A young man was
walking along a path with his eyes lowered and his
chin nearly resting on his chest. His thoughts were
continually on his troubles, both small and large. As
he walked, he didn't see the lovely wildflowers, the
trees, the beautiful shrubs with multi-colored
foliage. He didn't hear the songbirds trilling, or
the sound of a happy, babbling brook.
After a while,
with heavy heart, he finally glanced up. But by this
time the landscape had changed to one barren and
nearly lifeless. The young man said to himself,
"Why did God put me in such a forsaken place?
Why me? Why do others have beauty and promise in
their lives? Why do I have none?
Then he noticed
some birds flying past him, and butterflies,
seemingly all headed in the same direction from which
he, himself, had come. Giving himself a moment for
reflection, he turned back and retraced his steps.
Within minutes
he found himself in a place of beauty and suddenly
realized that he had been walking in sorrow of his
own choice, reliving the past that was dead. He began
to understand that the Holy Spirit was trying to show
him how to live in the newness of life, to lift his
head, and raise his eyes upward, lest all the
blessings of life should be bypassed.
The young man
sat down upon a rock. He took in the magnificence of
his surroundings and praised God for the loveliness.
He thanked God for showing him that the darkness of
past sorrows are given to set off the beauty of
blessings, to help us to know that God truly is our
guiding force, the giver of blessings and beauty of
life. It was the young man's turning point; have you
reached yours?
