time, they will begin to try to climb up it and eventually they will make the transformation into a more fully mature creature.

Well, I was amazed and delighted to hear that story. It helped me better to see, once again, why life presents obstacles and barriers in front of us. The barriers are not there to hinder us, but they are there to cause us to grow. It is not so much what the object is in front of each one of us that matters as much as it is our attitude towards it. If we realize that the obstacle we are facing is really a gift that has come our way to help us grow and mature, we will be much more likely to face it in a positive manner.

Since I watched those tadpoles the other night and saw the big rock in their aquarium, I have begun to see the obstacles I face in a
different way. Instead of being rocks in my path, those obstacles have becomestepping stones to help me leap forward in whatever
situation I find myself..

I know that those little tadpoles have no idea what is going on. They just are not that smart. The truth of the matter is, neither are we. Most of us have no idea what all is going on in our lives either. We don't understand that the barriers and obstacles, challenges, difficulties and hard times that come our way each day are actually there for a purpose. There is no way we will have the incentive to grow, or to become better, or to strive harder, if everything in life is just a simple situation. I know the harder I work at anything, the more profitable it is for me, not only financially, but personally, in my own heart and character as well.

So, the next time you see a frog hopping around, smile at him and thank him for the lesson, remembering the struggle he has gone through to get where he is. Perhaps out in the wild somewhere, he faced a difficult rock or barrier in his life, but rather than swimming away from it, he just crawled up on it and began to develop his personal strength until he eventually matured to become the frog that you see hopping around.

Moral: Remember... Obstacles are there to help you.

Bridge of Love

Once upon a time two brothers who lived on adjoining farms fell into conflict.

It was the first serious rift in 40 years of farming side by side, sharing machinery, and trading labor and goods as needed without a hitch.Then the long collaboration fell apart. It began with a small misunderstanding and it grew into a major difference, and finally it exploded into an exchange of bitter words followed by weeks of silence.

One morning there was a knock on John's door. He opened it to find a man with a carpenter's toolbox. "I'm looking for a few days work" he said."Perhaps you would have a few small jobs here and there I could help with? Could I help you?

"Yes," said the older brother. "I do have a job for you. Look across the creek at that farm. That's my neighbor, in fact, it's my younger brother.Last week there was a meadow between us and he took his bulldozer to the river levee and now there is a creek between us. Well, he may have done this to spite me, but I'll go him one better. See that pile of lumber by the barn?I? want you to build me a fence - - an 8-foot fence -- so I won't need to see his place or his face anymore."

The carpenter said, "I think I understand the situation. Show me the nails and the post hole digger and I'll be able to do a job that pleases you."

The older brother had to go to town, so he helped the carpenter get the materials ready and then he was off for the day. The carpenter worked hard all that day measuring, sawing, nailing, and hammering.

About sunset when the farmer returned, the carpenter had just finished his job. The farmer's eyes opened wide, his jaw dropped. There was no fence there at all.

It was a bridge -- a bridge stretching from one side of the creek to the other! A fine piece of work handrails and all -- and the neighbor, his younger brother, was coming across, his hand outstretched."You are quite a fellow to build this bridge after all I've said and done."

The two brothers stood at each end of the bridge, and then they met in the middle, taking each other's hand. They turned to see the carpenter hoist his toolbox on his shoulder.

"No, wait! Stay a few days. I've a lot of other projects for you," said the older brother.

"I'd love to stay on," the carpenter said, "but, I have many more love bridges to build."

Butterfly's Struggle

Once a biology class was going on.. The teacher was teaching the class on how a butterfly comes out of its cocoon... He brought a live cocoon to demonstrate a butterfly coming out... Unfortunately he was called out on an urgent task before the butterfly could come out... But before he went he warned the class that on no condition should anyone help the butterfly to come out...
 
He went out and after some time the cocoon opened and the butterfly started to come out...
 
One boy taking pity on the butterfly's struggle helped it to come out...
 
The sir returned and saw the butterfly and then asked the class, Who helped the butterfly?
 
The boy raised his hand and confessed...
 
The sir said u did grave error in helping the butterfly...
 
In helping it u deprived the butterfly of it life's goal...
 
The initial struggle out of the cocoon should help the butterfly strengthen its wings...
 
now it will never fly...
 
We are also in some ways like this butterfly... Sometimes Struggles are exactly what we need in our life. If we were to go through life without any obstacles, It would cripple us. We would not be as strong as we could have been And we could never fly.
 
So next time you are faced with an obstacle, A challenge, or a problem, Struggle a little and then you can fly.

How poor are we

One day, the father of a very wealthy family took his son on a trip to the country with the express purpose of showing him how poor people live. They spent a couple of days and nights on the farm of what would be considered a very poor family. On their return from their trip, the father asked his son, 'How was the trip?'
 
'It was great, Dad.'
 
'Did you see how poor people live?' the father asked.
 
'Oh yeah,' said the son.

'So, tell me, what did you learn from the trip?' asked the father
 
The son answered:
 
'I saw that we have one dog and they had four. We have a pool that reaches to the middle of our garden and they have a creek that has no end. We have imported lanterns in our garden and they have the stars at night. Our patio reaches to the front yard and they have the whole horizon. We have a small piece of land to live on and they have fields that go beyond our sight. We have servants who serve us, but they serve others. We buy our food, but they grow theirs. We have walls around our property to protect us, they have friends to protect them.'
 
The boy's father was speechless.
 
Then his son added, 'Thanks Dad for showing me how poor we are.'
 
Isn't perspective a wonderful thing? Makes you wonder what would happen if we all gave thanks for everything we have, instead of worrying about what we don't have. Appreciate every single thing you have, especially your friends!
 

The Donkey

One day a farmer's donkey fell down into a well. The animal cried piteously for hours as the farmer tried to figure out what to do. Finally, he decided the animal was old, and the well needed to be covered up anyway; it just wasn't worth it to retrieve the donkey.
 
He invited all his neighbors to come over and help him. They all grabbed a shovel and began to shovel dirt into the well. At first, the donkey realized what was happening and cried horribly. Then, to everyone's amazement he quieted down.
 
A few shovel loads later, the farmer finally looked down the well. He was astonished at what he saw. With each 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 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 up over the edge of the well and happily trotted off!
 
MORAL :
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 of our troubles is a steppingstone. We can get out of the deepest wells just by not stopping, never giving up! Shake it off and take a step up.

Two Frogs

A group of frogs were traveling through the woods, and two of them fell into a deep pit. When the other frogs saw how deep the pit was, they told the two frogs that they were as good as dead.
 
The two frogs ignored the comments and tried to jump up out of the pit with all their might. The other frogs kept telling them to stop, that they were as good as dead. Finally, one of the frogs took heed to what the other frogs were saying and gave up. He fell down and died.
 
The other frog continued to jump as hard as he could. Once again, the crowd of frogs yelled at him to stop the pain and just die.
 
He jumped even harder and finally made it out. When he got out, the other frogs said, "Did you not hear us?"
 
The frog explained to them that he was deaf. He thought they were encouraging him the entire time.
 
This story teaches two lessons:
 
1. There is power of life and death in the tongue. An encouraging word to someone who is down can lift them up and help them make it through the day.
 
2. A destructive word to someone who is down can be what it takes to kill them.
 
Be careful of what you say. Speak life to those who cross your path. The power of words...
 
It is sometimes hard to understand that an encouraging word can go such a long way.
 
Anyone can speak words that tend to rob another of the spirit to continue in difficult times. Special is the individual who will take the time to encourage another.

A Deck of Cards

A young soldier was in his bunkhouse all alone one Sunday morning over in Afghanistan. It was quiet that day, the guns and the mortars, and land mines for some reason hadn't made a noise.

The young soldier knew it was Sunday, the holiest day of the week. As he was sitting there, he got out an old deck of cards and laid them out across his bunk. Just then an army sergeant came in and said, "Why aren't you with the rest of the platoon?"
The soldier replied, "I thought I would stay behind and spend some time with the Lord."
The sergeant said, "Looks like you're going to play cards."
The soldier said, "No sir, you see, since we are not allowed to have Bibles or other spiritual books in this country, I've decided to talk to the Lord by studying this deck of cards."
The sergeant asked in disbelief, "How will you do that?"
 
 : : : A : : :
 
"You see the Ace, Sergeant, it reminds that there is only one God.
 
 : : : 2 : : :
 
The Two represents the two parts of the Bible,
Old and New Testaments.
 
 : : : 3 : : :
 
The Three represents the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost.
 
 : : : 4 : : :
 
The Four stands for the Four Apostles:
Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.
 
 : : : 5 : : :
 
The Five is for the five virgins that were ten
But only five of them were glorified.
 
 : : : 6 : : :
 
The Six is for the six days it took God to create
The Heavens and Earth.
 
 : : : 7 : : :
 
The Seven is for the day God rested after working the six days.
 
 : : : 8 : : :
 
The Eight is for the family of Noah and his wife, their three sons and their wives, in which God saved the eight people from the flood that destroyed the earth for the first time.
 
 : : : 9 : : :
 
The Nine is for the lepers that Jesus cleansed of leprosy. He cleansed ten but nine never thanked Him.
 
 : : : 10 : : :
 
The Ten represents the Ten Commandments that God handed down to Moses on tablets made of stone.
 
 : : : J : : :
 
The Jack is a reminder of Satan. One of God's first angels, but he got kicked out of heaven for his sly and wicked ways and is now the joker of eternal hell.
 
 : : : Q : : :
 
The Queen stands for the Virgin Mary.
 
 : : : K : : :
 
The King stands for Jesus, for he is the King of all kings.
 
 : : : 365 : : :
 
When I count the dots on all the cards, I come up with 365 total, one for every day of the year.
 
 : : : 52 : : :
 
There are a total of 52 cards in a deck, each is a week,
52 weeks in a year.
 
 : : : Seasons : : :
 
The four suits represents the four seasons:
Spring, Summer, Fall and Winter.
 
 : : : 13 : : :
 
Each suit has thirteen cards,
There are exactly thirteen weeks in a quarter.
 
 
So when I want to talk to God and thank Him, I just pull out this old deck of cards and they remind me of all that I have to be thankful for." The sergeant just stood there and after a minute, With tears in his eyes and pain in his heart, He said, "Soldier, can I borrow that deck of cards?"