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Things Aren’t Always What They Seem
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Two travelling angels stopped to spend the night
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in the home of a wealthy family.
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The family was rude
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and refused to let the angels stay in the guest room.
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Instead,the angels were given a small space in the cold basement.
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As they made their bed on the hard floor,
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the older angel saw a hole in the wall and repaired it.
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When the younger angel asked why,
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the older angel replied,
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“Things aren’t always what they seem.”
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The next night the pair came to rest at the house of a very poor,
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but very hospitable farmer and his wife.
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After sharing what little food they had,
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the couple let the angels sleep in their bed
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where they could have a good night’s rest.
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When the sun came up the next morning
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the angels found the farmer and his wife in tears.
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Their only cow,
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whose milk had been their sole income,
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lay dead in the field.
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The younger angel was infuriated and accused the older angel:
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“How could you have let this happen?
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The first man has everything,
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yet you helped him;
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the second family has little
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but is willing to share everything,
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and you let the cow die.”
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“Things aren’t always what they seem.”
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the older angel replied.
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“When we stayed in the basement of the mansion,
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I noticed there was gold stored in that hole in the wall.
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Since the owner was so obsessed with greed
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and unwilling to share his good fortune,
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I sealed the wall so he wouldn’t find it.”
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“Then last night as we slept in the farmers’ bed,
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the angel of death came for his wife.
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I gave him the cow instead.
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Things aren’t always what they seem.”
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Sometimes that is exactly what happens
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when things don’t turn out the way they should.
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If you have faith,
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you just need to trust
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that every outcome is always to your advantage.
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You might not know it until some time later...