There was a man who lived, once upon a time. As he grew up, all of his dreams came true. He got the woman he desired. She was beautiful, and a faithful wife. He became the leader of an organization that was one of the most powerful organizations in the world. It was the job that he had always wanted. Before marriage, he and his future wife dreamed and talked often of having children together; specifically three boys and two girls. After fifteen years of marriage, their dream was fulfilled. All of their children were healthy in every way, and they grew up to be very successful men and women. When the man turned 50 years-old, he had attained so much wealth that he was able to retire from work. He and his wife moved to their favorite vacation spot; another dream becoming a reality. The man and his wife saw their children often, and were blessed with many grandchildren.
There once lived another man, alive during this same time. He was born into the world with a rare disease; one the doctors said would take his life around the age of 30. One day, he fell deeply in love with a beautiful woman, a woman he had known and admired his whole life. He had always dreamed of being with her. They were great friends. He finally poured out his heart to her one day, hoping that she would return his affections, affirming his dreams for them. She, however, did not love him back. He eventually moved on, and engrossed himself in his baseball career. He was a superior college athlete, who everyone said would one day end up playing major league baseball. Unfortunately one day, during a game, as he dove for a ball, he broke his leg so badly that he was unable to play baseball again. His dreams of playing baseball professionally were over. Of course, with his disease, how long would he live anyway? He finally fell in love again and married. He and his wife always dreamed of having a family; specifically three girls and two boys. One day the doctor broke the news to them that they were unable to have children. After the sadness, in time, they adopted two beautiful children. Meanwhile, though the man worked harder than most men at what he did, his job did not provide much money for his family. Yet there was always enough. As the years passed on, this man, this husband, this father, passed away from the disease that he was born with; he was 38 years-old.
There was another man who lived once upon a time. We find him sitting on a beach, writing in his journal and enjoying the ocean breeze. Hearing joyous laughter, he looked up, peering over his glasses. He saw two families, and observed them intently; he enjoyed contemplating things. It so happens that these two families were the two families from earlier in this story. He noticed one family shining brightly and bursting with joy. The other family, he observed, seemed to be sad and empty. Still contemplating the situation before him, he stared at the family that shown so brightly and thought to himself, "where is the father?" After a few of his own quick answers to this internal question, something else along the beach caught his eye, and his mind wandered towards other things. Only later would he come to grasp what he had seen that day, something that he would later tell his grandchildren...
"What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul?" Mark 8:36
"Then will I go to the alter of God, to God, my joy and my delight. I will praise you with the harp, O God, my God." Psalm 43:4
No comments:
Post a Comment