Sai Weng lived in the northern frontier of China. One day one of his horses disappeared. His neighbors came out to console him, “poor Sai Weng, he has lost a horse.”
But the old man was not sad, “Hmmmm…..this may not be a bad thing….”
Days later his horse returned of its own accord, bringing with it another, even better horse. Once again his neighbors came out, this time to congratulate him on his good fortune.
But he was not quick to gloat. “Hmmmm….this is not something worth celebrating. Obtaining a horse may be a stroke of bad luck.”
Sai Weng’s son loved the new horse, and he was good at taming the wild horses. But one day, he fell from the horse, breaking his leg. Once again Sai Weng’s neighbors came out to console him after hearing the bad news.
But the old man replied, “Hmmmmm…..it is still hard to say if this broken leg is calamity or good fortune.”
Sometime later China went to war with the northern barbarians, and all the young men were commanded to go to war. The war went on for years, and many young men were killed, but Sai Weng’s son was not drafted into the war because of his broken leg, and so he remained living a peaceful life.
As this Chinese story illustrates, sometimes bad luck turns out to be good, and sometimes good luck turns out to be bad.
I believe it’s more than luck. I believe God looks after us all and that He is omniscient. Many times the things that happen to us are not as bad as we perceive them to be, because many times we cannot see the future, and what at the time seems bad, may turn out for the good.
But, really it’s how you look at each crisis, each calamity, each disappointment — because in the big picture, as the time clicks by, you may find that the lost horse was actually a blessing.
