One day a farmer’s donkey fell down into a well. The animal cried piteously for hours as the farmer tried to figure out what to do. Finally he decided the animal was old and the well needed to be covered up anyway; it just wasn’t worth it to try and retrieve the donkey.
So, he invited all his neighbors to come over and help him. They all grabbed a shovel and began to shovel dirt into the well. When the donkey experienced the sense of being buried by dirt he cried horribly. Then, to everyone’s amazement, he quieted down. A few shovel loads later, the farmer finally looked down the well and was astonished at what he saw. With every shovel of dirt that hit his back, the donkey was doing something amazing. He would shake it off and take a step up. As the farmer’s neighbors continued to shovel dirt on top of the animal, he would shake it off and take a step up. Pretty soon, everyone was amazed, as the donkey stepped up over the edge of the well and trotted off!
You know the feeling too; the sense of being buried (not knowing what to do) by the dirt (trials) that are dumped into your life. Daily there seems to be shovel loads of dirt being dumped on you; children challenging your authority, sickness touching your loved ones, or job related difficulties surfacing at work. Life is going to continue to shovel dirt on you, all kinds of dirt. The trick to getting out of the well is “wisdom” (God’s help) to know how to shake it off and take a step up.