The story below has run around the Internet for some time. The author, as far as I know, is unknown. Still, the story is worth the telling.Two traveling angels stopped to spend the night in the home of a wealthy family. The family was rude and refused to let the angels stay in the mansion's guest room. Instead the angels were given a small space in the cold basement. As they made their bed on the hard floor, the older angel saw a hole in the wall and repaired it. When the younger angel asked why, the older angel replied, "Things aren't always what they seem."
The next night the pair came to rest at the house of a very poor, but very hospitable farmer and his wife. After sharing what little food they had the couple let the angels sleep in their bed where they could have a good night's rest. When the sun came up the next morning the angels found the farmer and his wife in tears. Their only cow, whose milk had been their sole income, lay dead in the field. The younger angel was infuriated and asked the older angel, "How could you have let this happen? The first man had everything, yet you helped him," he accused. "The second family had little but was willing to share everything, and you let the cow die."
"Things aren't always what they seem," the older angel replied. "When we stayed in the basement of the mansion, I noticed there was gold stored in that hole in the wall. Since the owner was so obsessed with greed and unwilling to share his good fortune, I sealed the wall so he wouldn't find it. Then last night as we slept in the farmers bed, the angel of death came for his wife. I gave him the cow instead. Things aren't always what they seem."
Similarly, God's answers to our prayers and the ways in which God provides for us may seem obtuse to us at the moment that they occur. (See, for example, the total misunderstanding of God's seeming inaction when a farm couple encountered difficulties, recorded in the short story, "When All Disappears.") In the long run, when the future unveils that which we do not know at the moment, we find that no matter what we had prayed for or hoped for, in the final analysis God knew best!
Yes, this is my 100th post on this site!
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13 comments:
Hi Elizabeth, thaqnks for your.
email. Congratulations for your 100th post. I enjoy the instructive stories.
I was looking at your sidebar and saw the prayers requests. My prayers for each one specially the children. You ereally have a kind and compassionate heart
Congratulations for your 100th post! :)
I love this story - hadn't come accross it yet - thank you for sharing it.
Will pray for your intentions.
Congratulations on post 100! Great story! It's a wonderful reminder, isn't it, that we can never understands God's ways, we can only accept them.
Congratulations! We hope there will be many more to come. :)
I am going to post this story on my blog later, with a link to your blog if that's okay. I think people need to read it.If it's not okay just email me to let me know. Thanks and praying for all the prayer requests on the sidebar. :)
Congrats! and thanks for the story.
Great story, and congrats on your 100th post! :)
Beautiful story. Congratulations on your 100th post. I am always touched when I visit here.
Blessings, andrea
Elizabeth,
I love this story and it is very true- we can't see the big picture, but God can.
Thanks for sharing this and congratulations on your 100th post!
God Bless!
Very good story! When we learn to trust in what Jesus has done and not what we see, we can live in rest and peace :) Great post!
Great story! And may we learn to trust on God's mysterious ways of handling things. Congratulations on your 100th! God bless.
I'd like to share the Scribblers award with you, please see my latest post. Thank you..
and you are right God knows best, we are sometimes impatient.
BM
I enjoyed the story as well. I'm living proof that the Lord doesn't always answer in the way I expect, but always in the way which is best for me.
Congratulations on your 100th post.
I love this story. Thanks for the reminder.
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