Good or Bad?

The following paragraphs are excerpted from the book Follow Your Heart, by Andrew Matthews.

There once lived a farmer. He had a son and a horse. One day the farmer's horse ran away, and all his neighbors came to console him, saying: "What bad luck that your horse has run away!"
And the old man replied: "Who knows if it's good luck or bad luck."
"Of course it's bad luck!" said the neighbors.

Within a week, the farmer's horse returned home, followed by twenty wild horses. The farmer's neighbors came to celebrate, saying: "What good luck that you have your horse back--plus another twenty!"
And the old man replied: "Who knows if it's good luck or bad luck!"

The next day the farmer's son was riding amongst the wild horses, and fell and broke his leg. The neighbors came to console him, saying: "What bad luck!"
And the farmer said: "Who knows if it's good or bad luck!"
And some of the neighbors were angry, and said: "Of course it's bad luck, you silly old fool!"

Another week went by, and an army came through town, enlisting all the fit young men to fight in distant lands. The farmer's son, with his broken leg, was left behind. All the neighbors came to celebrate, saying: "What good luck that your son was left behind!"
And the farmer said: "Who knows?"

We can spend our whole lives figuring everything out. "This is good, that is bad ..." It is futile. We label events as "disasters" when we only see one percent of the picture.

The author talks about good luck and bad luck. From Christianity point of view, we can translate it to good blessings and--what we consider--not so good one.

Often times when I get something that I like or has hoped for, I think of it as "God has blessed me, praise the Lord." I think that is fine. James 1:16-17 says, "Don't be deceived, my dear brothers. Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows."

But when I get something that I do not like, or not get something I want, I fret. For example, when an incident happens that requires me to change my routine, takes me out of my comfort zone, hinders me to or fails to achieve some goals. I feel it is natural to feel disappointed or down in the beginning, but usually I let myself get stuck with the mindset of what should and should not happen, what I deserve and not, or why 'good' things happen to other people.. and not me. The truth is, often times I know only "one percent of the picture", therefore cannot make a good judgment of the situation. This is just like what the Proverbs says:

Proverbs 19:21: "Many are the plans in a man's heart, but it is the LORD's purpose that prevails."
Proverbs 16:9: "In his heart a man plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps."

Having a new baby is indeed like "having a new chapter in life". Parents make a bond with the kid to care, nurture, and love him/her throughout their life. The first day we brought the baby home, we feel excited, yet also anxious, questioning ourselves: can we be good parents? will the baby feel comfortable at home?

The pattern of our daily life changes. We wake up earlier to have enough time to prep the baby before we leave for work. On the way to and from work, we either talk or think about the kid. Topics such as the kid's habits, appetite, attitudes, and behaviours are on top of the conversation list. Arguments about the right way to train the kid is inevitable. Actually, we communicate more often now than before having the kid! Looking at it this way, the baby brings positive changes to the family's life.

The house also needs adjustments. Everything that is on the ground level has to be child-proof: not dangerous to touch, not potentially falling that will hurt, not edible so the baby won't unknowingly chew and swallow it. The house needs cleaning more often. Depending on preference, sometimes the house needs to be bigger to anticipate having big enough playground for the kid.

The baby is truly a "dependent", just as the tax form states it. We think about the kid when we make plans. Not anymore can we go out for the whole day, unless we bring the baby with us or have someone watch him/her. Not anymore should we spend money on tertiary expenditures, as this fund now goes to "kid's emergency and future plan," like when the kid gets sick and go to school.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Now I want to say that my sister and I are actually undergoing these changes. But not because we have a new baby :D, but a new pet dog! His name is Happy. Think about it, if you replace every word of "baby" or "kid" in the above paragraphs with the word "dog", the story still makes complete sense. The only difference is we cannot claim the dog as a dependent on the tax forms! Anyway, it's just an observation :)

Today is the first time Happy went up the stairs by himself, when nobody was watching or calling him up. This creates a new list of potential issues by itself, such as going up and sleeping on my bed when we are out, peeing upstairs (since it's carpet all around), and waking me up way too early in the morning. We haven't yet devised a strategy as not making this possible when we are out, but surely we need creative and smart tricks to implement soon.

Ah Happy, be a good boy.

This was him the first day he came home with us. He looked gloomy because he was scared and unfamiliar with us and the new place. He is a lot happier now though!