The Four Candles

The Four Candles burned slowly in the empty room. Their ambiance was so soft you could hear them speak. Their words were sad…

The first candle said, “I Am Peace, but these days, nobody wants to keep me lit.” Then Peace’s flame slowly diminished and went out completely.

The second candle said, “I Am Faith, but these days, I am no longer indispensable.” Then Faith’s flame slowly diminished and went out completely.

Sadly the third candle spoke, “I Am Love and I haven’t the strength to stay lit any longer. People put me aside and don’t understand my importance. They even forget to love those who are nearest to them.” And waiting no longer, Love went out completely.

Suddenly…

A child entered the room and saw the three candles no longer burning. The child began to cry, “Why are you not burning? You are supposed to stay lit until the end. What shall I do with no peace, no faith and no love”

Then the Fourth Candle spoke gently to the child, “Don’t be afraid, for I Am Hope, and while I still burn, we can re-light the other candles. Let’s relight them now. Together.”

With shining eyes, the child took the Candle of Hope and lit the other three candles. And you might see them go out from time to time. But as long as Hope shines on, the other three will always be with us.

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A parent speaks differently to each child

A parent knows his children.  He knows their different strengths, their different weaknesses, their different needs.  He speaks to each one differently, and for good reason.

Let me share a little story with you.  I have two daughters.  Little Lady is a little overweight.  Not surprising, as she loves to eat.  As a result, we try to curtail her eating somewhat.  You might describe our message to her as, “Thou shalt measure thyself when eating.”

Little sister was hard to feed as a baby, and although she is no longer underweight, we still put an effort into ensuring she eats enough, especially of fruits and vegetables.  You might describe our message to her as, “Thou shalt eat in abundance.”

These are two different messages directed at two different children for two different reasons.  Often, Little Sister will leave food on her plate, and we try to coax her to eat a little more.  Little Lady, having scraped her own plate clean, wants to eat up what Little Sister leaves behind.  But our message for Little Sister to eat it is not a message for Little Lady to eat it.

Our children receive different messages for a reason, even though neither of them fully understands the reasons or wants to understand the reasons.

This brings me to some feedback I received recently from my Daily Dose of Happiness:

Happy guy  I want to ask you something are you a christian . DO you believe in Jesus. I really like your help but I ‘m learie 

My reply was:

It just so happens that I am a Christian.  Like most people, I was born into my faith, and I am most comfortable with it.  My words, however, are for all God’s children, regardless of how God has chosen to communicate with them.  I hope he is communicating to some of them, however they practice their spirituality, through me.  🙂

Sometimes people get so wrapped up in their faith, that they become blind to all of God’s other messages.  Sometimes they forget that their faith is about is God, and God is not confined to any human faith system.  Sometimes they forget that people of other faiths might also be brothers and sisters with the same parents, but receiving different messages through other faith systems.

And who are we to question why God chooses to speak to others as he does – let alone try to override His choices?

Let us all embrace each other and revel in the miracle of life that we have been given, however we receive God’s message.children - no two are alike