Once upon a time, there was an old farmer who had worked his crops for many years.
One day his horse ran away. Upon hearing the news, his neighbors came to visit. “Such bad luck,” they said sympathetically, “you must be so sad.”
“We’ll see,” the farmer replied.
The next morning the horse returned, bringing with it two other wild horses.
“How wonderful,” the neighbors exclaimed! “Not only did your horse return, but you received two more. What great fortune you have!”
“We’ll see,” answered the farmer.
The following day, his son tried to ride one of the untamed horses, was thrown, and broke his leg. The neighbors again came to offer their sympathy on his misfortune. “Now your son cannot help you with your farming,” they said. “What terrible luck you have!”
“We’ll see,” replied the old farmer.
The following week, military officials came to the village to conscript young men into the army. Seeing that the son’s leg was broken, they passed him by. The neighbors congratulated the farmer on how well things had turned out. “Such great news. You must be so happy!”
The man smiled to himself and said once again.
“We’ll see,”
Simple, powerful story.
When I was sixteen I was bit by a mosquito and contracted Viral Meningoencephalitis (swelling of the fluid around the brain and spine). It nearly killed me, causing grand mal seizures, a stoke, four days in a coma, and brain damage to the motor and language outputs of my brain. Didn’t seem very fortunate at the time.
It took a couple years, but I made a full recovery. One day, I was just hit with this realization of the fragility of life, shattering the belief that I was somehow guaranteed to live into old age. This changed things. There was suddenly a sort of urgency to live. I pedaled a bicycle across the United States raising $96,000 for the children’s hospital that saved my life, worked on a cruise ship, lived in places I’d only dreamed of, and have been on this wonderful journey ever since.
Something that, at the time, seemed like the worst thing that could ever happen to me, turned out to be the very turning point in my life that lead to all of the best experiences and has sent me in a completely different, better direction.
We’ll see… Great post Joel.
Great perspective! But if you always wait & see, will you ever get (or create) what you want? Or will you just get what comes your way? (or is that the whole point of the story in the first place…)
No. The point is to not overreact.
The farmer didn’t stop farming. He didn’t let things he couldn’t control affect the things he could control.
I will be 54 on News Year Eve, I have been doing some reading recently that says we need to be less materialistic and help others more, this gives us inner peace and more happiness. I think it is true and I have went after many goals but I am not chasing things any longer. I will be happy with a simple life well lived with little to no addictions a healthy lifestyle with lots of sunshine and fresh air and exercise, good nutritious food and being with people I love. I have had success, my own business, degrees and traveled. Now I want to live a simpler less stress lifestyle..
So I like this story.. I will control what I can and see what the future brings. My mom is 80 and I want her last days to be healthy and happy so hence helping her enjoy life as much as possible and this will in turn make me happy and at peace. Thanks for your insight and website.. Looking forward to blog TV and may even have my own soon with you! Denise
“We’ll see” Doesn’t mean “Wait & see” it just means carry on with your life & see what happens & how everything connects together
Mabry his trust in Jesu’s is so strong he really believes it’s all in God’s hands.wish and try to be the same way
I came in search of this parable to share with my son as he recently lost his teaching position in music, as well as all his performance bookings, which took him across N.America, Europe and Asia, due to COVID-19 restrictions and cutbacks at the college he was teaching at for several years (they always go after music and other arts programs when they want to cut back, though they can add much richness and creativity to human lives). Though he felt gutted upon hearing the news and said to me, “this is the first time in my life I’ve ever been unemployed”, his attitude was as upbeat as he could manage and he said that he wants to look at this as a new opportunity that life has presented to him and he’s going to persevere in not letting it drag him down or make him despondent. I want to remind him of this parable because it seems fitting at a time like this.
I’ll also encourage him to read the comments thread for further inspiration–thank you all, and be well…