13 November 2021

I enjoy revisiting stories I have heard in the past and learning new ones.  Reading stories and poems with a purpose and moral is uplifting. 

“The Golden Touch” by Nathaniel Hawthorne and “How Much Land Does a Man Need” by Leo Tolstoy are touching reminders of what is most important in life.  Our families and this beautiful world God has given us are far more valuable than material wealth and things.  When Midas changes the roses into gold, it made me sad that he thinks they are more beautiful as a piece of gold than as a living, vibrant creation of God.  I've heard the story before, and I knew what was coming.  He finally realized how foolish he was when he turned his sweet daughter into gold.  I've never read the ending of the story as told in our study this week.  I was pleased to read that his daughter was restored to life, and King Midas became a wiser man.

Leo Tolstoy's story reminds me that I can't take possessions when I leave this life.  I need to spend my energy and time on things of the eternal.  My family, my testimony, my knowledge, and my love for others is what should occupy my highest goals.  Gaining more possessions will never bring me happiness.

I also loved a sentence from Frederick Buechner's "Vocation." "The place God calls you to is the place where your deep gladness and the world's deep hunger meet."  I like thinking about this.  I have even discussed with my husband asking him how he feels about his career in this context.  He used to enjoy his work more than he does now.  We also discussed his work in scouting for several decades.  Was that his calling?  He was certainly good at it, and he enjoyed it.  I've been thinking about the changes we face in life.  Sometimes our calling from God shifts and changes with our circumstances and opportunities.  I have certainly felt His Spirit guiding me at different times in my life to do other things.  I am enjoying this process I am experiencing now as I further my education and realize my purpose at this time in my life a little clearer.