New Believers: Story 1
There's a village in Africa. OK, so there are probably thousands of villages in Africa. ;) But this story only deals with one of them and I don't know it's name.Several missionaries were tasked with visiting this remote area and introducing the tribe there to Our Lord. It turned out to be a successful effort and the majority of the villagers were lead to Christ. As you can imagine, the village was set in a remote area far from the things we take for granted every day. Most were barefoot. They all lived in huts. But now, they knew The Lord.
Well, every home had a specific prayer place that they would go to to pray. Due to traditional values and the distance between homes, they didn't all go to a 'church' to worship. They went where they felt lead to go. But, they always went to the same place.
A worn path began to develop. Some paths were more worn than others. And almost as a way to enforce accountability, the paths became a sort of moral ruler for each household. Inevitably, they began to show up - That individual asking you why grass is growing over your path. Do you punch them in the face, or thank them for the reminder. ;)
Sometimes it's hard to know what to do. What you do know is that it's always good to be on the path.
Old Hands: Story 2
... Afghanis use donkeys to get supplies up, over, and across mountains. No surprising fact there. What is interesting though is that the “Donkey Trains” are self guided. That’s right; no people guide the donkeys across the mountains.
They have walked the path so many times that the Afghanis load the donkeys down with fresh supplies, and send them on their way. The donkeys start walking through the mountains and know exactly how to get back to their owners house tens of miles away.
Can you imagine it? You’re trying to bake a cake and need a cup of sugar, so you send jack across the mountain to the general store with a note on his back along with a hundred-spot of Afghani dinar, “more sugar please.” And good ole jack is back at your house the next day with the bag of sugar. For real though, they pack the donkeys down and just send them on their way. I guess it’s not that surprising after all.
The first story above comes from Gregg Matte. I first mentioned Gregg in a post a couple of days ago called Pray More. This story is a summary pulled from a podcast he does. If you want to hear the whole thing, click Purpose People: 2nd in a series about finding true purpose. If you want to hear all of them, or subscribe for free, go here.
The second story comes from Stoney Portis. Truth was the first post I mentioned Stoney in. He also left a great comment on The Journey. Check them both out to learn a bit more about this inspiring gentleman and soldier.
Now then, on to the point.
If only we could all just be a bunch of jackasses.
How's that for a point?
First, we're thinking, "Stupid donkeys... Could go wherever they want and no one would know. No one could find them. They wouldn't have to work. They could do whatever they wanted."
And there it is. We're SO much smarter than all else aren't we.
And yet, here we are. We go wherever we want - Sometimes no one can find us. We don't have to work - And we accomplish nothing. We do whatever we want - And do nothing. No one truly knows us - Not even ourselves. ... and we go nowhere.
Those donkeys are on to something. There's no grass on their path. Well, there's probably no grass in Afghanistan at all. ;) But that's not the point.
They get fed when they stay on the path - As do we.
They are appreciated when they stay on the path - As are we.
They are safe when they stay on the path - As are we.
They have purpose when they stay on the path.
Is there grass on your path?
