Photo Credit: Louisville USACE via CC Flickr

Throughout our lives, we all have opportunities to learn life lessons from many, many things. Everyone of us experience hardships and difficult times but the key is what we learn and how we handle these situations. A foolish person will dwell on the negative experience, may become depressed and suffer bouts of anxiety, sickness or other kinds of physical distress. A wise individual will take the awful circumstance, learn from it, and become a better person because of it.

Today’s little “story” demonstrates a wonderful lesson that we can all learn from some animals that you may never have thought of before. I hope that you can use this little “nugget of truth” the next time you go through a difficult time of your life (or if you are struggling through a tough time in your life right now).

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THE BUZZARD

If you put a buzzard in a pen that is 6 feet by 8 feet and is entirely open at the top, the bird, in spite of its ability to fly, will be an absolute prisoner. The reason is that a buzzard always begins a flight from the ground with a run of 10 to 12 feet. Without space to run, as is its habit, it will not even attempt to fly, but will remain a prisoner for life in a small jail with no top.

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THE BAT 
The ordinary bat that flies around at night, a remarkable nimble creature in the air, cannot take off from a level place. If it is placed on the floor or flat ground, all it can do is shuffle about helplessly and, no doubt, painfully, until it reaches some slight elevation from which it can throw itself into the air. Then, at once, it takes off like a flash.

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THE BUMBLEBEE
A bumblebee, if dropped into an open tumbler, will be there until it dies, unless it is taken out. It never sees the means of escape at the top, but persists in trying to find some way out through the sides near the bottom. It will seek a way where none exists, until it completely destroys itself.

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PEOPLE
In many ways, we are like the buzzard, the bat, and the bumblebee. We struggle about with all our problems and frustrations, never realizing that all we have to do is look up!

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That’s the answer, the escape route and the solution to any problem…. just look up!

Sorrow looks back,

Worry looks around,

But faith looks up! Live simply, love generously, care deeply, speak kindly, and trust in our Creator, who loves us.