[Faith-talk] Five Lessons To Think About On How To Treat People, Part Four

[Paul Smith]

The fourth important lesson:  The obstacle in our path.

In ancient times, a king had a boulder placed on a roadway.  Then he 
hid himself and watched to see if anyone would remove the huge rock.

Some of the king's wealthiest merchants and courtiers came by and 
simply walked around it.  Many loudly blamed the king for not keeping 
the roads clear, but none did anything about getting the stone out of the way.

Then a peasant came along carrying a load of vegetables.  Upon 
approaching the boulder, the peasant laid down his burden and tried to 
move the stone to the side of the road.  After much pushing and 
straining, he finally succeeded.  After the peasant picked up his load 
of vegetables, he noticed a purse lying in the road where the boulder 
had been.  The purse contained many gold coins and a note from the king 
indicating that the gold was for the person who removed the boulder 
from the roadway.

The peasant learned what many of us never understand.  Every obstacle 
presents an opportunity to improve our condition.

This story reminds us of obstacles in our way as blind persons, whether 
it be in the areas of employment, education, access to affordable 
housing and the list could go on and on.  Of course, there's always 
safety in numbers, especially if you network with people who have been 
through the same things you're going through, but by common resolves 
they can be overcome.  That's why such organizations as self-help 
groups of blind persons in your respective countries can do so much to 
help the individual achieve his/her goals, and thus remove any obstacles.

And that will do it for today.  Until tomorrow when, Lord willing the 
last in this series of important lessons will be posted, may the God of 
Abraham, Isaac and Jacob just keep us safe, individually and 
collectively, in these last days in which we live.  Your Christian 
friend and brother, Paul