Have you ever stressed over life’s circumstances and made a judgement that what happened was either good or bad? Have you noticed that perception is everything? That what at first appears to be good may NOT be so good! In the same way something may SEEM bad, but morph into something amazing! Ever lost sleep worrying about the circumstances at hand? I know I have, and this thinking has caused me to ride the emotional roller-coaster of life – many times! Not fun! Can anyone relate?

Some years ago, a traumatic life-changing event struck! It challenged me like never before! It knocked me to my knees! Since I’m a believer I know when to stay there and pray! From that seemingly really “bad” stretch of time, emerged many positives, of which one was growing stronger in my faith and trusting more in God’s plan for me! I learned once and for all that each event in life is interconnected and part of the greater whole – and at first glance we cannot truly determine what is good or what is bad – in the big scheme of things. We don’t know what each single event will produce the next week, next month, next year or many years from now.

I read the following description of this concept and found it so well-stated that I wrote it down: “Everything that happens is part of the larger whole. The meaning of any occurrence, that we’re so quick to label as “good” or “bad,” is only relative to the
ever-changing circumstances and conditions surrounding it. How often do we consider the “whole” picture?”

Below is a great little story that illustrates how true it is, that we don’t really know what is “good” or “bad” until life plays out that particular chapter …..

We don’t know if its good or bad:

Once there was a farmer who owned a beautiful stallion.  One night during a terrible storm, his horse ran away.  When his neighbors heard about it, they came to comfort him.  “Such bad luck- we’re sorry your only horse ran away.” they said.

“Who is to say whether it’s good or bad, replied the farmer.  All I can say for sure is, my horse has run away.  Time will tell whether this is good or bad.”   His neighbors just shook their heads and walked away.

A week later, his horse returned home along with 20 wild horses!!!

When they heard the news, the neighbors congratulated him.  “What good luck you have.  Not only did your horse return, but he brought 20 more back with him.  You’re such a lucky man!”

The farmer smiled calmly and responded, “Who is to say whether it’s good or bad.  All I know is my horse has come home with 20 wild horses-  and leave it at that.”  Again, his neighbors shook their heads and  scoffed –  “Of course it’s good luck you old fool!  Twenty new horses is obviously good luck!”

 Now this farmer had an only child – a son. The following week the farmer’s son was in the corral, breaking in one of the new horses when he was thrown off and broke his leg.  Upon hearing the news, the neighbors came over to comfort the farmer.  “You were right. Those wild horses were not a sign of good fortune- now your son has broken his leg, and right before the harvest.  Such bad luck!”

Again the farmer replied “Why do you always want to label something as good or bad.  Why can’t you just say, “My son broke his leg while riding a horse, and leave it at
that.  Who is to say whether it is good or bad?”

The neighbors became indignant ”Listen old man, to have your son break his leg at this time is unfortunate and a sign of bad luck.  You are such a fool to think otherwise.”

The next week, the Emperor’s army arrived in town and conscripted all eligible young men, and sent them to war in a foreign land.  However, they did not take the farmer’s son on account of his broken leg.  Afterwards, the people were heartbroken and came to the farmer in tears.  “You were right – our sons are gone, we’ll probably never see
them again! Our town has experienced such bad luck!”

The old farmer sighed and said “Why do you continue to insist an event is good or bad?  We do not know the end from the beginning. Why can’t you just say, our sons have been drafted, and only time will tell if it’s good or bad.”

And so the story goes …. it’s always so interesting to see just how events in our lives will play out! Life is so much calmer for me as I’ve grown more philosophical – and learned  to stay off the emotional roller coaster of labeling what happens as good or bad.