Have you ever been sad because of failure? Please remember, for often, achieving what you set out to do is not the most important thing. A boy decided to dig a deep hole behind his house. As he was working, a couple of older boys stopped by to watch. "What are you doing?" asked one of the visitors. "I want to dig a hole all the way through the earth!" the boy answered excitedly. The older boys began to laugh, telling him that digging a hole all the way through the earth was impossible. After a while, the boy picked up a jar. He showed it to the visitors. It was full of all kinds of stones and insects. Then he said calmly and confidently, "Maybe I can't finish digging all the way through the earth, but look at what I've found during this period!" The boy's goal was far too difficult, but it did cause him to go on. And that is what a goal is for -- to cause us to move in the direction we have chosen, in other words, to cause us to keep working! Not every goal will be fully achieved. Not every job will end up with a success. Not every dream will come true. But when you fall short of your aim, maybe you can say, "Yes, but look what I've found along the way! There are so many wonderful things having come into my life because I tried to do something!" It is in the digging that life is lived. It is the unexpected joy on the journey that really makes sense. Why did the boy show the jar to the older boys?
To drive them away. To show what he had found in digging. To show how beautiful the jar was. To attract them to join him in the work.