Once upon a time there was a strong man who decided to be a lumberjack. He found a company to work with, got himself an axe, and went to work. His first day was a great success; he cut down 18 trees! His success made him excited for the next day of work and he started chopping with even more vigor than the first day. Strangely enough, he was only able to cut 15 trees that day. He thought that perhaps he was physically exhausted, and figured that if he got up earlier than all the other lumberjacks and worked an hour or two longer, he could surely chop more trees. The next morning he was the first lumberjack in the forest and he chopped as hard and as fast as he could. At the end of the day, he was surprised again--only 11 trees. Determined to overcome the problem, he awoke early the next morning, went to work harder than he ever had, and chopped faster than ever before. He only cut 6 trees that day. Despite renewed efforts his number was lower the next day as well. And the following day, the lumberjack only cut 2 trees. Exasperated and hopeless, he went to his boss to tell him that he was quitting. Fortunately his boss was a wise man. As the lumberjack related what was happening, his boss paused to ask him a question, "When was the last time you sharpened your axe?" The lumberjack responded with a hint of frustration, "I don´t have time to sharpen my axe--I´m trying to cut as many trees as possible!" His boss invited him to try one more day, but to sharpen his axe as he went to see if it made a difference. The lumberjack decided he could give one more day a try. He set out the next day to work, and after chopping a tree he paused to sharpen his axe with care. When he chopped another, he again stopped to sharpen the axe. Chop, sharpen, chop sharpen. At the end of the day the lumberjack totalled his timber to 36 trees chopped.
I love this story. Sometimes we think that all we need to do to endure to the end is keep working hard--same routine, same steps, same motions. We forget that we need to finetune ourselves too. We need to sharpen our axes--this can be symbolic of developing a talent or learning new things or repenting or seeking to do the will of God continually. Whatever it may be in your situation, there is a way to sharpen your axe today and perhaps you can´trecognize it, but you have a "wise boss" too, your Heavenly Father. He knows exactly what you need to be successful and efficient and complete just like this lumberjack. If you ask him, he will tell you how to sharpen your axe!
Have a great week
Love,
Hermana Anderson
I love this story. Sometimes we think that all we need to do to endure to the end is keep working hard--same routine, same steps, same motions. We forget that we need to finetune ourselves too. We need to sharpen our axes--this can be symbolic of developing a talent or learning new things or repenting or seeking to do the will of God continually. Whatever it may be in your situation, there is a way to sharpen your axe today and perhaps you can´trecognize it, but you have a "wise boss" too, your Heavenly Father. He knows exactly what you need to be successful and efficient and complete just like this lumberjack. If you ask him, he will tell you how to sharpen your axe!
