The very next day the farmer was in
his field when he looked up on the hill beyond and saw his beautiful white
stallion. Behind his beautiful white
stallion were four more white stallions just as beautiful as his. All the
people from the village came running out to the farmer saying, "It's
a good thing you didn't trade your beautiful white stallion for a quarter of
the king's kingdom, as now you have FIVE beautiful white stallions. You
could probably get half of the king's kingdom now!" The farmer said,
"I don't know if it's a good thing, I don't know if it's a bad thing, all
I know is I now have five beautiful white stallions."
The very next day the farmer's son
was breaking in one of the wild white stallions when he was thrown from the
stallion and broke both of his legs. So now, all the people from the village
came running out to the farmer saying, "What a bad thing that has
happened to you. You need your son to work in the fields and now he can't
as he has two broken legs." The farmer replied, "I don't know
if it's a good thing, I don't know if it's a bad thing, all I know is that my
son has two broken legs."
The very next day the kingdom goes to
war and all the able-bodied men are drafted into the army after which they will
go to the front end and they will surely die. The farmer's injured son could
not go as he had two broken legs. So, all the people from the village
came running out to the farmer saying, "That is a good thing that your son
was thrown from the wild white stallion and broke both his legs, as he would
have been drafted into the army, been sent to the front end and would have
surely died." The farmer replied, "I don't know if it's a good
thing, I don't know if it's a bad thing, all I know is my son can't go as he
has two broken legs."
The moral of the story
is that we are not to judge what is occurring in our life as "good"
or "bad", but to have faith and trust in God, praying only for
knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out.Written by Armand
This comment is from a grateful recovering alcoholic
ReplyDeleteArmand,
This is truly one of the most miraculous apprehensions of deep faith and humility that can be acquired. Resting in the absolute understanding that Romans 8:28 "And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are called according to his purpose," is the cornerstone upon which experiential serenity is constructed. Many thanks for once again teasing this topic to life.
A Gratefully Recovering Alcoholic.
A Gratefully Recovering Alcoholic In the back half of the Eleventh Step an alcoholic is praying only for the knowledge of God's will for us and the power to carry it out as our human nature will never due the will of God but try only to satiate our instincts. The purpose of the Twelve Steps is exactly that...Thank you for commenting as you are missed...Armand
Deleter
The White Stallion story is among my favorites as it points out and teaches so many important spiritual and practical nuances. The most important of which is that my mind is often of little or no use in the realm of spiritual contentment. Trust in The Power Within me required both pain and patience before it became an awakened part of my life. The story encapsulates so many of The Twelve Steps of Recovery, especially Steps Two and Ten where I learned to trust and to pause, to no longer be enslaved by my alcoholic emotions. The story also specifically addresses one of my most off-putting personal weaknesses - making too many decisions. Regardless of the well-intentioned input of others, the program of recovery has taught me to evaluate by praying only for His will for me and The Power to carry it out. Not much else really matters. Finally, I've learned over my years in AA to be grateful for wanting the things I have as opposed to having the things I want. The White Stallion speaks spiritual and practical volumes.
ReplyDeleteMichael love the line "wanting the things I have as opposed to having the things I want." Articulates the post so well in such few words. Integrating the 12 Steps of AA into our life produces a life of trusting in the will of God leading to a serene life...Thank you...Armand
DeleteThe comment below is from Caitlin:
ReplyDeleteSome would say that losing your husband at 29 years old is a "bad" thing - circumstances that lead to tragedy are never deemed "good". But the facets of good and bad are used so prevalently as a mere black and white look at the world, at life, at events, at people - and so have gained a place in a society of, if was painted any color, plainly grey. Living in your own will leads to self-determined victimization when "bad" things happen or hyper-inflated egoism and potentially false hope when "good" things come your way. Living in the will of God, your need to bare the burden of any determination of any situation is lifted with prayer and hope that what happens is meant to - even if the reason is far beyond the understanding of your human intellect. After losing my husband to the disease of addiction it was clearer than it may have ever been that my life needed God; that I could not raise two children without Him and His love; that getting clean and sober and living a program to better myself and rebuild all that was broken by tragedy and loss and grief was my only choice. There was no doubt, through such tragedy, that life was to be treated as fragile as ever. I do not know what would have come of me if I hadn't gone through what I did. I cannot possibly label such things as good or bad. They just are. We sail on with His navigation.
Caitlin thank you for sharing your experience. There really isn't a comment I can make about that, it's so beautiful. Thank you, Armand.
Delete