*obstacle = opportunity?

In ancient times, a king had a boulder placed on a roadway. Then he hid himself and watched to see if anyone would remove the huge rock. Some of the king's wealthiest merchants and courtiers came by and simply walked around it. Many loudly blamed the King for not keeping the roads clear, but none did anything about getting the stone out of the way.

Then a peasant came along carrying a load of vegetables. Upon approaching the boulder, the peasant laid down his burden and tried to move the stone to the side of the road. After much pushing and straining, he finally succeeded. The peasant then picked up his load of vegetables, he noticed a purse lying in the road where the boulder had been. The purse contained many gold coins and a note from the king indicating that the gold was for the person who removed the boulder from the roadway. The peasant had already learned what many of us  have yet to understand!

Every obstacle presents an opportunity to improve our condition.

-author unknown

My sister sent this to me today in an email with several other poignant stories. This one for some reason, really spoke to me. I, myself have been guilty of going around the problem, the road block if you will, searching for an easier way.  I am slowly learning to ask, what does God want me to learn in the midst of this? What am I to walk away with from this?   It is sometimes difficult for us in a comfort and consumer oriented culture to accept the fact that God is more concerned and committed to our growth and personal development than He is to our happiness, comfort and entertainment.