To Be A Slave
There was a little boy visiting his grandparents on their farm. He was given a slingshot to play with, but only in the woods. He practiced in the woods, but he could never hit the target. Getting a little discouraged, he headed back to dinner.
As he was walking back, he saw grandma’s pet duck. Just out of impulse, he let it fly, and hit the duck square in the head and killed it. He was shocked and grieved. In a panic, he hid the dead duck in a woodpile only to see his sister watching. Sally had seen it all, but said nothing.
After lunch that day Grandma said, “Sally, let’s wash the dishes.” But Sally said, “Grandma, Johnny told me he wanted to help in the kitchen today didn’t you Johnny?” And then she whispered to him, “Remember the duck?” So Johnny did the dishes.
Later, Grandpa asked if the children wanted to go fishing, and Grandma said, “I’m sorry, but I need Sally to help make supper.” But Sally smiled and said, “Well, that’s all right because Johnny told me he wanted to help.” And she whispered again, “Remember the duck?” So Sally went fishing and Johnny stayed home.
After several days of Johnny doing both his chores and Sally’s, he finally couldn’t stand it any longer. He came to Grandma and confessed that he killed the duck. She knelt down, gave him a hug, and said, “Sweetheart, I know that. I had seen everything. I was waiting for you to come and tell me. But because I love you, I forgive you. But I was wondering just how long you would let Sally make a slave of you.”
How often we allow ourselves to be enslaved by our unwillingness to confess our failures. We just go on living and sacrifice all of the peace and forgiveness that God wants to give us. It leaves us so that we cannot even enjoy the good that is in our lives.
God Bless You
Fr Eugene Lobo SJ
