This evening I came across an interesting, thought provoking story, and thought I'd pass it along.
As my friend was passing the elephants, he suddenly stopped, confused by the fact that these huge creatures were being held by only a rope tied to their legs. It was obvious that the elephants could, at anytime, break away from the ropes they were tied to but for some reason, they did not. My friend saw a trainer nearby and asked why these beautiful, magnificent animals just stood there and made no attempt to get away.
As my friend was passing the elephants, he suddenly stopped, confused by the fact that these huge creatures were being held by only a rope tied to their legs. It was obvious that the elephants could, at anytime, break away from the ropes they were tied to but for some reason, they did not. My friend saw a trainer nearby and asked why these beautiful, magnificent animals just stood there and made no attempt to get away.
"Well," he said, "when they are very young and much smaller we use the same size rope to tie them and at that age, it's enough to hold them. As they grow up, they are conditioned to believe they cannot break away. They believe the rope can still hold them, so they never try to break free." My friend was amazed. These animals could at any time break free from their bonds but because they believe they couldn't, they were stuck right where they were. The powerful and gigantic creature has limited its present abilities by the limitations of its past.
Like the elephants, how many of us go through life holding onto a belief that we cannot do something, simply because we failed at it once before? How many of us refuse to attempt something new and challenging because of our so called mindset?
"I can do all things through Him who strengthens me." Philippians 4:13
4 comments:
Ah, that's why I am so thankful for Jesus. By HIS strength, the chains which once held me down now have no power over me. In my weakness, HE is strong.
This post reminded me of the dog I used to have. When he was a puppy another dog pinned him down and scared him badly. The next year, my Golden Retriever was MUCH bigger. But every time we went past that dog's house while we were on a walk, Duke cowared in fear. He never knew he was now twice as big as that bully!
Libby-
I just came across your blog and this was a beautiful post! Very well put!!
You take great pictures, Noah is adorable, and we have a pug too!!! They're great dogs and great w/ babies/kids!
jess
libby-thanks for commenting on my blog! and i am starting to feel better! we're expecting baby #2 and i hate to complain b/c it's a blessing for sure..but sometimes a girl's gotta vent! :)
Mia will be one early june! we live in iowa! where are you guys at??!
jess
Wow this is a very inspirational story. I think that I could think of a few things myself that I probably hold back on because it hasn't worked out before. This gave me such a different perspective after I read it. Thank you for posting this!
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