Once upon a time, in a remote village, somewhere on Mother Earth, a man sat on a pile of hey, in his dirty, empty yard, crying his heart out mourning the death of his goat! There was nothing he could do,  the man thought.

He cried, and cried and then… he cried some more!!!!

It was almost dark when, for a moment, he snapped out of this unfortunate trance. He raised his eyes to the sky. Let’s assume, seeking help from the All Mighty that  most people remember when  they need  help!

… much to his shock,  as he raised his eyes, the man saw an Angel, all dressed in white, looking straight at him, he wasn’t even blinking… on a second guess, it was a ‘she’ angel,  an Angela!!!!!

“Why are you crying?”  Angela asked.

“Be it as it may,” the man answered, ” my only goat died…”

From time to time, he stopped telling  his story  as he looked  into his neighbor’s well taken care of  yard and goats’ enclosure . He saw three white goats, clean and well fed, but not obese! They kept eating off of the green grass, available everywhere in his neighbor’s yard.

Hmm… our man thought, why don’t I have such green grass in my yard??? Then,  our man remembered… yeah, he should have re-seeded  a few months prior, but he… forgot!

As he continued telling his story to Angela, he looked  more and more devastated, tears and all, explaining that now his children will have no milk, nor would they be able to make any of the diary products which always helped them survive the rough winters!!!

The man cried hard. He looked genuinely heart-broken and didn’t even use the aid of an onion to help his tears look  authentic!

The ‘Angela,’ who, by now you might have guessed,  was God’s  ‘ Mediator,’ didn’t show any emotions  or act as being on one’s side or  the other’s.  Truth be told, she did feel sorry for the poor man and his kids. To hide her sadness, she acted as if she had a bad cold, blew her nose, and wiped off  her tears.

“Let me help you,” Angela said, ” God will grant you ONE wish, one wish alone, no matter how impossible it may look to you. Think hard, as this is your one in a life time opportunity! What would your wish be?”

The man’s face lit up, his eyes sparkled. He smiled, and after careful consideration, he said:

“Oh God, make my neighbor’s goats die too!”

What is the  LESSON we learn? I am awaiting with interest your own “endings” to the story. Please share.

My thoughts on the topic:

This is an old, old story and as in the story, so in life:

Which would you rather wish? What would you rather  have  happen, good or bad  and why is it that so many “look in the neighbor’s yard?”

As we swim through life, we will discover just how true this saying is:

‘Live and let live!’

When in  despair, remember, there would always be the Angels and Angelas ready to help you in the name of God. The ONLY condition is for YOU to LOOK UP AND SEE!

Rodica Mihalis. M.S. Counseling and Clinical Psychology

https://www.proventherapy.com/Rodica