No doubt about it, a frog is an unlikely life coach. And yet ...
Why not set aside your logic for a few minutes and enjoy a modern fable? (Original source unknown)
Once upon a time some frogs arranged a competition to see which one could make it to the top of the highest tower in the land.
Everyone with good sense hooted because, how far could an ordinary frog expect to climb? Nevertheless, a big crowd gathered on the appointed day to watch these hoppers make fools of themselves.
Once the race got underway the onlookers got excited. Young and old jumped up and down and cheered loudly.
(Or jeered, just as loudly.)
An old-timer said, "Any fool knows this is impossible. In the first place, it's a silly idea. Everybody knows frogs are made for jumping, not for climbing."
Someone else said, "You can barely see the top of that tower. They will never make it to the top. Even the strongest frog could do that!"
Soon some of the smaller climbers gave up, exhausted. Before long others started dropping out. Only a few of the more determined kept climbing.
All along the crowd kept hollering, "It's too much! You'll never make it! If you keep on you'll have a heat stroke for sure!"
One by one, more frogs dropped out and gave up trying.
Yet one kept going
The lone adventurer inched his way higher and higher, panting hard. The crowd down below grew silent, each one holding their breath and whispering to each other, "How can this be? Everybody knows that loser never won a race in his life."
At last the "loser" frog stood at the very top. Then he sat down on a ledge to rest, relishing the view from up high.
By now everyone was cheering and clapping, including the skeptics. Even the frogs who dropped out along the way couldn't help themselves. They clapped, too.
After awhile the winning frog started his descent, pausing every so often to look around and wave and smile.
Once the winner reached solid ground the clamoring crowd surrounded him, many patting him on the back and saying, "I knew you could do it!"
Just then a reporter from KFRG-TV pushed his way through
He thrust a microphone in front of the winner.
"Congratulations, Mr. Frog! This is quite a feat and we want to feature you on tonight's Evening News. Earlier on we heard some people yelling that this tower was too high and you could never make it. A few told me you were out of your league. Nobody remembered a single time you competed in anything before this race.
"Yet you signed up and you didn't give up. What kept you going all the way to the top?
The winner thought a minute before he answered.
"Well, somehow I really believed I could do it and it felt right. So I made up my mine no matter what anyone said, I wouldn't let it bother me. I just glued my eyes and my attention on where I wanted to go.
And the moral of the story is ...
Every now and then we run into a discouraging time in our lives or someone we love has problems. Try as we might to say the right thing, all our words come out wrong. Our regrets and second-guessings yammer at us when we try to sleep.
Or we can get caught up in in the world around us, the endless warnings and forecasts of hard times ahead. What will become of us? Anxiety threatens to eat us up.
There's no better time to be like that frog and ignore any voices that would drag us down.
P.S. for believers ...
As we run our race, we keep our eyes on the One who said:
"Do not fear, for I am with you; Do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, surely I will help you, Surely I will uphold you with my righteous right hand." Isaiah 41:10
Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. Proverbs 3:5-6
One more thing
What we say--to ourselves or to others--matters. Words have power. Words can lift and inspire.
Words also can crush egos and flatten dreams.
The tongue has the power of life and death... Proverbs 18:21
Whether we're speaking to ourselves or to another person, we get to choose our words.
Every. Single. Time.
So let's choose wisely.
And this is no fable,
Lenore
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