THOUGHT FOR TODAY

Once there were two monks travelling through the countryside. Rounding a bend in the path, they found a muddy stream blocking their way. Beside it stood a lovely woman dressed in flowing robes.

“Here,” said one of the monks to the woman, “let me carry you across the water.”

He picked her up and set her down on the further bank, then carried on in silence with his fellow monk to the abbey on the hill.

Later that evening the other monk said suddenly: “I think you made an error, picking up that woman on our journey today. You know we are not supposed to have anything to do with women, and you held one close to you! You should not have done that.”

“How strange,” remarked the other, “I carried her only across the water. You are carrying her still.”

Did you get it? Stuff happens. It may have been something we did to another, or what others did to us. It may have occurred last year, five years ago or when we were seven. And we’re carrying it still.

We all carry a backpack that contains our history.

Sometimes it just gets too heavy with all the baggage and it can affect everything we do in our relationships.

There are times when we have to inspect the bag, sort through its contents and deal to bits and pieces that remain unresolved.

On a personal note, I’ve had my fair share of knocks, disappointments and pain over the decades. I have met someone, a doctor of the soul, who has the ability to go back into my past and gently heal the bruises.

It’s amazing what the hands of God can do with a human heart that is still hurting.