I remember hearing this story when I was younger. It wasn’t until I was older that I realized the lesson from the story and how it could be applied to my life.
Once there was a farmer’s donkey that fell into a dry well. The animal cried pitifully for hours as the farmer tried to figure out what to do for his poor donkey. Finally, he realized that the well was too deep, and it really needed to be covered up anyway. The donkey was old and it would be too much trouble to get him out of the pit. The farmer decided that it was not worth trying to rescue the animal. So, he asked his neighbors to help him fill the well and bury the donkey.
They all grabbed shovels and began to toss dirt into the well. The donkey immediately realized what was happening, and he began to bray horribly. We know that crying would be our normal response if somebody was mistreating us badly. This donkey was responding the same way we would at first, but then he got real quiet. A few shovels of dirt later, the farmer looked down into the well and was astonished at what he saw. With every shovel of dirt that hit the donkey’s back, the donkey would shake it off and step on top of it.
As the neighbors and the farmer continued to shovel dirt on top of the animal, he continued to shake it off and take a step up. Pretty soon the donkey shook off the last shovel full of dirt, took a step up and walked right out of the well. ~Author Unknown
What a powerful story that we can all learn a lot from and apply to our daily lives. When trouble comes, if we get still and listen, God will tell us what to do. But first we must get quiet. Often times we react to situations first, when we should really be silent. I know that this is hard to do because it was a struggle for me in my youth.
By the grace and mercy of God, I was able to shake off a lot of things in my life. I had to shake off hurt feelings, mistreatment, sadness, and a lot of unfair, unjust and unkind things. My response to these situations was the key for me being “classy not trashy”. Just like the donkey in order to keep pressing on and have victory in our lives, we are going to have to learn to shake off the troubles that come our way. The troubles are meant to be roadblocks but you must believe in yourself to overcome.
The question is… Are you the donkey? Searching for a way out. Always thinking of a way to overcome and never to give up. Or, are you the farmer and the neighbors? Throwing dirt on others without seeing the whole picture. Sometimes when things don’t go the way we plan, we react like the farmer. We need to stop and reflect on how we are treating others. Just something to think about today. Me included! What do you need to shake off in your life today?
Be a blessing to someone today.
~Brooke
A Woman's Work - Brooke Basically Blogging 