Sandbox Rock

A little boy was spending his Saturday morning
 playing in his sandbox. He had with him
his box of cars and trucks, his plastic pail,
and a shiny, red plastic shovel.

In the process of creating roads
 and tunnels in the soft sand, he discovered
 a large rock in the middle of the sandbox.

The lad dug around the rock, managing
 to dislodge it from the dirt.
 With no little bit of struggle,
he pushed and nudged the rock
across the sandbox by using his feet.
(He was a very small boy and
the rock was very large.)

When the boy got the rock to the
edge of the sandbox, however,
he found that he couldn't roll it up
 and over the little wall.

Determined, the little boy shoved,
pushed, and pried, but every time
 he thought he had made some progress,
the rock tipped and then fell
back into the sandbox.

The little boy grunted, struggled, pushed,
 shoved -- but his only reward was to have
 the rock roll back, smashing his chubby fingers.
Finally he burst into tears of frustration.

All this time the boy's father watched
from his living room window as the
drama unfolded. At the moment the tears fell,
 a large shadow moved across the boy
 and the sandbox. It was the boy's father.
 Gently but firmly he said, "Son, why didn't you
 use all the strength that you had available?"

Defeated, the boy sobbed back,
"But I did, Daddy, I did! I used
all the strength that I had!"

"No, son," corrected the father kindly.
"You didn't use all the strength you had.
You didn't ask me."

With that the father reached down,
picked up the rock, and removed it from the sandbox.

Do you have "rocks" in your life that
need to be removed? Are you discovering that
 you don't have what it takes to lift them?


*** Author Unknown ***

There is One who is always available to us
and willing to give us the strength we need.
When the apostle Paul faced times of a
broken spirit and sapped strength,
 he proclaimed to the Corinthian church,
"And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient
 for thee: for my strength is made perfect
in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather
 glory in my infirmities, that the power of
Christ may rest upon me. "
 (2 Corinthians 12:9b KJV).
When we are broken in spirit and
our strength is spent, we can turn to
our Savior, Jesus.
 I can do all things through Christ
 which strengtheneth me.
(Philippians 4:13 KJV)

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Have a blessed day!