Good Luck? (Part I)

An old Chinese story tells us of a hard working thrifty famer. He saved his money, hoping someday he would be able to buy a horse.

In time he reached his goal. He bought a good sturdy work horse for his farm. He thought, “What wonderful good fortune.”

“With this horse,” he reasoned, “I won’t have to work so hard. I will even be able to cultivate more land and become rich.”

Then the horse ran away. “What horrible luck,” the farmer wept, “I worked so hard for so long, doing without the good things of life. Now I have lost everything.”

Then the horse returned to his farm followed by another wild horse, with no owner. “Wonderful fortune!” thought the farmer. “Now I can train this wild horse, then buy more land and hire a servant to help me with my two horses or perhaps rent the second horse out to my neighbors.”

Then his son fell off the wild horse, breaking his leg. “What terrible luck,” thought the farmer, “My boy will always walk with a limp. Why did I ever want to get involved with horses?”

Then the army marched through the village. The generals took all the able bodied young men they could find to fight in their war with the barbarians from the North. “Son walks with a limp, what wonderful fortune,” the farmer cried in relief. “Now I will live to become a grandfather.”

Wonderful fortune or terrible bad luck?

Who can say? Who can say? I want to think about luck, blessings from our Lord, hard work, good decision making, and how they all interact in our lives.