Now I can imagine that as you read the title you may be thinking, “Well, my spouse has told me that I am stubborn like a donkey before.” But that is not what I am talking about today.
A story is told of a farmer’s donkey that fell down into a well. The animal cried for hours as the farmer tried to figure out how to get the donkey out. Giving up, he decided that as the animal was old and the well needed to be covered up anyway, it just wasn’t worth going to any more effort. So, he invited all of his neighbors to bring their shovels and help him to fill in the well.
Initially, the donkey cried in fear of what was happening. Then, to everyone’s amazement, he quieted down. After a few shovels full, the famer looked down the well, and was astonished at what he saw. With each shovel of dirt that landed on the donkey, the animal would shake it off and take a step up. As the neighbors continued to shovel dirt, the animal would shake it off and take another step up. In a short period of time, everyone was amazed when the donkey stepped over the edge of the well and trotted off.
There is a powerful lesson to be learned from this donkey: if we do not give up, we can escape even the deepest well. If the donkey had simply operated out of fear, he would have died. But by taking simple steps, he overcame the most dire of circumstances. Where in your life do you need to apply this lesson today?