A father took his son camping, to have fun as well as to help the boy learn to think for himself and make wise decisions for his life. They shared chores in setting up their tent, gathering firewood, planning their days together without any distraction. He took the boy to a spring of pure, cool water and handed him a pail to fill and carry back to camp.
As the boy walked, the heavy pail bumped across the rocky path, spilling and dripping with every step he took. Back at camp, he set down the pail and looked inside--half-empty! No matter how careful he was, this happened every time he made the trip to the spring, and he grew impatient. "I'm doing everything like you showed me. Now there's a hole in the pail! It's because of that rocky, uneven path; I'm thirsty and it's just not fair."
His dad smiled and agreed and took a little cork stopper and a pocketknife out of his pocket, trimmed the cork to size and plugged the hole in the pail. "The path is not perfect" he said. "Not many things in this world are perfect; we have to find a way to get what we need every day." Together they walked back to the spring and refilled their pail. Then he found a fallen tree branch lying nearby and pushed it through the pail's handle. Then they each picked up one end of the branch securing the pail and returned to camp without spilling more than the occasional little splash.
I am like that little boy. My road is rocky and fraught with problems, but I don't have to carry my pail alone. I know my Father sees the path through this wilderness and will show me the way Home. He refills my pail every day. And the weight shared is light indeed because the staff between us is strong. It is called faith.
It's true! This world is NOT fair, but the next one is.
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