Manure

             However, as it is written: “What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived”— the things God has prepared for those who love him— ( I Corinthians 2:9)

 

            There’s  story about two little boys, both given a shovel and put in a room with a pile of manure. The first boy great angry and wanted out. The other book dug energetically, saying that with as manure as there was, there had to be a pony somewhere. And we all laugh at the naivete of the busy boy, because we’re the angry one. Sooner or later, he’ll learn that life has lots of manure, but not many ponies. I would probably be the angry little boy, and part of my anger would be that someone had made a mess of a perfectly good room. The other part would be anger because no one told me where to shovel the manure to – no doors or windows were open. How could I be a good little boy and help out if no one tells me what to do? And I would agree with those who said that the happy boy is nuts!

            That’s sort of the situation Paul described to the Corinthian church. There’s not just a pony! There’s a whole lot more! But it’s so hard to keep focused on the pony when the room is full of excrement.  When we’re in pain, we don’t want to hear “It’ll all be OK, God will work it out for your good.” In fact, people get angry when we say it – even if we don’t say it to them! How dare we dismiss the pain the other person is feeling? We need to let them stew in their pain until they’re ready to climb out onto a log and let the sewage that covers their wings to drip off.

            I’m not suggesting that we should give a rousing peptalk form the moment we meet them in their despair. I’m not even really suggesting how  you should help others deal with their horse manure. This is about how you and I deal with our horse manure. You know which little boy you tend to be. If you are the angry one, can you open  your mind toward the possibility that God might have a good reason or even a blessing in the works? If you’re the happy one, do what you need to do to be realistic without losing your joy.

            God has promised to bless us. It may not come when, where, how, or why we want it to, but we need to hold on to the possibility that He might, even today, give us more goodness than we can imagine. Today, right now, can you imagine that God wants good for you, not to treat you like a mole to whack. If not, can you find someone who can encourage you?