Whatever happens is for good

As a child I was a total introvert. Though a brilliant student, I could never muster courage in the classroom to answer any questions directed to every body. Of course if I was specifically being asked, I could always answer them.

Books used to be my constant companions. Love for the books was instilled into me in the very early years by my mother. She used to explain the cartoons in the magazines and sometimes she would be busy. This urged me to learn reading and the hunger for new books was totally satisfied by my father. Voracious reading gave me so many deep insights into life and some stories gave firm foundations of faith.

One of them was the strong belief that whatever happens in life, it is always for the good. This was told in a simple story. There was an old man in a village, into whose compound a stately horse wandered one day. The villagers came to see the horse and remarked that he was so lucky to get a horse like that. The man replied, ‘Whatever happens is for good.’

It so happened that the man’s son who was riding the horse fell down and broke his leg. The villagers came to sympathize with him and to their surprise, the man replied, ‘Whatever happens is for good.’ The youth’s leg had to be plastered and he was advised bed rest.

After a few days war broke out and the King ordered all youths of the country to join the army. Naturally the old man’s son was spared since his leg was in the cast. Again the villagers told him he was lucky, to which his reply was ‘Whatever happens is for good.’

This had a deep impact on me during my childhood. I began to develop faith in that statement. Another story at a later date sealed this faith in me completely.