“Even fools seem smart when they are quiet." ~ Proverbs
17:28
Ernie grabbed hold of the board
that served as a rung and hoisted his body onto the makeshift ladder. He hung there for a moment before slowly
hauling his lanky frame up the ladder into the hayloft, something he’d done
every day for the past sixty years.
Ernie loved hard work – today was no exception. Bailing twine dug into his leathery palms as
he threw a few bales to the waiting cattle below. Feeling the strain in his worn-out shoulder
and hip joints, he reached for his pocket watch. About time for dinner he mused.
But all that remained of his treasured timepiece was an
empty chain; he’d lost his precious heirloom.
Nothing about it was spectacular, but it had been given to him by his
father decades ago with the promise that it would be kept in the family; never
to be sold.
After searching among the hay for a long while; he gave up
and enlisted the help of a group of children playing outside the barn. Ernie promised them that whoever found it
would be rewarded.
Hearing this, the children hurried inside the barn, went
through and around the entire stack of hay but still couldn’t find the cherished
memento. Just when the farmer was about
to lose hope, he felt a small, hard object in the cuff of his jeans. The watch had broken lose and landed there
safely. It opened with a loud snap; as
if its rusted hinges protested Ernie’s negligence.
A little girl with liquid blue eyes and golden hair
approached explaining that her friends had given up, but asked if she could
stay a bit longer. A youthful aura of
optimism enfolded her. “Maybe I could
help you,” Ernie offered.
“I think I should do it myself,” said the girl with an uninhibited
smile.
So before he left the barn, Ernie surreptitiously hid the
watch back under some loose hay; and waited.
After a while the child came out with the watch in her small
hand! Ernie smiled and asked her how she
succeeded where her friends had failed.
She replied proudly, “I did nothing but sit on the ground
and listen. In the silence, I heard the
watch ticking and just looked for it in that direction.”
Ernie ran his fingers over the worn metal, tracing the
leaf-like design sentimentally. It gave
him comfort, like a reassuring hand in the darkness. And then he paid her generously.
A peaceful mind thinks better than a worried one. Allow a few minutes of silence to your mind
every day, a time for reflection, a time for God. Then see, how sharply it helps you to set
your life on the right, most productive path!
God, this world’s problems are so
complicated that I can’t make my way without Your guidance. Quicken my mind and deepen my
understanding. Help me hear Your voice
and heed your advice. Keep me walking
along the path behind you. Amen
