THE SATISFACTION OF DISSATISFACTION

The rock was solid; with a hardness that almost completely ignored the driving force of the powerful sledgehammer. Though the man was massive in size and strength all he could manage to do was break off tiny chips that scattered ’round about his feet.

Finally, in complete frustration, he threw down his sledgehammer and cried out, “Why must I spend my days hammering away at this rock? Why cannot I be rich and famous and mighty?”

As he spoke he heard the clattering of four horses, the rattle of a coach and a coachman who cried out, “Whoa there!” As the splendid carriage pulled up beside him, he heard a voice say, “Rejoice, thou art now famous. Thou art Emperor of the land.” And so he climbed up into its elegance and settled back in great ease, all the while thinking, I am now the most fortunate of men. There is none mightier than I.

All went well, until the road began to grow bumpier and bumpier and the sun to shine down with overbearing heat. As sweat poured off his brow, he began to ponder that really it was the sun that was mightier. A voice immediately said, “Then thou art now the sun.” And he instantly was. Again he was filled with exultation. He could not ask for anything more. He was the mightiest of the mighty.

Except that now clouds began to form and in so doing they blotted out the sun. For all his might and solar power, his rays could not pierce the clouds. He grew unsettled, impatient and even unhappier than he had ever been before, so the voice spoke again, “I hear your thoughts. You are now a cloud. You can cover the sky.”

He could not believe his good fortune. I am finally the mightiest of all the forces of nature, he thought. And so he outdid himself - he rained and rained and rained, with a little thunder and lightening thrown in for extra good measure. He could feel the power of it. He was finally happy.

But then, he noticed that the flood he had caused was approaching the rock that once he had tried to break up when he was only an insignificant man. And as he watched, the floodwaters threw themselves at the rock with everything they had in them, but the rock did not budge. Nor was any part of it washed away. And so he became very unhappy again.

“Behold, I hear your discontent,” spoke the voice. “Your problem is solved. You are now the rock.”

And he was. And he shouted for all the universe to hear, “I am mightier than anything you can name. Hallelujah!”

And then there came on the scene a man carrying a huge sledgehammer, and as he
swung it chunks began to fly in all directions.

“I know…. I know,” said the voice with resignation, “Rejoice, thou art a man again.”
A question - what is your personal river of discontent? Your neighbor has a Cadillac and you have only a Chevrolet? Your friend has a job that seems to pulse with challenge and excitement. For you, yours is a monotonous rut. Or you have no job at all. Or find retirement humdrum and boring.

“If I only had more money, or more opportunity, or a new beginning, or…well, I
don’t know what, but something different than what I do have, I could be happy.”
If the world listened in to your thoughts, is this what they would hear? Would even the proverbial pot of gold at the end of the rainbow really satisfy you for very long?

“Satisfy us in the morning with your unfailing love, that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days.” (Psalm 90:14)

Have you visited my “Life Is Not What It Is But What You Make It” site. Go to Google and where it says “Google Search” type in “Wyrick’s Writings”