There was once upon a time a very wise farmer. He used two small buckets which he put on his back by means of a thick stick. One of the buckets had a small crack, so the man arrived at home with a bucket full and with the other one three quarters empty. This thing happened for two years.
Of course the good bucket was proud of its accomplishments. But the defective was ashamed of its imperfection and felt miserable because in all this time had not brought more than a quarter from the amount of water. It could not bear it anymore and told the man:
`I am so ashamed of myself and I apologize.`
`Why, why are you ashamed? asked the man.
`In this two years I had not been able to bring more than a quarter of the whole amount of water because of the crack. Because of me you went more times.
The man felt sorry for the poor bucket and told it with gentleness in his voice:
`Please look what nice flowers are on the roadside.
The upset bucket noticed how many and how wonderful the flowers from their way were. It forgot in an instant its sadness. When they arrived home it became upset again seeing it was almost empty.
Then the farmer told her:
`Did you notice that all those wonderful flowers were grown only on your side? For two years I have adorned my house and my life with these flowers which would never have grown if you had been perfect.
Everything we call imperfections or shortcomings are the cracks through which the gifts received from above are flowing through us and bring beauty anywhere we walk.
Source: Facebook – Priest Ioan Bădiliță.
