Lenten Reflection for March 17th

There is a Nigerian fable that goes,

Once upon a time, there lived a Tortoise who lived in his shell. He lived amongst Dog, Cat and Rabbit on a farmland. Tortoise was very curious and decided to begin following Dog whenever he snuck away at night. One night Tortoise heard Dog whispering, “Rope. Rope, let me up for I am hungry.”

Then a rope appeared to Tortoise’s surprise. He watched in amazement as Dog began to climb and later emerged with plentiful amounts of food. In the morning Tortoise told Dog what he had seen and wanted to know how he could do the same. Dog happily obliged and told Tortoise to go with him that night so he could show him how to get more food.

Later that night Dog and Tortoise met at the same spot as the magic had occurred the night before. Dog said; “I will go first and then I will extend the rope to you.” Tortoise happily obliged and waited patiently as Dog chanted once again , “Rope. Rope, let me up for I am hungry.”

The rope descended and Dog climbed all the way to the top and then urged Tortoise to follow. As the Tortoise began to climb, Dog cut the rope and Tortoise fell on its back and broke his shell into little chunks, that is why even today, tortoises have cracks on their shells.

Throughout our lives we are taught, often through experience, that we need to be very careful in what and whom we place our trust. It is the negative experiences which teach us this lesson most profoundly.

To place our trust in another takes courage, to place all our trust in someone seems foolish in the eyes of the world.  Through His love, God wants us to know that we can trust Him, fully and completely. It is when we know we can trust in the Lord fully and surrender to Him that we will find Peace in our heart.

Christ gives us this promise in John’s Gospel, “I have said this to you, so that in me you may have peace. In the world you face persecution. But take courage; I have conquered the world!” (John 16:33)Let’s pray to have the Courage to fully trust God, then we can find the Fruit of Peace growing within us.

For our younger brothers and sisters in Christ:

Once upon a time, there lived a Tortoise who lived in his shell. He lived amongst Dog, Cat and Rabbit on a farmland. Tortoise was very curious and decided to begin following Dog whenever he snuck away at night. One night Tortoise heard Dog whispering, “Rope. Rope, let me up for I am hungry.”

Then a rope appeared to Tortoise’s surprise. He watched in amazement as Dog began to climb and later emerged with plentiful amounts of food. In the morning Tortoise told Dog what he had seen and wanted to know how he could do the same. Dog happily obliged and told Tortoise to go with him that night so he could show him how to get more food.

Later that night Dog and Tortoise met at the same spot as the magic had occurred the night before. Dog said; “I will go first and then I will extend the rope to you.” Tortoise happily obliged and waited patiently as Dog chanted once again , “Rope. Rope, let me up for I am hungry.”

The rope descended and Dog climbed all the way to the top and then urged Tortoise to follow. As the Tortoise began to climb, Dog cut the rope and Tortoise fell on its back and broke his shell into little chunks, that is why even today, tortoises have cracks on their shells.

We learn in life that we need to be very careful in what and whom we place our trust. It is usually the bad experiences we have, like feeling hurt or betrayed by a friend,which we remember the most.

Trusting others takes courage, placing all our trust in someone may seem very foolish.

God loves us and wants us to know that we can trust Him, fully and completely.

Jesus gives us this promise in John’s Gospel, “I told you these things so that you can have peace in me. In this world you will have trouble. But be brave! I have defeated the world!”(John 16:33 ICB)

Let’s pray to have the Courage to fully love and trust God, then we can find the Fruit of Peace growing within us.

God bless you!