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We celebrated our 50th wedding anniversary in 2008. Our children helped us celebrate with an all expense paid all arranged vacation In Hawaii.
Saturday, August 01, 2009
A king offered a prize to the artist who could best paint a picture of peace. Many artists submitted their work, and from them the king selected two pictures he was quite fond of. "I shall choose between these," the king announced.
In the first scene was a calm, undisturbed lake surrounded by tall, serene mountains. Overhead was a tranquil blue sky with beautiful puffy,white clouds. It looked like the perfect representation of peace.
The second picture had mountains in it as well. But these mountains were rugged and harsh. Above the mountains was a murky, dark sky filled with rain that beat down on all below. Stark lightning bolts streaked through the sky. The depiction did not seem peaceful at all.
But when the king stared more closely at the picture , he saw a tiny green bush at the side of the dark mountain. Inside the bush the artist had portrayed a mother bird building her nest, sheltered from the raging storm around her.
The king unhesitatingly selected the second picture as the winner.
"Why?" you may ask.
The king explained his reasoning: "Peace does not have to be where there is no noise, confusion, or trouble. The real meaning of peace is existing in the midst of turmoil and still holding hope and contentment in your heart."
(I recently read this story in God Will Do The Rest by Catherine Galasso-Vigorito.)
21 comments:
I like this. Thank you.
Oh! ... Come the fourth paragraph, my eyes became really wet.
Yes, the King chose wisely.
Have a great day!
Myra
Great story! Like the peace we find from Christ Jesus. God bless.
Such a wonderful story.
Great story, Clif! The king chose wisely indeed! Thank you for sharing this. Have a wonderful Sunday.
Blessings,
Sandi
My hope would be that we would choose as wisely as the king did. It isn't always easy to see the "green bush" in our lives, but He is always there! Thank you, Clif. I know I can always find what I need for the day when I visit you!
This is beautiful! I will remember this story the next time I am in a storm.
Ginger
That is a beautiful story. God bless you.
Anne
Clif,
I love this simple but powerful statement of what peace defined really is. I will take this with me on all my journeys in life.
Love and Hugs ~ Kat
Hello Cliff, we have been gone most of this summer and we are finally home to stay awhile. I have missed commenting and visiting my blogging friends. It feels good this morning to have some time to visit again.
Your story is so true about having hope in the midst of trial and strife. We all have those times in our lives. If we can only trust God to strengthen us with hope and trust in Him, all will be well.
Blessings, Jeanne
What wisdom! Happy Sunday, Clif!
Oh, such a great reminder for us Clif! God bless.
Clif,It is so nice to know that He will give us the same wisdom. If even in trails we look to Him. (The green tree shelter.) Thank you for sharing this reminder. Carol
Amen, Clif! Peace in the MIDST of a storm is the peace that passes all understanding.
Cliff,
What a beautiful post, just what I needed today! God is so gracious to us, thank you for sharing.
Blessings,
Sue
Clif,
Isn't it so true that we sometimes have to concentrate very hard to really "see." The green bush is there, we just have to discover it! Thanks for this good reminder.
~Jean
This is just so beautiful! Thank you so much for posting this. I shall continue to meditate on this all week! So simple, but such a profound truth.
Just beautiful~ I love this story.
thanks so much for sharing those words of encouragment
Hi again~ I just came to post that I was so thrilled to receive the book "How Successful People Think" in the mail yesterday!
In your book review you stated,
"This is one of the most power packed books on thinking that I have read in a long time." I will let you know my review after I read the book.
Thank you again for your very generous give-away!
Oh wow, I love that! Thanks so much for sharing.
Hope your week is going well!
Bethany
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