The little bird story

I love stories. Stories are powerful. Stories offer a mental picture that can help us remember valuable life lessons.

I’ve been telling stories for many years through my radio program and my different columns. One of the best I’ve encountered is a story from an anonymous writer. Let me share it with you:

One day, a bird was flying south for winter and got caught in a snowstorm. As snow landed on his tiny wings, it melted slightly then quickly froze, causing the bird to fall to the ground. As he sat helpless and shivering, encased in ice, the bird thought to himself, “This is the end.” To make matters worse, a cow wandered toward the freezing bird and – wouldn’t you know it? – deposited a stinking pile of manure on top of the bird. (This may be a bit gross, but just hang in there as I complete the story.)

The bird panicked, horrified at the thought that he was going to freeze to death, covered in manure. But slowly, the warmth of the manure caused the bird to thaw out. He fluttered his newly-freed wings and began to chirp with joy!

“Chirp! Chirp! Chirp! Chirp!” the bird sang.

That’s when a cat, drawn by the chirping, ran over, dug out the bird… And ate him.

It’s a weird story isn’t it? But it delivers certain lessons.

When we look at our life and the experiences we’ve gone through, we’ll find ourselves able to identify with the bird. At some point in your life, you may have found yourself thinking, “Just when things were starting to get better, the bottom drops out, or something falls on my head! Life is just one disaster after another.”

Back to that dearly departed bird – the story of the little bird actually teaches us three very important lessons:

1. Not everyone who drops manure on you is your enemy.

2. Not everyone who digs you out of manure is your friend.

3. When you’re in manure, keep your mouth shut.

We often want to ignore or forget the tough times. We may even have conveniently shelved it away in the recesses of our mind, because the pain of it all is just unbearable. Perhaps, you’ve gone bankrupt, and the creditors ran after you, cussing you, cursing you, threatening you and saying things against you that were extremely painful. Perhaps you had a child who rebelled against everything you taught and stood for. Perhaps you prayed so hard for God’s healing upon someone you love, but then he or she died anyway. Here’s something common to many people: perhaps you trusted a person and put your defenses down, but then the person you trusted betrayed you, cheated on you or stole from you. And here’s a tough one: perhaps you were the one who hurt another, perhaps you’re the one who did the betrayal, and when you’re trying to make amends, the forgiveness you seek wouldn’t be offered. Those experiences are extremely painful.

Past experiences can make or break us. They can make us better, or they can make us bitter. We need to take them as they are and turn them into leverage for success. God allows things like these to happen, not because He wants us to suffer, but because He wants to develop our character. This is why Scriptures say that we are to welcome adversities.

Our past experiences will prove golden, provided we learn from them. Let’s allow our past experiences and mistakes to teach us. There’s never a winner who didn’t start out as a beginner.

(Develop your leadership skills and spend two whole days with Francis Kong, as he facilitates the well-acclaimed Dr. John C. Maxwell program “Developing The Leader Within You” on April 25-26 at the EDSA Shangri-La Hotel. For further inquiries, contact Lylee at 09175482876, or call 632-6310912 for details.)