Tuesday, October 10, 2006
We planted Marigolds in our garden and they are doing well. I got a little magnifying lens to put on the camera and took this shot.****************************************
And now for a story I wrote a month or so ago...
{This story is about a specific time in my life. It is metaphorical. My hope/expectation, however, is that it applies to many people.}
Once there was a boy. His father loved him very much. As the boy got older he wanted to drive. The father had one rule about driving, and he told it to the boy, "You cannot drive motorcycles. You can only drive cars."
The boy often talked to his dad about driving. He was looking so forward to the day when he would be able to drive. That day finally came and the boy drove his first car. Over the years he drove many cars; some he really enjoyed and others not so much. He mistreated some of the cars, and he had a few lemons. He always remembered his father's rule, but in the back of his mind he started to wonder what was wrong with motorcycles. He had some friends who rode motorcycles, and they seemed happier than he did. Plus cars did not seem to be all they were cracked up to be.
He still often talked to his father about driving. When would his father give him just the right car? Why did he have to wait? What did he need to do to get it? His father listened and sometimes seemed to understand and comfort the boy, but at other times the father seemed distant and just gave pat answers. The boy grew more impatient and questioning. He kept driving cars, but motorcycles were becoming more attractive to him.
Then one day he saw a motorcycle that seemed to be calling to him. It was beautiful and looked like it would be a lot of fun. The boy decided it would not hurt to ride it. He felt a little guilty at first, but it was so fun that he soon was able to push that guilt to the back of his mind. A few of his brothers asked him about the motorcycle and reminded him that their dad said he should not ride it. The boy acted like he was listening, but he did not change his behavior.
Then an awful day day came. The boy was riding the motorcycle down a steep hill, slipped on a wet spot, and had a terrible crash. The motorcycle was totalled, and the boy went to the hospital. He got out of the hospital after a few days, but the rehab would last a long time and require a lot of work.
During this time the boy felt amazing guilt and anger. One minute he felt like he could not talk to his dad because he had disobeyed and felt so ashamed. His dad would never talk to him again. Besides he got what he deserved. Then in the next minute he would yell in anger at his dad for letting him ride the motorcycle and crash.
Then he came to the place at which he swore off motorcycles. He would only ride in cars from then on. At that point he thought he had learned his lesson and everything would be okay. But he still had so much to learn. During all this time his dad had been right near him, waiting on his son. The dad had many of his other sons go to the boy and try to explain that the dad wanted to see him, but it took the son a long time to understand, but finally he did, and the reunion with his daddy was very sweet.
In the end the dad gave the boy the perfect car for him. Looking back everything became so clear to the boy. The dad really did know what he was talking about. He knew he was going to follow his dad from then on with no questions asked.
Then one day the dad told the boy to use roller blades instead of a skateboard...
