Tuesday, March 8, 2011

When the Rug is Pulled Out

There he stands. He's a magician, and his hands are gripping the white tablecloth that rests underneath a table full of fine china. Most have seen this trick attempted before, and most know that if he should fail, every dish is subject to break. With bated breath the crowd watching listen as the magician begins to count, “three, two, one”...and with a sudden jerk and a quick snatch, he gloriously pulls the tablecloth out from under the china! Not a piece is broken, and not a piece is astray. The cloth has been pulled out, and everything of value stays in its place. The crowd cheers, and the magician wipes his brow for once again he has “pulled the rug out” from underneath valuables, and the valuables remain.

What is lost when the rug is pulled out from underneath a person? What remains when that unexpected event occurs, and life takes a turn in a totally different direction? What happens when events are so life altering that if a person were told in advance that it would happen that way, they still would have trouble believing it? That which remains is what makes up the core of an individual. That which does not change is that which cannot be felled. That which stays is character ingrained deep within, and no person, situation or circumstance can touch there.

Until the rug is pulled out, a person really doesn't know what will stay and what will remain, but as soon as that person, that event, that challenge or that mistreatment snatches away, that which is valuable within shall be revealed, and that which is temporary will fall. Until tomorrow...Why Say More?

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