A
very poor newly wedded, young couple lived in a
small
farm. One day the husband made the
following
proposal to his wife:
-
Honey, I will leave the house: I will travel
faraway,
get a job and work hard in order to come
back
and give you the comfortable life that you
deserve.
I do not know how long I will stay away, I
only
ask one thing, please wait for me, and while
I
am away, you should be faithful to me, bcoz I will
be
faithful to you.
So
the young man left. He walked many days
until
he found a farmer who was in need of
someone
to help him. The young man offered his
services.
He was accepted. Therefore he
discussed
the terms with his boss: - Let me work
for
as long as I want and when I
think
I should go home, please relieve me of my
duties.
I do not want to receive my salary. I ask
you
to save it for me, until the day I leave. The day
I
decide to go, please give me the money and I will
go
my way.
They
agreed on that. So, the young man worked
for
twenty years without holiday and without rest.
After
twenty years, he came to his boss and said: -
Boss,
I want my money, because I am returning to
my
home.
The
boss replied:- All right, after all, I made a deal
with
you and I
will
stick to it. However, before you go I want to
offer
you something new: I will give you all your
money
and send you away; or I will give you 3
pieces
of advice and send you away. If I give you
the
money, I do not give you the 3 pieces of
advice.
And if I give you the 3 pieces of advice, I
will
not give you the money. Now, go to your room
and
think about your answer.
He
thought for two days. Then he went to the boss
and
told him:
-
I want the 3 pieces of advice. The boss stressed
again:-
If I give you the 3 pieces of advice, I will not
give
you the money.
And
the man replied:
-
I want the 3 pieces of advice. The boss then told
him:-
1:
Never take shortcuts in your life, shorter
and
unknown paths can cost your life.
2:
Never be too curious, for curiosity
towards
evil can be deadly.
3:
Never make decisions in moments of anger or
pain,
bcoz when you repent, it could be too late.
After
giving these 3 pieces of advice, the boss said
to
him:
-
Here, you have 3 loaves of bread, 2 are for you to
eat
during the journey and the last is for you to eat
with
your wife when you get home.
So,
the man went his way, after twenty years
away
from home and from his wife, whom he
loved
so much. After the first day of travel, he
found
a man who
greeted
him and asked:- Where are you going? He
replied:-
To a distant place which is about 20 days
away
if
I continue walking.
The
man said to him:
-
O boy, this path is too long! I know a shortcut
that
is very safe and you will arrive in 5 days only.
The
man began to follow the path suggested until
he
remembered the first piece of advice. Then, he
returned
and followed the long path. Days later he
learned
that the shortcut led to an ambush.
After
a few more days of travel, he found an inn by
the
roadside, where he could rest. He paid for a
room
and after taking a bath he lay down to sleep.
During
the night he woke up as he heard a
terrifying
scream. He rose to his feet and went to
the
door to check what happened. As he was
opening
the door, he remembered the second
piece
of advice. Therefore he returned, lay down
again
and slept.
At
dawn, after breakfast, the owner of the lodging
asked
him if he had not heard the scream at night.
He
affirmed that he heard. Then, the host said:
-
Were you not curious to see what happened?
And
he replied:
-
No, I was not.
Then
the host said:
-
You are the first guest to leave this inn alive.
My
neighbour is completely crazy. He usually
shouts
at night to call someone’s
attention. When
some
of the guests come out, he kills them and
buries
their bodies in the backyard.
The
man continued his long journey, eager to
arrive
soon. After many days and nights walking,
he
was very tired, but he finally saw his house far
away.
It
was night. He saw some light coming out of the
window
of his house and was able to see the
silhouette
of his wife. But he also saw that she was
not
alone. He came closer and saw there was a
man
with her. She softly caressed his hair.
When
he saw that scene, his heart was filled with
hatred
and bitterness. He decided to rush at and
kill
them both mercilessly. However, he took a
deep
breath and he remembered the third piece of
advice.
Then he stopped, reflected and decided to
sleep
outside
that night. He slept in the midst of the
bushes,
determined to make a decision the next
day.
At dawn, he was calmer and thought:
-
I will not kill my wife and her lover. I am going
back
to my boss to ask him to take me back. But
before
I go, I want to tell my wife that I have
always
been faithful to her.
He
went to the front door and knocked.
When
his wife opened the door & recognized him,
she
cried and embraced him warmly. He tried to
push
her away, but he was not able. Then, with
tears
in
his eyes he told her:
-
I was faithful to you but you betrayed me.
She
was shocked, so she replied:
-
How did I betray you? I have never betrayed
you.
I waited patiently for you for twenty good
years.
Then
he asked:
-
How about the man that u were caressing
yesterday?
And she said:- That man is your son.
When
you left, I
discovered
I was pregnant. Today he is twenty
years
old.
Hearing
that, the man asked her forgiveness. He
met
and hugged his son. Then he told them all the
things
he had experienced while away.
Meanwhile,
his wife prepared some coffee for them
to
eat together, the last bread given by his boss.
After
a prayer of thanksgiving, he broke the bread.
When
he looked at it, he found all his money
inside.
In fact, there was even more than the right
payment
for his twenty years of dedication and
hard
work.
Friends,
our God is like this boss. When he asks us
to
make a sacrifice, he wants to give us more than
what
we give Him. He wants us to have His
unique
wisdom as well as the material blessings.
Someone
sent this well articulated information to me and it blessed me, that
is why I copied it to you. Feel free to share it too somebody might
need this
