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johnnyd

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AN UPWARD GLANCE


Have you heard the parable about an old dog that fell into a farmer's well. After assessing the situation, the farmer sympathized with the dog but decided that neither the dog nor the well were worth the trouble of saving. Instead he planned to bury the old dog in the well and put him out of his misery.

When the farmer began shoveling, initially the old dog was hysterical.

But as the farmer continued shoveling and the dirt hit his back, a
thought struck him. It dawned on the dog that every time a shovel
load of dirt landed on his back he should shake it off and step up. This
he 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 how distressing the situation seemed, the old dog fought panic and just kept shaking it off and stepping up! It was not long before the dog, battered and exhausted, stepped triumphantly over the wall of that well. What seemed as though it would bury him actually benefitted him...all because of the way he handled his adversity.

As problems come into our lives, we can meet them with panic,
bitterness, or self-pity. If we do, our problems will eventually
bury us. However, if we meet such problems with a positive response,
they may have within them, the potential to bless us! To put it more
bluntly, when people are shoveling dirt on you..."Shake it off and
step up"...before you know it, you'll be out of that hole! Keep in
mind that in life such things as faith, prayer, and forgiveness can
be keys for us to truly "shake it off and step up".
"Consider it pure joy whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.

Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything" (James 1:2-4).
 
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