Once upon a time a man wandered through a thick, dark forest. He could barely see the road ahead, and he stumbled over gnarled roots and stones. At certain times he realized he had been walking in circles when he tripped over a particularly obvious, yet small root that he kept telling himself he would step over the next time that he saw it. And since he walked in circles he saw the root repeatedly. Consequently, he fell repeatedly.
One day he went in a different direction. He looked up and caught a glimpse of the sun through the web of the canopy, and began to follow that singularly radiant star. After trudging uphill for a few miles he smiled to himself when it dawned on him that he hadn’t tripped over that pesky root. The journey seemed a little lighter, especially because he could laugh at himself just enough to know that it was OK to make mistakes. This idea struck him so happily that he made himself a little song about it:
“Kings and queens can never grow
Without mistakes to use as guides,
They help us know the way to go,
And gold within their heart resides.”
The fact that he had spontaneously referred to himself as a king struck another chord of joy within him and now suddenly beams of the sun shot through the trees so that with every step he took he felt as if he were on a stage in a grand spot light. And instead of feeling nervous to be on stage, he felt like he could play, even dance. And the dust particles danced. And the branches of the trees waved and danced. The birds caught up in song. And the path itself turned golden. And the roots from the trees lining the path were no longer obstacles to be avoided, but things to be marveled at and studied—for some of them looked like little bridges, others like monster’s arms frozen in the ground, others seemed like statues of snakes or dragons, or like sculptures of rivers.
“Indeed,” he thought to himself, “if God is King, then that makes me a Prince. And good kings always want their princes to have the kingdom.” And then he remembered the line: “Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.”
And that was the end, and so the beginning began.
Copyright Joseph Anthony of the Wonder Child Blog