Shake it off and Step up

Years ago, a farmer had an old mule. The mule's name was Ned. For over 20 years, Ned had helped the farmer put in his crops, but now Ned was old and almost blind.
One day, one of the farmer's sons came running into the house. "Dad! Dad!" he yelled. "Ned has fallen into the old, abandoned well out back! What are we going to do?" Dad and the boys ran to the well and surveyed the situation.
Alas, it seemed there was no way to get the old mule out of the hole. The farmer told his sons, "We will just bury old Ned right here. After all, he is almost dead, and this hole needs to be filled up. We will kill two birds with one shot. Boys, go get the shovels."
Soon the boys were back, and they began to shovel dirt down onto old Ned. When the first dirt hit Ned's shoulders, it startled the old mule. He simply shook his shoulders as much as he could in his narrow confines. As each shovel full rained down, old Ned would shake off the dirt and step on it. Shovel after shovel of dirt came down on Ned, but he just kept shaking it off and asking it down with his hooves Pretty soon, the well was almost full, and old Ned simply stepped up out of the well to the safety of the ground. What was supposed to have buried him came his path to life and freedom.
As the dirt of situations and circumstances of life try to bury you, you need to remember old Ned. Just shake it off and step up! Perhaps you will find that what was sent to destroy you will become your deliverance.                                     ~ Dr. Michael Sisson
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I came across this little story many years ago and have never forgotten it or its principles. Sometimes there are things people say about you that are not true or situations arise that are extremely difficult but we have the promise of God's grace and strength that enable us to overcome them. Or as Ned did, simply shake it off and step up!

---