The sky was engulfed in darkness as I left the house to begin the six hour journey to visit my son. It was game four of his football season and I had not made it to a game yet. My car was packed with snacks, black and red pom pons and a stadium chair. Time to hit the road.
How often have
you gone the extra mile for your child, for your job, or to help someone in
need? At times it can make you feel exhausted. A recent quote I read said, “Excellence
is going the extra mile.” Be encouraged and know that excellence pays off. Your
good deeds do not go unrecognized. You may be rewarded in unexpected ways.
Enjoy the story
below and be inspired.
The
other side of the wall
There
was a young woman who took great pride in the growth and care of the flowers in
her flower garden. She had been raised by her grandmother who taught her to
love and care for flowers as she herself had done. So, like her grandmother,
her flower garden was second to none.
One
day while looking through a flower catalogue she often ordered from, a picture
of a plant immediately caught her eye. She had never seen blooms on a flower
like that before. “I have to have it,” she said to herself, and she immediately
ordered it.
When
it arrived, she already had a place prepared to plant it. She planted it at the
base of a stone wall at the back of her yard. It grew vigorously, with
beautiful green leaves all over it, but there were no blooms. Day after day she
continued to cultivate it, water it, feed it, and she even talked to it
attempting to coax it to bloom. But, it was to no avail.
One
morning weeks later, as she stood before the vine, she contemplated how
disappointed she was that her plant had not bloomed. She was giving
considerable thought to cutting it down and planting something else in its
place.
It
was at this point that her invalid neighbor, whose lot joined hers, called over
to her. “Thank you so much! You can’t imagine how much I have enjoyed the blooms
of that vine you planted.” The young woman walked through the gate into her
neighbor’s yard, and sure enough, she saw that on the other side of the wall
the vine was filled with blooms.
There
were indeed the most beautiful blooms she had ever seen. The vine had crept
through the crevices and it had not flowered on her side of the fence, it had
flowered luxuriantly on the other side.
Just
because you cannot see the good result of your labor does not mean that it bore
no fruit.
Author:
Randy Reynolds
What has been your experience with going the extra mile?
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