shaking it off and step up!

[the grate]

A parable is told of a
farmer who owned an
old mule. The mule fell
into the farmer's well.
The farmer heard the
mule 'braying' -- or
whatever mules do
when they fall into wells.
After carefully assessing
the situation, the farmer
felt sorry for the mule,
but decided that neither
the mule nor the well
was worth saving.
Instead, he called his
neighbors together and
told them what had
happened and asked
them to help haul dirt to
bury the old mule in the
well and put him out of
his misery.
Initially, the old mule
was hysterical! But as
the farmer and his
neighbors continued
shoveling and the dirt
hit his back, a thought
struck him. It suddenly
dawned on him that
every time a shovel load
of dirt landed on his
back: he should shake it
off and step up! This is
what the old mule did,
blow after blow.
"Shake it off and step
up... shake it off and step
up... shake it off and step
up!" he repeated to
encourage himself. No
matter how painful the
blows, or distressing the
situation seemed, the
old mule fought "panic"
and just kept right on
shaking it off and
stepping up!
You guessed it! It wasn't
long before the old
mule, battered and
exhausted, stepped
triumphantly over the
wall of that well! What
seemed like it would
bury him, actually end
up blessing him. All
because of the manner
in which he handled his
adversity.
In addition to "shaking it
off and step up," we have our
heavenly Father(GOD) to help
get us though rough
times. When the going
gets rough, keep looking
up, and trusting him. Hv nc wkend all of jf members,..lov ya