YOUR OWN BACKYARD

Story taken from Phill Callaway's Making Life Rich Without Any Money

YOUR OWN BACKYARD
I'd rather laugh in a tent than cry in a palace

Many years ago, amid the searing heat of an African summer, a farmer stopped plowing his field and stood wiping his brow, squinting at the horizon. In the distance, a small band of adventures - much like the one he had seen a few minutes ago - was heading for the mountains. 'If only I could join them', he thought

Since the discovery of diamonds, thousands of people were dropping everything to join the search for the valuable stones. But not the farmer. There was work to be done. Fields to be tilled. Livestock to be fed. Yet the promise of great wealth kept him awake at night and turned his menial tasks to drudgery. One day when a complete stranger offered to buy his farm, the farmer agreed with a handshake. At last he was free. Free to pursue his dream.

The search was long and painful. Trekking mile after mile weary mile across deserts and plains, through jungles and mountain passes, the farmer searched for the elusive diamonds. But none could be found. The weeks turned to months, and the months years. Finally, penniless, sick and utterly depressed, he took his own life by throwing himself into a raging river.

Back home, the man who had purchased the farm carefully tilled the land. One day as he was planting a crop, he came across a strange-looking stone. Carrying it to the farmhouse, he placed it on the mantel. That very night, a friend noticed the unusual stone over the fireplace and picked it up, turning it over and over in his hands. Then, with wide eyes, he turned to the new owner of the farm and said, 'Do you know what you have here? This has to be one of the largest diamonds ever found.'

Further investigation proved him right. And before long it was discovered that the entire farm was literally covered with similar magnificent stones. The farm sold by the first farmer turned out to be one of the richest, most productive diamond mines in the world.

Times haven't changed much, have they? Just like the man who was so quick to sell the farm, too few of us take the time to investigate and polish what we already have. In our disappointment with the way things are, in our quest to get ahead, we fail to recognize the wealth in our own backyard. And we end up walking over untold riches every day.

This is my all time favorite story. We seems to have the natural thought of 'the grass is always greener on the other side' Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen, but have we put our faith, hope and love on the right things? In the end what is it that matters most? Things that are seen, or things that are unseen? For the things that are seen are temporary and those unseen are eternal.